How to enter the photo contest

Before you can enter the contest, you will need to register for this year's edition. Please note that the World Press Photo contest is hosted on a new platform this year - Picter. Accounts from previous contests will no longer work and all entrants must register anew.

The registration deadline is Thursday, 3 January, 2019, at 12:00 (noon) CET.

Once your application has been approved, you will be able to upload images and submit your entry. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, 8 January, 2019, at 12:00 (noon) CET.

Before you start

• The World Press Photo contest is only open to professional photographers. For the 2019 contest, every entrant needs to provide a valid document that proves their current professional status. This also counts for previous contestants.
• Three categories have been slightly changed: the People category has been renamed to Portraits, the Sports category is by definition also welcoming portfolios now and singles from the category Long-Term Projects that were shot in 2018 are now also eligible for the World Press Photo of the Year.
• We will use winning images for the production of our book and exhibition. Pictures must meet the following specifications:
  • Upload images with the original pixel size (unless cropped). Do not scale and do not change the resolution.
  • ICC profile must be embedded. AdobeRGB, sRGB or grayscale Gamma 2.2 are recommended. No CMYK.
  • Must be uploaded in JPEG format with high quality compression. We will use winning images for high quality reproduction.
• Guidance on how to write captions and avoid manipulation is available here: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/activities/photo-contest/verification-process
• Participants must provide file(s) as recorded by the camera for all images that proceed to the final stages of the contest. These file(s) will be requested and studied confidentially between 14 - 31 January 2019. Failure to provide these files when requested will lead to the elimination of the entry.
• If manipulation is detected in an entry, the photographer(s) will be contacted in the period mentioned above to offer an explanation that will be forwarded to the jury. Once contacted, photographer(s) will have 24 hours to respond.
• In the same period, participants can be contacted and asked to verify their captions and metadata with the fact-checking team.