lensCulture Portrait Photography Awards
Are you making great portraits? This is your opportunity to be recognized worldwide.
This year, we’re searching for photographers whose portraits stand out for their vision, emotional depth, and creative originality.
For more than two decades, LensCulture has helped launch and elevate the careers of 300+ outstanding portrait photographers. Many have gone on to work with leading international magazines, museums, book publishers, and galleries. You could be one of them – show us your work!
This global portrait photography competition is open to everyone — emerging photographers, professionals, students, self-taught artists, and creatives of all ages.
Awards
- Exhibition in London
- International Media Exposure
- Cash Prizes
- Solo Feature on LensCulture
What to Submit
- Studio and environmental portraits
- Street and candid portraits
- Self-portraits
- Conceptual and fiction work
- Fashion
- Documentary
Images in video above by © Kyle Jodrell, Lena Sokolova, Anne Zheng Chen, Hèctor Abela, Victoria Ushkanova, Giovana Schlüter Nunes, Anna Zandman, Ben Hickling, Kiliii Yuyan, Emily Frances Olson, Olha Symonenko, Emily Neville Fisher, Salvatore Montemagno
© Olga Papina
Katherine Pomerantz
Time Magazine
United States
Katherine Pomerantz
Director of Photography, Time Magazine
United States
Katherine Pomerantz is the Director of Photography at TIME where she oversees the assigning of visual storytellers around the world, along with the curation of imagery across all of TIME’s platforms. Her work has received recognition by the American Society of Magazine Editors, the Overseas Press Club, and World Press Photo. Collaborations with photographers have been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, the Brooklyn Museum, and Fotografiska New York.
Andrew Katz
The New Yorker
United States
Andrew Katz
Deputy Photo Director, The New Yorker
United States
Andrew Katz is the Deputy Photo Director of The New Yorker. An ambitious visual leader, he manages three photo editors; commissions photojournalism and portraiture; and conceptualizes and produces photo essays. He joined the team in 2021 after six years in TIME’s photography department. He has commissioned hundreds of stories by more than 200 photographers on (or above) all seven continents. The resulting photography has been recognized by the Pulitzer Prizes, American Society of Magazine Editors (National Magazine Awards), Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, Overseas Press Club, Society of Publication Designers, World Press Photo, Visa pour l’Image, Pictures of the Year International, and more. In 2021, he was a POYi finalist for Visual Editor of the Year.
Francesca Marani
Vogue Italia
Italy
Francesca Marani
Senior Photo Editor, Vogue Italia
Italy
Francesca Marani is the Senior Photo Editor of Vogue Italia.
From 2015 to 2023 she has been the Visual Editor of Global PhotoVogue and co-curator of the PhotoVogue Festival (2016-2022), the first conscious fashion photography festival dedicated to the common ground between ethics and aesthetics.
In 2018 she curated a talk series about contemporary photography at the Affordable Art Fair (Milan), she co-curated the exhibition “Italian Panorama” at the Armani/Silos and was a juror of the Ooshot Award (Paris). Over the past few years Francesca has been a portfolio lecturer for the Blink Portfolio Review (New York) and a juror of the Photolucida’s Critical Mass. In 2019 Francesca took part in “Scouting for India”(Mumbai), the Vogue Talents’ project in collaboration with FAD International Academy. In 2020 she was a member of the jury of Fresh Eyes (GUP magazine), PHmuseum Women Photographers Grant and Photoville FENCE.
In 2020 she was a juror of the PHmuseum 2020 Mobile Photo Prize, Photoville FENCE and did portfolio reviews for Eddie Adams Portfolio Review, Perimetro Collective Review and Italy Photo Award. In 2021 she was a member of the jury of LensCulture Portrait Awards and did portfolio reviews for Fotografia Europea - Reggio Emilia, SI Fest - Savignano sul Rubicone, Eddie Adams Workshop and PhMuseum Days. In 2022 she did portfolio reviews for the Biennale della Fotografia Femminile di Mantova, Planches Contact Deauville Photography Festival, Fotografia Europea and FUTURES conversation. In 2024 she curated photography exhibitions in Rome for Leica's initiative ‘Roma ChilometroZero’ (in collaboration with Contrasto) and was a portfolio reviewer for PHEST Monopoli.
Francesca regularly collaborates with several photography festivals and schools as portfolio reviewer and lecturer.
As art director she has curated advertising campaigns for Benetton, Huawei, Yuzen and special projects for Off-White, Audi, Diesel, Dyson, Mazda, Martini, Sensai, Xiaomi, Crivelli, Pomellato, Kiko, Loewe, Vespa, Adidas.
Ruby Rees-Sheridan
National Portrait Gallery
United Kingdom
Ruby Rees-Sheridan
Assistant Curator, Photography, National Portrait Gallery
United Kingdom
Ruby Rees-Sheridan has been Assistant Curator, Photographs, at the National Portrait Gallery since 2024, where she has worked on the exhibitions The Face Magazine: Culture Shift (2025), and the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize (2024, 2025). Previously a curator at Four Corners, an east London-based film and photography centre, her past exhibitions have included Daniel Meadows: Shuttles, Steam and Soot (2025), Photography on the Move: The Half Moon Touring Shows 1976-84 (2023) and Photographing Protest: Resistance Through a Feminist Lens (2022). She holds an MA in Museum Curating with Photography from the University of Sussex, where her research focused on photography and digital cultures.
Rory Walsh
The New York Times Magazine
United States
Rory Walsh
Photo Editor, The New York Times Magazine
United States
Rory Walsh is an award-winning photography editor and producer at The New York Times Magazine. She regularly works with world-class photographers to produce high-profile stories across a wide range of genres including international news, politics, celebrity, travel, culture, and human-interest. She also produces stills and video for The Interview, a weekly NYT column and podcast which features influential figures in culture, politics, business, sports. Rory has previously worked for a number of leading publications including T: The New York Times Style Magazine, TIME, GQ, Teen Vogue and New York Magazine.
Allyson Torrisi
National Geographic
United States
Allyson Torrisi
Senior Photo Editor Print & Digital, National Geographic
United States
Allyson Torrisi is currently a Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic for both print and digital and has been involved in the world of photography for over twenty years. Prior to National Geographic, she served as Deputy Director of Photography at People Magazine, and as a contract photo editor for The New York Times. She began her career producing fashion advertisements for Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Ave, Nordstrom, and Talbots. She was on the launch staff of InStyle Magazine and was a senior photo editor there for seven years. After In Style, she became Creative Director at Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta andd was responsible for several award-winning campaigns for Turner's original movies (for TNT & TBS ) and helped to re-brand several news programs for CNN. Allyson has lectured at the School of Visual Arts and has taught at both Parsons and the International Center of Photography in New York City. She recently served as President of the Society of Publication Designers, where among many things, she helped to curate and produce their speaker series. Torrisi has been Director of Photography at Men's Journal, Popular Mechanics, the award-winning magazine on science, technology, and the DIY space. A fan of photography she is strongly interested in great narrative storytelling and the power of imagery.
Nadav Kander
Photographer
United Kingdom
Nadav Kander
Photographer
United Kingdom
Nadav Kander is a London-based photographic artist and director, renowned for his portraiture and large-format landscape photographs. Selected past projects include Yangtze – The Long River, winner of the Prix Pictet award in 2009; Dust, which explored the vestiges of the Cold War through the radioactive ruins of secret cities on the border between Kazakhstan and Russia; Bodies. 6 Women, 1 Man, a series of monumental photographic figure studies drawing references from Renaissance sculpture; Dark Line – The Thames Estuary, a reflective exploration of the dark waters of the UK’s storied Thames river; and Obama’s People, an acclaimed 52 portrait series commissioned by the New York Times Magazine.
In 2026, Kander—recent recipient of the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant—will debut Nadav Kander: The Edge of Things, the first major survey of his work spanning four decades. Developed in collaboration with the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography and curated by David Campany, the exhibition will begin its international tour at FOAM Amsterdam in September 2026.
Kander’s work is housed in major public collections including the National Portrait Gallery and Victoria & Albert Museum, London; The New York Public Library, New York; and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago. He has exhibited internationally at institutions including the Barbican Centre, Somerset House and The Photographers’ Gallery, London; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; and Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne. Recent awards include an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society, the World Photography Organisation’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography (2019), and the inaugural Hendrik teNeues Distinguished Photographer Award (2025).
Laura Sackett
LensCulture
United States
Laura Sackett
Creative Director, LensCulture
United States
Laura Sackett is the creative director and co-founder of LensCulture, one of the leading sites committed to discovering and publishing the best in the contemporary photography. She leads all aspects of design including strategy, brand, website, print, communications, screenings and exhibitions. Besides leading the creative direction for LensCulture, she also designs and co-curates LensCulture exhibitions and the online galleries. Laura is a juror, reviewer & nominator in several international Photo Awards and Festivals. She is a founding Board Member of PhotoAlliance, and earned an MFA in photography from the California College of the Arts. She currently lives in Oakland, CA.
Exhibit Your Work in London!
Winning photographers will be exhibited during Photo London, the premiere international photo fair that brings together hundreds of galleries, publishers and collectors, as well as an ambitious program of exhibitions, conversations, artist book signings and curated fair events.
An opening reception will be held for LensCulture artists, invited media, photo editors and industry insiders for a night of art appreciation and networking during the world’s largest international art fair dedicated to photography.
Winning the award was a highlight of the year, and led to further attention as LensCulture is such an important platform in the photo community. Since then, I had exhibitions in Hamburg and Glasgow, as well as multiple photo festivals! I was also shortlisted for the Sony World Awards and a finalist in the Portrait of Humanity and Portrait of Britain.”
—Toby Binder, Portrait Winner 2023
© Josefine Rauch
© Olivia Beasley
© Leon Foggitt
Get the opportunity to grow your career with our awards & benefits
-
Winning Series Published on LensCulture
Top Series winners will have their work published on LensCulture, benefiting from the platform’s engagement with a global audience. Our features provide significant, ongoing exposure for your work, leveraging LensCulture’s high search rankings and site traffic.
-
Visibility With Industry Insiders & Creative Professionals
All it takes is one set of eyes to change the course of your career. If our jury ranks your submission highly, you will be included in LensCulture Discoveries , our directory of top-rated photographers. We provide this directory to key decision-makers including editors, book publishers, gallery owners, festival directors, creative directors, curators, and online media publishers.
-
Permanent Exhibition in LensCulture Online Gallery
LensCulture has become a key resource for discovering new photography work all over the world. All winners, finalists and jurors’ picks for this award will be prominently featured in the permanent online gallery on our site.
-
International Press Exposure
Award winners receive press coverage in publications and media outlets around the world — the kind of exposure that can lead to viral, global recognition of your work. Winners, finalists and selected entrants have been featured in major publications including BBC, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Internazionale, VICE, The Times of London, Huffington Post, Spiegel Online, The British Journal of Photography, and The Telegraph.
© Thomas Hackenberg
Competition Gallery
Editors’ Picks
When you enter this award, your work will be immediately reviewed by our editors. Selected submissions will be featured in our Competition Gallery and published across all of our online channels, reaching an international audience of three million. (For example, 446 entries were selected and featured during our 2025 Portrait Awards, and 220 of those were promoted via LensCulture’s Instagram and Facebook platforms, reaching more than 4 million photography lovers .) Enter your work early to take advantage of this incredible opportunity for global exposure!
Note: While our editors review entries for inclusion on a daily basis, not every submission can be shown here.
© Latoya Okuneye
© Jo Sax
© Olga Alekseeva
© Josefine Rauch
Cash Awards & Recognition
-
Series prize winners
1st Place: $3,500
2nd Place: $2,000
3rd Place: $1,000 -
Single image prize winners
1st Place: $2,000
2nd Place: $1,000
3rd Place: $500 -
Jurors’ Picks
Each juror will select an individual Juror’s Pick to receive special distinction, including quotes from the experts praising each of the selected series or single images.
-
Finalists
25 Finalists and their work will be highlighted and featured on the winners’ page, and in the worldwide promotions, along with the Winners and Jurors’ Picks.
More Awards and Benefits
- Winning Series Published on LensCulture
- Visibility With Industry Insiders & Creative Professionals
- Permanent Exhibition in LensCulture Online Gallery
- International Press Exposure
Cash Awards & Recognition
Series prize winners
1st Place: $3,500
2nd Place: $2,000
3rd Place: $1,000
Single image prize winners
1st Place: $2,000
2nd Place: $1,000
3rd Place: $500
Jurors’ Picks
Each juror will select an individual Juror’s Pick to receive special distinction, including quotes from the experts praising each of the selected series or single images.
Finalists
25 Finalists and their work will be highlighted and featured on the winners’ page, and in the worldwide promotions, along with the Winners and Jurors’ Picks.
Benefits for All Who Enter
| Benefits | 6 Winners | 8 Jurors' picks | 25 Finalists | Editors’ Picks (1) | Every Entrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 in Cash Awards | ⬤ | ||||
| Solo Feature Published on LensCulture (2) | ⬤ | ||||
| Exhibition in London | ⬤ | ⬤ | |||
| Visibility with LensCulture Insiders | ⬤ | ⬤ | |||
| Featured in International Photo Festival Projections | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ||
| International Press Exposure | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ||
| Massive Exposure to our Global Audience of 3 Million | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | |
| LensCulture Portfolio Account (3) | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ |
| Opportunity to be in LensCulture Discoveries online directory of top-rated photographers (4) | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ |
| Share your Work with the Global Photography Community | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ |
| Opportunities for Immediate Exposure | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ |
(1) Editors’ Picks: During the competition, LensCulture’s editors will curate hundreds of entries for immediate exposure to our global audience through the competition gallery and our Instagram and Facebook pages, all updated daily.
(2) Solo Feature for series winners.
(3) LensCulture Portfolio Account: Available for all Series entries and 5+ Single entries.
(4) All highly-rated photographers are automatically included in LensCulture Discoveries online directory.
© Pepe Castillo Borja
Get a written review
of your work
Enter 5+ single images or a series into this competition and you can add a professional written review of your submission for an additional $25. This is a unique opportunity to receive valuable and specific feedback on your work from one of our experienced industry professionals.
"This review was extraordinarily insightful and immensely helpful. Truly, I didn’t anticipate this level of attention... I am extremely encouraged." — Fred Zafran
Closed for entries.
© Natalie Vorontsoff
Be persistent.
Many successful photographers enter the same work in several competitions before they finally win. This is an effective strategy to have your work seen by many different jurors and build your career. Persistence is the key to getting your work seen by influential experts worldwide - it only takes one person to make a positive impact on your creative journey!
Success Stories
For 20 years, LensCulture has been committed to supporting photographers of all levels move forward creatively and professionally. In that time, we have heard from hundreds of photographers who were able to achieve breakthroughs in their careers through participation in the LensCulture community.
“ Since winning the LensCulture Portrait Awards, my career has flourished with notable achievements! I released my debut publication with New Dimension, been featured in magazines such ... Read More
Sam Wright
Winner, Portrait Awards 2023
“ The recognition from LensCulture has been an important milestone in my artistic journey. It has opened doors to numerous opportunities that have significantly broadened the horizon of ... Read More
Valery Poshtarov
Winner, Portrait Awards 2023
“ I have been in photography for the last 45 years and the LensCulture Awards always came across as one of the best when it comes to contemporary photography. Since winning ... Read More
Joe Smith
Winner, Portrait Awards 2023
“
Since winning the LensCulture Portrait Awards, my career has flourished with notable achievements! I released my debut publication with New Dimension, been featured in magazines such as ID, Dazed, The Guardian and shot advertising campaigns for prominent brands like Rightmove, eBay, and TikTok.
”
Sam Wright
Winner, Portrait Awards 2023
“
The recognition from LensCulture has been an important milestone in my artistic journey. It has opened doors to numerous opportunities that have significantly broadened the horizon of my work. Being published in several esteemed publications is one such opportunity that has not only expanded my audience but has also brought my work into meaningful discussions.
”
Valery Poshtarov
Winner, Portrait Awards 2023
“
I have been in photography for the last 45 years and the Lens Culture Awards always came across as one of the best when it comes to contemporary photography. Since winning the Portrait Award 2023, I was shortlisted in the BBA Photo Prize and Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize. I was also a winner of the Architecture Master Prize.
”
Joe Smith
Winner, Portrait Awards 2023
We respect artist’s rights
All photographers retain full copyrights for their own work. Period. Winners, Jurors' Picks and Finalists grant LensCulture limited, restricted use of winning photos only to promote the photographers themselves and in connection with marketing the Awards competition itself. Details can be found in the Competition rules .
© Salvatore Montemagno
