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Ready to have your images speak volumes? POY Latam 2025 is back—bigger, bolder, and absolutely free to enter! This flagship competition runs from June 30 to August 16, 2025, turning the spotlight on Iberoamerica’s rich tapestry of daily life, social movements, and environmental challenges. From intimate street scenes to sweeping documentary essays, participants across the region can showcase their unique perspectives and compete for a top prize of $1,000 as Photographer of the Year, alongside digital certificates for standout works in every category. With a transparent judging process led by an international advisory council, your work will be assessed by respected peers and industry leaders. If you’re passionate about honest storytelling, this is a must-enter event.
Participants can submit up to ten entries across seventeen distinct categories, divided into nine Classical Format categories and eight Open Format categories that encourage creative edits and conceptual storytelling. All images must be produced within Iberoamerica, except two global categories for professionals working abroad. Entry is completely free via the Picter platform, making it one of the best photo challenges this month for emerging and established photographers alike. Category winners receive digital certificates and visibility across POY Latam’s network, while the top portfolio prize carries a cash award that can boost your creative career.
Beyond the prizes, POY Latam 2025 offers invaluable exposure and a chance to join a community of visual storytellers committed to truth and impact. Each submission benefits from public preselection rounds and live judging sessions, ensuring transparency and fair play. Whether you specialize in sports documentaries, environmental reportage, or experimental visual essays, this platform amplifies your voice and puts your portfolio in front of curators, editors, and sponsors. With the closing date set, now is the time to prepare your best work and seize this opportunity to stand out on the continental stage of creative photography.
The POY Latam 2025 Prizes
A selection of prizes awaits outstanding entries, with top recognition in every category and a grand prize for the leading portfolio.
- Photographer of the Year (Portfolio) Winner: $1,000 cash prize.
- Highlighted Works in Each Category: Digital certificates for up to six standout projects per category.
- Sponsor Awards: Additional prizes provided by contest sponsors, to be announced on the official website.
As one of the most accessible free photography contests in the region, POY Latam 2025 removes financial barriers to participation.
Other Free Contests
The Categories of the POY Latam 2025
POY Latam 2025 features two distinct formats that cater to different storytelling approaches:
- Classical Format (9 categories):
- Daily Life (single): A single image reflecting everyday scenes in Iberoamerica.
- Daily Life (series): A series of up to 10 images offering an in-depth look at daily routines.
- News (single): A single photograph documenting a current or social issue.
- News (series): Up to 10 images covering a newsworthy event or topic.
- Democracy & Human Rights (series): Essays exploring democratic values, human rights, and institutional issues.
- Portrait (series): A series of up to 10 portraits revealing subjects’ essence.
- Sports (series): Images highlighting athletic endeavors and sports culture.
- Photojournalists in the World (series): Projects by Iberoamerican professionals working outside the region.
- Photographer of the Year (portfolio): A curated portfolio of two or more essays up to 50 images, aiming for overall excellence.
- Open Format (8 categories):
- Our Gaze, Possible Worlds: Essays up to 20 images exploring regional identity and alternative narratives.
- Long-Term Projects: Series of up to 20 images that develop over time.
- Reimagining Archives: Works built from archival materials and reinterpretation.
- Emerging Talents: Up to 10 images by photographers with up to five years of experience.
- Carolina Hidalgo Vivar Environmental Award: Up to 10 images focused on environmental conservation and climate change.
- Identity & Gender: Essays addressing themes of gender, sexual diversity, and cultural identity.
- Multimedia: Projects combining photography with other media such as video or collage.
- Photobooks: Published photo books created in the last two years, showcasing documentary or artistic work.
POY Latam 2025 Dates and Entry Fees
- Submissions Open: June 30, 2025
- Submission Deadline: August 16, 2025, at 11:59 pm (Quito/Bogotá time)
- Judging Live Sessions: Late August 2025
- Winners Announced: By October 1, 2025
Entry Fee: Free
This contest is featured among Deartline’s free photo competitions.
How to Enter:
Between June 30 and August 16, 2025, visit the oficial website, create a free account in the platform, complete the IPTC metadata fields (creator, caption, location), choose up to two entries per category (maximum ten in total), and upload your images to the corresponding category.
About the Jury
The contest’s decisions are guided by an Advisory Council comprising Gael Almeida, Angela Berlinde, Maíra Gamarra, Manuel Ortiz, Yinna Higuera, Gisela Volá, and Tiago Santana. Each preselected image receives at least two affirmative anonymous votes during the Picter screening. The final judging takes place in a public online session in late August 2025, with judges recusing themselves for any conflicts of interest and voting to highlight up to six standout submissions per category.
Why Enter POY Latam 2025?
Participation in POY Latam 2025 presents a unique opportunity to elevate your work within a prestigious regional platform that celebrates creative excellence and journalistic integrity. As one of Deartline’s featured photography contests and challenges, POY Latam 2025 connects participants with industry leaders and an engaged audience. Winners receive not only a cash award and digital honors but also the chance to feature in exhibitions and publications, boosting your professional trajectory. From conservation-focused series to thought‑provoking essays, this contest rewards both technical skill and compelling storytelling.
Rules and Copyright
This section about the rules and image rights of the POY Latam 2025 has been generated automatically. If you are interested in participating in this contest we suggest you review the complete rules provided by the contest.
Rules
- Open to Iberoamerican citizens and legal residents; each entrant may submit up to 10 works with a maximum of two entries per category.
- Classical Format requires unaltered documentary images; Open Format allows conceptual manipulations but prohibits generative AI.
- All works must be original, created between January 1, 2023, and August 16, 2025 (except select long-term and archive categories), and not previously submitted to POY Latam.
- Images must be JPG files, minimum 4,000 pixels on the longest side, 8-bit, in Adobe RGB or sRGB color space.
Copyright and Image Usage
- Authors retain full copyright; by entering, participants grant POY Latam perpetual, irrevocable rights to reproduce images in publications and exhibitions with credit to the photographer and the prize awarded.
- Entrants must ensure that submitted works do not infringe on third‑party rights and comply with applicable laws.
For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
