High 5: Humans by Decagon Gallery

High 5: Humans by Decagon Gallery reduces the submission process to a single photograph and a direct question about human presence. A face may fill the frame, a figure may barely appear, or the person may be suggested through gesture, relationship or atmosphere. Portraits, family photographs, street scenes, documentary images, self-portraits, staged work and experimental approaches can all fit the brief. Entries close on September 15, 2026.

High 5 is Decagon Gallery’s short-format open call: one photograph costs $5 to submit, and every paid entrant can invite another photographer to enter one image free. One photograph will be named the Humans winner, earning its photographer five free entries to future Decagon Gallery open calls. Selected photographs will appear in an online exhibition running from September 30 through October 31. For photographers checking our photo contest list, the format stands out for limiting each participant to a single image rather than encouraging a larger portfolio submission.

High 5: Humans is international and open to photographers aged 18 or over. Decagon accepts different photographic approaches, but the human presence must matter to the image. The person does not have to be fully visible or identified; what connects the selected work is the sense that someone is meaningfully present within the photograph.

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Contest Prizes

High 5: Humans by Decagon Gallery has one named winner, while a wider selection of photographs will form the online exhibition.

• Humans Winner: One photograph will be selected as the overall winner. Its photographer receives five free entries to future Decagon Gallery open calls.
• Selected photographers: Chosen images are presented in the Humans online exhibition at Decagon Gallery from September 30 to October 31, 2026, creating a defined online exhibition opportunity.
• Exhibition publication and promotion: Selected entrants give Decagon permission to include their photographs in exhibition catalogues and to promote the exhibition through its website, newsletters and social media.

The award therefore has a compact structure: one future-entry prize for the winner, accompanied by exhibition selection for a broader group of photographers.

Categories

There are no separate categories. Every entry responds to the Humans theme, with human presence acting as the connecting element rather than a specific photographic genre.

The brief encompasses people photography in a particularly broad sense. A traditional portrait may fit, but so can candid street work, documentary observation, self-portraiture, family photographs, staged scenes and experimental images.

Decagon does not require the subject to be fully visible or the photograph to explain who the person is. The essential element is that the viewer feels a human presence within the image.

Dates and Entry Fees

High 5: Humans by Decagon Gallery is deliberately short, with the submission period followed quickly by notification and the online exhibition.

The entry fee is $5 for one photograph.

Each paid submission includes one free invitation that can be given to another photographer. The invited photographer may submit one photograph without paying the entry fee, but that free submission does not generate another invitation.

How to Enter

One photograph is submitted through the official online form. The form accepts JPG, JPEG or PNG files measuring at least 2,100 pixels on the longest side and no more than 5,000 pixels. High 5: Humans also recommends keeping files under 4MB.

Images must be clean, without watermarks, logos, signatures, borders, frames or text. Filenames should follow the FirstName-LastName_Title format. The application also asks for a short personal introduction and a brief response about what remained with the photographer after making the submitted image.

That written response should be in the photographer’s own words and no longer than 150 words. Decagon states that selected answers may be edited for clarity and used alongside photographs in the exhibition or on Instagram.

About the Jury

High 5: Humans is a juried call, and the application states that photographers’ written responses are shared with the juror to provide context for the submitted work.

Why Enter High 5: Humans by Decagon Gallery?

The single-image format is the defining feature. Many calls reward photographers for assembling a group of related images or paying for several chances at selection; High 5: Humans instead asks each entrant to make one decision. That can be particularly relevant for a photograph that works strongly on its own but does not belong to a finished series.

Among current photography competitions, the $5 entry structure also works differently from conventional multi-image fees. A paid entrant submits only one photograph but can bring a second photographer into the call at no cost. The winner’s five future entries then extend the award into later Decagon opportunities.

The theme is similarly flexible without becoming completely open. Photographers can approach portraiture, documentary practice, street work or more constructed imagery, but every selected photograph still has to revolve around a meaningful human presence.

Rules and Copyright

We reviewed the official rules of the High 5: Humans by Decagon Gallery to summarize the key participation requirements, copyright terms and image usage conditions. Before entering, we recommend checking the complete rules published by the organizer.

Photographers retain all rights, including copyright, to their submitted photographs. Entrants must be at least 18 years old, submit their own original work and have the necessary rights relating to recognizable people depicted in their images.

For work selected for the exhibition, Decagon receives specific permission to publish the photograph in the online exhibition and exhibition catalogue and to use it to promote the exhibition and gallery programming through its website, newsletters, social media and related promotional channels. The gallery states that submitted photographs will not be distributed to anyone else without the photographer’s permission. No duration for these usage rights is stated.

Images created substantially using generative AI are not eligible. AI-assisted editing remains acceptable for more limited operations such as removing an object from the background or extending the borders of an image. Final eligibility decisions rest with Decagon Gallery and the exhibition juror.

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For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.