The 12th Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest 2026 is open, and the window is shorter than many photographers expect. Entries close on February 28, 2026, and this contest is built for working photo stories, decisive single frames, and the kind of visual reporting that holds up under scrutiny. In its 12th edition, it is organized by Rossiya Segodnya and positions itself as an international platform for professional photojournalism.
For photographers scanning photography challenges and contests on Deartline, this one stands out for two reasons. First, it is a free photo competition. Second, the categories are clearly defined, covering major news events, everyday life across the world, sport, portraiture, a bird’s-eye viewpoint, and a newer category focused on longer-form visual narratives. Alongside the category prizes, the contest also awards a Grand Prize and notes that a photo album is planned after the results are finalized, adding a publication outcome to the list of tangible benefits.
In practice, participation is handled online through the contest website. One entry (a single image and/or a series, depending on the category) may be submitted per category, and the contest sets specific age brackets depending on the category. With its shortlist date already fixed for mid-June and a later awards window scheduled for autumn 2026, the contest offers a structured calendar for photographers who want a serious photojournalism contest that is internationally oriented and results-driven.
Contents
Prizes
The 12th Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest offers a Grand Prize plus 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards in each category. All cash awards are stated in Russian rubles, and the approximate euro conversions below use a mid-market RUB/EUR rate from late January 2026.
- Grand Prize: RUB 700,000 (approximately €7,750). This award is selected from the best entry across the contest categories.
- 1st Place (in each category): RUB 125,000 (approximately €1,400).
- 2nd Place (in each category): RUB 100,000 (approximately €1,100).
- 3rd Place (in each category): RUB 75,000 (approximately €800).
Other Free Contests
Categories or Themes
The contest is structured around six categories, each with a distinct subject focus and, in some cases, specific entry formats. Several categories accept either single images or photo series, while others restrict submissions to a single image only.
- Top News: Focused on major political and social events, reports from war zones, areas affected by natural disasters, and pivotal moments in people’s lives. This category supports both single images and series, making it suitable for photographers building documentary photography style work around breaking events.
- My Planet: A broad, story-friendly category that brings together daily life, large and small communities, landscapes, and ethnographic or religious celebrations. The description is intentionally wide, which can help photographers place cohesive projects without forcing them into a narrow theme.
- Sports: Dedicated to single images from the world of sport, including competition moments, training, victory, and defeat. This is a natural match for sports photography competitions seekers who work with fast, decisive frames.
- Portrait. A Hero of Our Time: Accepts individual or group portraits, documentary or posed, with emphasis on revealing a subject’s inner world through visual approach. Photographers also browsing portrait photography contests may recognize this category’s focus on character and presence over surface style.
- Top View: Single images taken from a bird’s-eye perspective. Subjects can range from people and urban life to animals, everyday scenes, sports moments, and even abstract compositions. Capture using drones, camera, or mobile phone, connecting it closely with aerial photo interests.
- The Energy of Life: A category designed for photo series, with an emphasis on personal perspective, interpretation, and a conceptual approach to “the impulses which make the world tick and evolve”.
Dates and Entry Fees
The contest timeline is defined in the official rules, including submission dates, shortlist publication, optional public voting, and the awards announcement window.
- Entry submission opens: December 22, 2025.
- Entry submission deadline: February 28, 2026.
- Shortlist publication (without ranking): June 17, 2026.
- Online vote winner announcement: August 1, 2026.
- Awards ceremony and final winners announcement: between September and November 2026.
Entry fee: Free of charge. This contest also fits naturally among Deartline listings of free photography contests for photographers who want to submit without a budget barrier.
How to Enter
Entries are submitted through the contest website. Contestants submit their entry forms online and upload their photo entry (single image and/or series, depending on the category).
About the Jury
The jury for the Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest is composed of acclaimed photographers, photo editors from major international news agencies, and museum curators. While the specific panel for 2026 is announced closer to the judging period, previous editions have featured experts from Reuters, Associated Press, The New York Times, and World Press Photo winners. The jury looks for journalistic integrity, visual impact, and storytelling ability.
Why Enter Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest 2026?
Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest 2026 offers category prizes plus a Grand Prize, and it publicly commits to a shortlist release date in mid-June, with final results announced at an awards ceremony later in 2026. For photographers who work in news, long-form reportage, sport, portraiture, or aerial perspectives, the categories are written in a way that rewards both singular moments and sustained storytelling, depending on the track chosen.
It is also a practical pick for photographers comparing some of the best photo competitions to participate in across the year, because it removes entry fees, limits submissions per category (which helps photographers focus on their strongest edit), and combines professional jury selection with the possibility of an online vote component. Finally, a photo album will be published after the contest, giving selected photographers an additional form of visibility tied to an official output.
Rules and Copyright
This section about the rules and image rights of the Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest 2026 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
Eligibility: Open to Russian and foreign nationals who are professional photographers. The rules also state that individuals designated as foreign agents in the Russian Federation, and people affiliated with such persons, are not eligible.
Age limits: Most categories are for professional photographers aged 18 to 33 at the time of submission. The Energy of Life category is open to professional photographers aged 34 and older.
Submission limits: One contestant may submit only one photo image and/or one series in each category (as defined for that category).
Entry timing for images: For all categories except The Energy of Life, the rules state that accepted photo images must be created between January 1, 2024 and the submission date (as stated in the rules). For The Energy of Life, images created between January 1, 2020 and the submission date are accepted.
Disqualification: Entries may be removed at the preliminary stage for reasons including failure to match the contest theme/category, unethical or obscene content, hateful or extremist content, advertising, infringement of third-party rights, or other non-compliance with the rules and applicable law.
Copyright and Image Usage
Rights ownership: By submitting an entry, the contestant guarantees they created it independently and own the exclusive rights to it.
License for awarded entries: Winners, runners-up, and honorable mention recipients are required to sign a license agreement. Under that agreement, they grant the organizer a free, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use the awarded entries.
Administrative steps for awards: The rules describe a process where the organizer sends an agreement to shortlisted winners/honorable mentions within a set period, and recipients must return signed copies by post and provide a scanned copy by email, using the contact details from their application.
For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
