Contents
The Auto Photo Awards 2026 returns with a broad brief for automotive photography and a Top 100 built around work from photographers worldwide. Entries close on October 15, 2026. The awards use five creative prompts covering cars as visual subjects, motorsport, automotive culture and styling, innovation, and the people who shape the scene.
One hundred winning images will form the AUTO PHOTO Top 100 and appear in the annual photobook published by Shutter Hub Editions. Each winning photographer also receives a digital certificate and social media promotion, while selected photographs can receive additional awards chosen by figures from the automotive and creative industries. The books are held in collections including the British Library, Cambridge University and Motorsport UK HQ, as well as being available through selected stockists. For photographers monitoring photography contest deadlines, the October closing date leaves a defined window to prepare a focused automotive submission.
Entry uses a choose-what-you-pay structure starting at £25 for up to 10 images, with higher contribution options available. Multiple entries are permitted. A limited number of free submissions are also available for photographers experiencing situations including homelessness, displacement, poverty or social injustice, subject to contacting the organizer before submitting. The structure makes the Auto Photo Awards 2026 edition primarily a publication, recognition and industry-facing opportunity.
Copyright retained · Promotional use only · Jury published
Deartline Review
View full review
Prizes and Opportunities
The central award is inclusion in the AUTO PHOTO Top 100. The principal benefits are publication, promotion and additional jury recognition.
- 100 selected photographers: Each winning image is included in the annual AUTO PHOTO photobook, giving the Top 100 a defined publication opportunity. Winners also receive a digital certificate and social media promotion.
- Additional awards: Entries can also be recognized through the Adrian Flux Award, Duke of Richmond Award, Driven Stories Award, EXCELR8 Motorsport Award, Mai Ikuzawa Award, Motorsport UK Award, Nicolas Hamilton Award, Ultrace Award and WXVE Award. These distinctions are selected by named judges or partner teams; separate monetary prizes are not stated.
- Creative Impact Award: This is a separate recognition for an individual who has made a significant impact in the automotive community and creative industries. Its winner is invited to join the judging panel.
The annual book extends beyond the initial selection: copies are housed in major library, university and motorsport collections and are circulated within automotive and creative-industry networks.
Related Photo Contests
Themes and Categories
There are no formal submission categories in the Auto Photo Awards2026. Instead, five themes work as prompts, so photographers do not need to place an image into a fixed category before entering.
Cars as Art covers creative treatments of the vehicle itself, from details and carefully controlled lighting to cars photographed in everyday settings. Motorsport spans circuit racing, rallying, endurance, sprint, drag and drift photography, making the call relevant to photographers following sports photography contests. Scenes and Styling focuses on automotive culture, including classics, show cars, modified vehicles and custom builds.
Innovation looks toward changing automotive technology, including electric vehicles, sustainable technologies, engine development, hybrids, performance and restomods. Auto Portrait shifts attention to the people around automotive culture, whether photographed candidly or in arranged shoots.
Dates and Entry Fees
The Auto Photo Awards 2026 schedule is compact, with one published submission deadline and a later notification period.
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Entry deadline | October 15, 2026, 5:00 p.m. UK time |
| Entrants contacted | By the end of November 2026 |
Entry follows a choose-what-you-pay model. The minimum contribution is £25, and the live form also offers £35 and £45 options. Each entry can contain up to 10 images, and photographers may submit more than one entry.
Free submissions may be considered for photographers experiencing homelessness, displacement, poverty or social injustice. Requests must be made by email before an entry is submitted.
How to Enter
Submissions are made through the online entry form. Files must be JPEGs, named using the photographer’s surname, first name and image title. The published specifications request 300 dpi files with minimum dimensions of 2550 pixels high by 1820 pixels wide, a CMYK profile and no watermark. Images must be suitable for a family audience.
There is one technical discrepancy on the live entry page: the written specifications state that images may be up to 10MB, while the upload field states a maximum of 5MB and asks for files under that limit. The form also asks entrants to provide information about their work and declare whether AI was used in producing each submitted image.
About the Jury
The published 2026 judging panel brings together photography, publishing, motorsport, automotive culture and creative-industry experience. Current judges named for the edition include Karen Harvey MBE, Mai Ikuzawa, Charles Gordon-Lennox, Duke of Richmond, Charlie Roughton, Łukasz Dawczyk, Nicolas Hamilton, Justina Williams and Hugh Chambers. Several also have direct responsibility for selecting the additional named awards. The organizer publishes the panel and individual award selectors, although detailed scoring criteria, anonymous judging procedures and a step-by-step Top 100 selection process are not stated.
Why Enter the Auto Photo Awards 2026?
The distinctive point here is the combination of a narrowly defined subject with an unusually open visual structure. Automotive photography is required, but there are no rigid categories separating motorsport, people, design or automotive culture. That gives photographers working across several visual approaches room to build a coherent submission without having to fit each image into a predetermined box.
For photographers comparing an online photography competition, the practical value is concentrated in the Top 100 format: publication in a physical annual book, archival placement, industry circulation, social promotion and access to additional jury-selected distinctions. AUTO PHOTO also reports that photographers involved through earlier editions have gone on to receive motorsport accreditation, paid commissions and magazine publication. Those outcomes are not guaranteed prizes, but they provide context for the professional network surrounding the project.
Rules and Copyright
We reviewed the official rules of the Auto Photo Awards 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 copyright and ownership of their images. By entering, however, they permit Shutter Hub and AUTO PHOTO Awards to display, reproduce and publish any submitted entry, without payment, for the purpose of the project and its promotion and publicity. The published terms do not state how long this permission lasts or whether sublicensing is permitted.
Entrants must own the copyright in their work or have the necessary permission from the relevant rights holder. Required model releases and other clearances must also be in place. The organizers reserve the right not to display work and may refuse material considered inappropriate, offensive or explicit. Sales or commission enquiries received in connection with the work are passed directly to the photographer.
—
For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
