Is your best shot ready for one of the most respected photography competitions worldwide? The 23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest 2025 is now open, offering a globally recognized platform for photographers to share compelling stories through images. The Grand Prize winner receives $2,500, and, just as importantly, the recognition that comes with the Smithsonian name.
This competition is free to enter and features six diverse categories, including a special theme for this edition, “The American Experience at 250.” The submission window is open until December 1, 2025, giving you time to curate your strongest work. Winners receive cash prizes and prominent exposure on Smithsonian website, with additional visibility across Smithsonian Magazine’s digital platforms. For those looking for more photo challenges online, this contest is an essential entry on any photographer’s calendar.
The 23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest 2025 Prizes
The Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest 2025 offers a set of cash awards that combine financial support with the prestige of a Smithsonian accolade. A total of eight prizes will be awarded.
- Grand Prize: One overall winner will receive a cash prize of $2,500.
- Category Winners: The winner of each of the six categories will receive $500.
- Readers’ Choice Winner: Selected from the 60 finalists by public vote, the Readers’ Choice winner will receive $500.
- Publication: Winning photographs are showcased on Smithsonian.com and may also be featured across Smithsonian Magazine’s digital channels, offering substantial international exposure.
Other Free Contests
The Categories of the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest 2025
The competition is organized into six distinct categories, opening the door to a wide range of photographic approaches.
- Wildlife:
Ideal for images of animals and plants in their natural environments, work that inspires a sense of wonder. This is a natural fit for both nature and fauna and flora photography. - Travel:
Images that convey a strong sense of place (cultures, people, and landscapes). Consider approaches that also intersect with culture or street. - People:
Photography centered on the human experience. From candid moments to refined portraits, individuals and groups from all walks of life. - The American Experience at 250:
In honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, this special category invites images that connect people with history and heritage, what it means to live in the U.S. (great overlap with culture and documentary work). - Artistic Images:
A space for creative expression where photography becomes an imaginative medium. Manipulation is permitted by any method (making this a home for photomanipulation and experimental projects) often aligned with fine art. - Drone/Aerial:
Images made from drones, helicopters, or planes that reveal an elevated perspective on the world.
Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest 2025 Dates and Entry Fees
- Submission Period: September 15, 2025 – December 1, 2025.
- Finalists Announcement: March 2026 (60 finalists, 10 per category).
- Winners Announcement: Spring 2026 (online).
Entry Fee: There are no entry fees to participate. This contest is included in our list of free photography competitions.
How to Enter
Submit your entries through the online system. You may upload up to 15 photographs per category, for a possible total of 90 entries. Files must be jpeg, jpg, or gif, at least 2,000 pixels on the long side, and no larger than 10 MB. Complete a separate form for each photo. If you are working in black and white, panoramas, or stitched panoramas, consider whether your work belongs in Artistic Images based on your level of manipulation.
Why Enter 23rd Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest 2025?
For more than two decades, the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest has highlighted excellence in photography. Recognition here can be a meaningful milestone in a photographer’s career, with winners reaching a broad international audience through Smithsonian’s digital platforms. The contest is free to enter, making it accessible to anyone with a strong visual story to tell. If you’re seeking the best photography contests to participate in, this one offers a rare blend of credibility, global reach, and accessibility on an international scale.
Rules and Copyright
Rules
- Open worldwide to photographers aged 18 or older.
- Photographs must have been taken on or after January 1, 2023.
- Minor adjustments are permitted in all categories; significant alterations are judged in Artistic Images. Composites, HDR, and stitched panoramas are evaluated as Artistic Images.
- Images generated or manipulated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) are not permitted.
- Model or property releases may be required upon request.
Copyright and Image Usage
Photographers retain full copyright. By entering, you grant the Smithsonian Institution a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to publicly display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works of your entries, in whole or in part, in any media, for purposes including advertising, promotion, exhibition, and commercial products such as Smithsonian publications. Credit will be provided where feasible; no additional compensation is required for these uses.
For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
