A Guide to September 2025 Photo Awards & Open Calls

PhMuseum Women Photographers Grant, Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards, Copenhagen Photo Festival Open Call, Polycopies & Co. Grant 2025, and Vital Impacts Environmental Photography Grant are among the opportunities we selected this month.

PhMuseum 2025 Women Photographers Grant

Early Bird Deadline 11 September / Entry fee €25

Now in its 9th edition, the Grant aims to empower the work and careers of female and non-binary professionals of all ages and from all countries working in diverse areas of photography. The main recipients will share a total of €10,000 in cash. Among the prizes is a solo exhibition at PhMuseum Lab in Bologna, Italy, in 2026, with travel, accommodation, and production costs included. Plus, up to 40 shortlisted works will be screened at PhotoVogue Festival 2026, in Milan, Italy, while the Vogue Italia photography department, led by Alessia Glaviano, will further select a work among all of the submissions for an online featured interview. PhMuseum's team will also select 6 photographers from all the applicants, who will be granted a 60-minute online portfolio review with a mentor of their choice from the PhMuseum Education program.

An independent jury composed of Amak Mahmoodian (Artist and Educator), Katy Hundertmark (Curator and Managing Editor of FOAM Magazine), Mónica de Miranda (Visual Artist and Researcher), and Diana Markosian (Photographer) will also assign honorable mentions to highlight projects they highly took into consideration.

You can take advantage of the reduced entry fee by submitting your work before Thursday 11 September. Learn more on PhMuseum's website.

Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards

Deadline 5 September / Entry fee €25-50

Each year, the awards celebrate photobook publishing through three main categories. The First PhotoBook Prize awards $10,000 to the artist whose first finished, publicly available photobook is judged to be the best of the year. The PhotoBook of the Year Prize recognizes the artist and the publisher of the photobook. Finally, the Photography Catalog of the Year Prize is awarded to the publication, publisher, and/or organizing institution responsible for an exhibition catalog or museum publication.

The thirty-five shortlisted books, accompanied by the jury’s statements, will be on view at Paris Photo. This year, in addition to being seen at Paris Photo, they will also be exhibited at Printed Matter, New York, followed by venues to be announced.

Discover on their website.

Copenhagen Photo Festival 2026 Open Call

Deadline 7 September / Entry fee €27

Copenhagen Photo Festival invites artists to submit work exploring the theme Forestillinger | Scenarios for a solo exhibition during the 2026 edition. Along with a solo show in the heart of Copenhagen, Denmark, selected artists will receive a €537 fee as a festival participant, a €400 support for travel to and accommodation (for international photographers), and a €134 support for food and local transport. Copenhagen Photo Festival will cover the expenses for the exhibition. Plus, the festival also aims to create an on-site activity program that revolves around the selected work through relevant activities, e.g. workshops, guided tours and/or talks. Shortlisted artists will be invited for an interview with the curatorial team in the fall of 2025 before the final selection of the headliners for 2026.

Learn more on their website.

Polycopies & Co. Grant 2025

Deadline 15 September / No entry fee

Established in 2022, Polycopies & Co. awards a grant to a photographer to help promote their work and photographic practices through the publication of a monograph. The sum awarded will be €2,500, €5,000, or €10,000, depending on the project’s budget. Applicants may be French or foreign photographers who have an agreement with a French publisher. For book projects, the association will pay the grant to the photographer selected by the jury upon signing a book contract with a publisher. For ongoing projects, Polycopies & Co. will pay the grant to the selected photographer in the next January. The jury will be composed of members of the association, photography experts and professionals appointed by the committee or administrative board.

You can apply until 15 September, with no entry fee. Find out more on their website.

Vital Impacts Environmental Photography Grant 2025

Deadline 15 September / Entry fee €23

The program provides financial support and mentorship to local photographers for long-term documentary projects focused on solution-based environmental and conservation stories within their own communities, regardless of prior publication experience. A selected established environmental photographer will receive a $20,000 grant, while six emerging photographers will be granted $5,000 each. These funds are specifically earmarked for the development of documentary projects focusing on environmental stories, with each grant supporting a project over the course of twelve months.

In addition to the grants, Vital Impacts also runs a separate twelve-month intensive mentorship program for ten emerging photographers, offering one-on-one guidance from industry experts. Through the mentorship sessions, participants will refine their storytelling skills, receive guidance on navigating the industry, and establish vital connections.

Find out more on their website.

2025 Lucie Foundation Scholarship Program

Deadline 1 September / Entry fee €15-25

Professional and emerging photographers are invited to submit their work in two categories, Fine Art and Photojournalism/Documentary. Professional prize recipients are awarded a $3,000 cash grant, and emerging prize recipients receive $1,000. Additionally, each selected photographer will receive a $500 voucher for services from Picto NYC. Plus, the emerging photographer awarded in the Photojournalism / Documentary category will also receive a Sony A7M4 camera with a FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Full-frame Standard Zoom G Master lens. Furthermore, selected artists will be part of a group exhibition at Picto, New York City, in the fall, which will then travel to the House of Lucie Galleries worldwide, including Athens, Budapest, Ostuni, and Samui.

Discover more on the Lucie Foundation's website.

The Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence

Deadline 1 September / Entry fee €57

Established by the team behind the Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant, the Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence offers a photographer with a nearly-complete, in-depth project the opportunity to publish a book with GOST Books. The recipient receives a £5,000 grant to finish the project and collaborates directly with GOST's director, Stu Smith, to produce the final edit. The grant is paid in two equal installments of £2,500: the first upon announcement and the second following a six-month progress review. The award also includes an expenses-paid trip to oversee printing in Verona, Italy, and publication of the work by media partner The Guardian.

Ampersand / Photoworks Fellowship 2025

Deadline 16 September / No entry fee

The program is aimed at supporting UK-based mid-career photographers and artists for the creation of a new body of work through a combination of support, including a £15,000 award, mentoring, curatorial support, a dedicated public programme, and digital content with international reach, production budget, and touring exhibition. The awardee will create new work for approximately 12 months from 2025 to 2026, ready to be exhibited by Photoworks in 2026. The entire programme, including the resulting exhibition, will be curated and produced by Photoworks in collaboration with partner exhibition venues.

The selection panel is composed of Shoair Mavlian (Director, The Photographers’ Gallery), Charmaine Toh (Senior Curator, International Art –Photography–Tate), Felicity Hammond (Artist and current Ampersand / Photoworks Fellow), Flor Souto (CEO, The Ampersand Foundation), and Danit Ariel (Curator, Photoworks).

Submission are open until 16 September, with no entry fee. Learn more on their website.

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Other Deadlines

VMFA Aaron Siskind Award for Photography 2025 / Deadline 2 September / No entry fee

Honoring the legacy of the Aaron Siskind Foundation and its role in supporting photographers, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will award two artists (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) a $25,000 cash prize each. This grant is intended to support the completion of a significant body of work, such as finalizing a photographic series, developing an exhibition, creating a monograph, or pursuing another major creative endeavor. The jury is composed of Kaitlin Booher, Brendan Embser, and Carla Williams.

Prémio NARRATIVA - FUJIFILM / Deadline 30 September / No entry fee

The award aims to promote photography by highlighting unpublished projects from Portugal-based authors at either an emerging or established stage in their careers. One selected photographer will receive a €3,500 cash prize and will have their work featured in a solo exhibition at NARRATIVA in Lisbon, Portugal, scheduled to open in January 2026. The jury may also award up to two honorable mentions, whose projects will be publicly presented. Submitted photographic projects must be original and must not have been previously awarded, published, or exhibited.

Landskrona Foto Residency Autumn 2025 / Deadline 10 September / Entry fee €10

This residency offers an international photographer or lens-based artist a unique opportunity to focus on their work, providing dedicated time and space away from their daily routines. Taking place for six weeks starting in November 2025, the program provides the selected artist with a SEK 15,000 grant, round-trip travel expenses, a private apartment in Landskrona, Sweden, and a workspace alongside the Landskrona Foto team. Furthermore, Landskrona Foto will immerse the artist-in-residence in the local arts community by facilitating meetings with regional professionals, providing mentorship, and offering access to exhibition openings and other valuable networking events.

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Visit our awards page or download our iOS awards app to get a complete view of the best photography opportunities that are currently open for entry.