LensCulture Portrait Awards 2023
The 10th annual LensCulture Portrait Awards are now open for submissions! This year, we are looking to discover and recognize more than 35 talented photographers creating extraordinary new photographic portraits.
The winners of this year’s awards will be featured at the LensCulture Discoveries exhibition in New York City. Winners also receive extensive global media coverage, projection at several international photography festivals, cash prizes, and more. Our esteemed jurors are seeking compelling portraits, so don’t miss this opportunity to have your work seen — and chosen — by some of the most respected names in the industry.
Top Awards
- Exhibition in New York
- Cash grants of $10,000
- Winning Series published on LensCulture
- Featured at international photo festivals
Deadline: Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Images in video above by © Alejandro Martin Lorenzo, Nicolò De March, Luisa Madrid Estremadoyro, Valeria Roscini, Rhiannon Adam, Eva Watkins, Ali Saltan, and Darin Back.
© Gil Kreslavsky
Be seen by our international jury
Jessica Dimson
Deputy Photo Editor
The New York Times Magazine
New York, United States
Jessica Dimson is the deputy director of photography at The New York Times Magazine where she assigns, produces, and edits photography for covers, special issues, photo essays and features. Prior to that, she worked as a photo editor on the national and metro desks at the New York Times and was the photo editor for the 2016 presidential campaign. Previously, Jessica was a photo editor at Vanity Fair and Departures magazine. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Publication Designers, American Photography, The Art Directors Club, and Pictures of the Year International.
Sacha Lecca
Deputy Photo Editor
Rolling Stone Magazine
New York, United States
Sacha Lecca is a photographer and a Deputy Photo Editor at Rolling Stone Magazine. He has had a 20-year-long career in print journalism with stints at Newsweek, CMP Media, and his current photo editing position at Rolling Stone.
Noelle Flores Théard
Senior Digital Photo Editor
The New Yorker
New York, United States
Noelle Flores Théard has been the senior digital photo editor at The New Yorker since 2021. She was the program officer at Magnum Foundation from 2016 to 2021, and is a co-founder of FotoKonbit, a nonprofit organization created in 2010 to engage and support Haitians telling their own stories through photography.
Russ O’Connell
Picture Editor
The Sunday Times Magazine
London, United Kingdom
Russ O’Connell is the Picture Editor of the Sunday Times Magazine in London. He has worked for some of the biggest consumer publications in the UK market as a Photographic Editor and Director. Collaborating with the biggest photographers in the world, both in the UK and abroad, he regularly commissions assignments ranging from high-end celebrity portraiture, to in-depth reportage and long-form documentary photography. Russ has judged numerous high profile photographic competitions for the likes of: The Sony World Photography Awards, Royal Photographic Society awards, BJP, Amnesty International, and is on the judging panel of the Ian Parry Scholarship.
Jerome Huffer
Head of Photo Department
Paris Match
Paris, France
Jerome Huffer (born 1981 in Paris) joined Paris Match as a trainee in 2001, while he was still in art school. He has remained at the magazine since then, and is now head of the picture desk. Across his time at Paris Match, Jerome has built strong visual narratives and produced tailored editorial content in a fast-paced challenging environment. Jerome has served on the several juries including World Press Photo, Visa d’or Awards, and the Bayeux Festival or Lagardere Foundation.
Samantha Cooper
Senior photo editor
Wired Magazine
San Francisco, United States
Samantha Cooper is the senior photo editor at WIRED. Previously, she was a photo and video curator at Instagram and a creative producer and photo editor at Airbnb. Samantha has developed a Webby Award-winning film for Airbnb and produced photography that was selected as an American Photography 35 winner for WIRED. She has exhibited work and curated photography exhibitions throughout San Francisco, and she has taught photography at the Harvey Milk Photo Center in San Francisco, California. Samantha holds a BA in Film and Video from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She currently serves on the City College of San Francisco Industry Advisory Board for photography.
Manila Camarini
Photo Editor
D La Repubblica
Milan, Italy
Manila Camarini is the chief photo editor for D La Repubblica, a magazine attached to the newspaper la Repubblica. Born in Milan in 1973, Manila Camarini started her career as a photographic agent working for major Italian newspapers. She has held the role of photo editor for Panorama Travel Mondadori and Condè Nast Traveller. In 2003, she worked as a professional journalist and photo editor for D La Repubblica and in November 2014 she became chief photo editor for D Lui.
Jim Casper
Editor-in-Chief
LensCulture
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jim Casper is the editor-in-chief of LensCulture, one of the leading online destinations to discover contemporary photography from around the world. As an active member in the contemporary photography world, Casper organizes annual international photography events, travels around the world to meet with photographers and review their portfolios, curates art exhibitions, writes about photography and culture, lectures, conducts workshops, serves as an international juror and nominator for key awards, and is an advisor to arts and education organizations.
Winning photographers will be exhibited at a gallery in New York during The Photography Show, the eminent photo fair that brings together hundreds of galleries, publishers and collectors, as well as an ambitious program of exhibitions, conversations, artist book signings and curated fair events.
An opening reception will be held for LensCulture artists, invited media, photo editors and industry insiders for a night of art appreciation and networking during New York’s largest international art fair dedicated to photography.
Winning Series Published on LensCulture
First, second and third place winners in the Series category will have their work published on LensCulture. Benefitting from LensCulture’s high search rankings and traffic to the site, our features offer significant ongoing exposure for your work.
Featured at International Photo Festivals
Select works will be screened at photo festivals and events worldwide. In the past, our winners, finalists, and jurors’ picks were screened at festivals in the US, the UK, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, The Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Hungary, Serbia, and more.
Visibility With Industry Insiders & Creative Professionals
All it takes is one set of eyes to change the course of your career. If our jury ranks your submission highly, you will be included in LensCulture Discoveries, our directory of top-rated photographers. We provide this directory to key decision-makers including editors, book publishers, gallery owners, festival directors, creative directors, curators, and online media publishers.
Permanent Exhibition in LensCulture Online Gallery
LensCulture has become a key resource for discovering new photography work all over the world. All winners, finalists and jurors’ picks for this award will be prominently featured in the permanent online gallery on our site.
International Press Exposure
Award winners receive press coverage in publications and media outlets around the world — the kind of exposure that can lead to viral, global recognition of your work. Winners, finalists and selected entrants have been featured in major publications including BBC, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Internazionale, VICE, The Times of London, Huffington Post, Spiegel Online, The British Journal of Photography, and The Telegraph.
Winning the Portrait competition was a tremendous boost for my career! The financial support from LensCulture helped me to finance the publication of my monograph. Additionally, Photo London initiated an interview with Vice Magazine as well as reviews in The Guardian and other major media outlets.
Rachel Cox, Portrait Award Winner 2016
Competition Gallery
Editors’ Picks
When you enter this award, your work will be immediately reviewed by our editors. Selected submissions will be featured in our Competition Gallery and published across all of our online channels, reaching an international audience of three million. (For example, more than 562 early entries were selected and featured during our 2022 Art Photography Awards, and more than 200 of those were promoted via LensCulture’s Instagram and Facebook platforms, garnering more than 430,000 likes and comments.) Enter your work early to take advantage of this incredible opportunity for global exposure!
Note: While our editors review entries for inclusion on a daily basis, not every submission can be shown here.
Cash Awards & Recognition
Series Prize Winners
1st Place – $3,500
2nd Place – $2,000
3rd Place – $1,000
Single Image Prize Winners
1st Place – $2,000
2nd Place – $1,000
3rd Place – $500
Jurors’ Picks
Each juror will select an individual Juror’s Pick to receive special distinction.
Finalists
25 Finalists will be selected.
Benefits for All Who Enter
| Benefits | 6 Winners | 8 Jurors’ picks | 25 Finalists | Editors‘ Picks(1) | Every Entrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 in Cash Awards | ⬤ | ||||
| Exhibition in New York | ⬤ | ||||
| Winning Series Published on LensCulture(2) | ⬤ | ||||
| Visibility with LensCulture Insiders | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ||
| Featured in International Photo Festival Projections | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ||
| International Press Exposure | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ||
| Massive Exposure to our Global Audience of 3 Million | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | |
| LensCulture Portfolio Account(4) | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | |
| Opportunity to be in LensCulture Discoveries online directory of top-rated photographers(3) | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ |
| Share your Work with the Global Photography Community | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ |
| Opportunities for Immediate Exposure | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ | ⬤ |
(1)Editors’ Picks: During the competition, LensCulture’s editors will curate hundreds of entries for immediate exposure to our global audience through the competition gallery and our Instagram and Facebook pages, all updated daily. (2&3)Offered to Series winners.(4)LensCulture Portfolio Account: Available for all Series entries and 5+ Single entries.
Get a written review of your work
Enter a series or 5+ single images, and you can add a professional written review of your submission for an additional $25. This is a unique opportunity to receive valuable and specific feedback on your work from one of our experienced industry professionals.
“This review was extraordinarily insightful and immensely helpful. Truly, I didn’t anticipate this level of attention… I am extremely encouraged.” Fred Zafran
© Przemysław Duda
© Marzena Wasikowska
Deadline: Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Are you currently an enrolled student?
Get a 30% discount on your entry fee. Start your submission and select the option to register as a student. Your discount will then be automatically applied to your entry.
© Kathrin Königl
Be Persistent
Many successful photographers enter the same work in several competitions before they finally win. This is an effective strategy to have your work seen by many different jurors and build your career. Persistence is the key to getting your work seen by influential experts worldwide – it only takes one person to make a positive impact on your creative journey!
For 18 years, LensCulture has been committed to helping photographers of all levels move forward creatively and professionally. In that time, we have heard from hundreds of photographers who were able to achieve breakthroughs in their careers through participation in the LensCulture community.
Antonio Pulgarin
Winner, Art Photography Awards 2018
Vikesh Kapoor
Jurors’ Pick, Art Photography Awards 2018
Argus Paul Estabrook
Winner, Street Photography Awards 2021
Jason Au
Winner, Street Photography Awards 2021
Ulf Lundin
Finalist, Street Photography Awards 2018
“The recognition from LensCulture helped me get into the fellowship program at the Bronx Museum for the Arts. I launched my first solo exhibition at Kingswell Art Museum, and had a spread of my work published in the Visual Arts Journal. I made connections with people I admired and was offered opportunities because of LensCulture spearheading this initiative to recognize photographers.”
Antonio Pulgarin
Winner, Art Photography Awards 2018
“Receiving the LensCulture award gave me more visibility and the encouragement to keep going. National Geographic reached out to me about applying for their storytelling grant, and I made connections with people who were interested in exhibiting my work. This showed me that the story I was telling speaks to other people and is universal. ”
Vikesh Kapoor
Jurors’ Pick, Art Photography Awards 2018
“My success with LensCulture gave me invaluable media exposure that helped grow and solidify my reputation within the street photography community. My work has been featured in exhibitions, festivals, and magazines. I’ve had wonderful networking opportunities and contact with photographers I revere.”
Argus Paul Estabrook
Winner, Street Photography Awards 2021
“Winning the LensCulture Street Photography Awards is one of the most prestigious recognitions I could get in my photography journey! Since winning, I’ve had my photos featured in a local newspaper in Hong Kong, which led to a local gallery offering me representation. Along with being represented by this gallery, I’ve had other publications discover my work and offer me features.”
Jason Au
Winner, Street Photography Awards 2021
“My work gained great attention because of the LensCulture Award. My book The Monument was nominated for The Swedish Photo Book Award 2019, and also nominated for Prix Pictet!”
Ulf Lundin
Finalist, Street Photography Awards 2018
We respect artists’ rights
Originalseite: https://lensculture.com/photo-competitions/portrait-awards-2023
