LensCulture Black & White Photography Awards 2025

LensCulture Black & White Photography Awards 2025 is now open for entries!

LensCulture Black & White Photography Awards 2025 : LensCulture is very pleasant to announce 2025 edition of its Black & White Photography Awards, like every year seeking remarkable photographic work that plays with the dynamic relationship between light, dark and all the tones in between.

➜ Short description

LensCulture, a photography magazine based in Netherlands and one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching resources for discovering contemporary photography talent around the world, is thrilled to announce the return of their Black & White Photography Awards 2025 seeking remarkable photographic work that plays with the dynamic relationship between light, dark and all the tones in between.

Texture, shape, line and form are often hailed as the heroes of black and white photography. Show how you’re interpreting these design elements (or abandoning them altogether!) to create contemporary monochrome images and series.

LensCulture wants to discover remarkable B&W photographers from all cultures and all experience levels, and connect them with global audiences and career-changing opportunities including an exhibition in exhibition in New York during The Photography Show 2026.

The competition is open to all types of Black & White photography: fine art, experimental, fiction, documentary, visual storytelling, portraits, landscapes, staged/constructed, street, mixed media, alternative processes, conceptual.

LensCulture is on a mission to discover the most imaginative, talented, creative photographers from diverse backgrounds and experience levels, and connect them with global audiences and career-changing opportunities.

Whether you’re working with silver gelatin or totally digital, eliciting nostalgia or leaning into abstraction, your monochrome creations deserve to be seen.

You may submit a single photos or series (in this case, your submission should work as a group, thematically or aesthetically).

A total of 37 photographers will be recognized as winners, jurors’ picks, and finalists, with the top winners featured in a group exhibition in New York — reaching curators, editors, gallerists, and collectors. This is a unique opportunity to have your work seen, celebrated, and connected to a worldwide community of photography experts and enthusiasts.

Winning photographers will be exhibited at a gallery in New York during The Photography Show (Spring 2026), 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.

➜ Who may enter?

This competition is open to all photographers over the age of 18, regardless of their experience level or cultural background.

➜ Prize:

The LensCulture Black & White Photography Awards this year offer $10,000 in cash awards. Winning photographers will have the opportunity to be exhibited at a gallery in New York during The Photography Show, a significant photo fair. This event brings together galleries, publishers, collectors, and offers various opportunities for exposure and networking, including an opening reception. The competition aims to celebrate the dramatic and timeless nature of black and white photography and connect outstanding photographers with global audiences and career-changing opportunities.

➜ Entry fees:

You can submit first single-image for a free. Each additional photo costs $10. There is a fee of $35 for 5 single-image entries judged individually or $45 for a maximum of 10 photographs judged as a series.