2016 edition of the world’s largest photography competition opens for entries

●New Art and Documentary genres in Professional competition

●Record entries and exhibition visitors for 2015 awards

●British Journal of Photography named media partner for Student Focus competition

1 June 2015: The 2016 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition organised by the World Photography Organisation, are open for entries.

Now in its ninth year, the awards are an authoritative voice in the photographic world. Each year they attract both emerging talent and established artists and present the world’s best contemporary photography from the last 12 months.

Free to enter at www.worldphoto.org, photographers of all abilities are invited to submit work to any of the awards’ five competitions: Professional; Open; Youth; National Awards and Student Focus. Please see notes to editors for competition definitions and categories.

New for 2016, the 14 Professional categories are now divided into two distinct genres - Art and Documentary. The change is to provide a clearer structure in which photographers can be recognised. Both genres also include new category additions, with Art presenting the new Staged and Candid categories and Documentary now including Daily Life and Environment.

Also new this year, British Journal of Photography (BJP), the world's longest running photography magazine, will partner with the World Photography Organisation and its Student Focus competition. As part of this partnership, the winning Student Focus photographer will receive an online feature showcasing a body of work on the BJP website and will also have the opportunity to take over the magazine’s Instagram feed.

The Sony World Photography Awards offer a range of benefits to those who enter. Firstly, all submitted images are seen by juries made of up leading experts from across the photographic industry. Beyond this, awarded shortlisted and winning photographers are given global exposure and recognition and have the opportunity to promote and sell their work via the World Photography Organisation.

The awards’ prizes include: the latest Sony digital imaging equipment; inclusion in the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House, London; inclusion in the 2016 awards’ book and $30,000 (USD) for the overall winners.

The 2015 Sony World Photography Awards attracted 173, 444 entries from 171 countries. The 2015 L’Iris d’Or / Professional Photographer of the Year title was awarded to Getty Images photographer John Moore. The awards’ annual exhibition of the winning and shortlisted works returned to Somerset House, London and saw a record 33,394 visitors.

The Sony World Photography Awards shortlist will be announced on 23 February and overall winners on 21 April, with an exhibition at Somerset House, London running from 22 April - 8 May 2016.

Winning and shortlisted images from the 2015 awards are available to download at press.worldphoto.org

For all press enquiries please contact:

Jill Cotton, Senior PR Manager, World Photography Organisation

+ 44 (0) 20 7886 3043 / Jill@worldphoto.org

Kristine Bjørge, PR Manager, World Photography Organisation

+44 (0) 20 7886 3049 / kristine@worldphoto.org

Notes to Editors

2016 COMPETITION CATEGORIES

●Professional - for serious photographers, 14 categories in two genres judged on a series of work

○Art - Architecture, Conceptual, Landscape, Portraiture, Staged, Still Life, Candid

○Documentary - Campaign, Current Affairs, Contemporary Issues, Daily Life, Environment, People, Sport

●Open - open to all, 10 categories judged on a single shot

○Architecture, Arts & Culture, Enhanced, Low Light, Nature & Wildlife, Panoramic, People, Smile, Split Second, Travel

●Youth - for young photographers aged 12-19, three categories judged on a single image

○Culture, Environment, Portraits

●National Awards - looking for the best single shot by a local photographer from over 50 countries

●Student Focus - for emerging photographic talent studying any degree level photography course

○For full list of participating countries see www.worldphoto.org

●Student Focus - for emerging photographic talent studying any degree level photography course

KEY DATES

●4 December 2015 – Student Focus competition closes

●5 January 2016 – Open, Youth, National Awards competitions close

●12 January 2016 – Professional competition closes

●23 February 2016 – Shortlist for Professional, Open, National Award and Youth competitions revealed

●1 March 2016 – Student focus shortlist revealed

●15 March 2016 – National Award winners revealed

●29 March 2016 – Open and Youth winners revealed

●21 April 2016 – L’Iris d’Or/Photographer of the Year plus Professional category winners and Open, Youth and Student Focus Photographers of the Year revealed at gala ceremony held in London

●22 April – 8 May – 2015 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House, London

About World Photography Organisation (WPO)

WPO is a home where photography is celebrated and the art of the photographer is recognised. Working with professional, enthusiast and student photographers alike, the World Photography Organisation provides a global network across the photographic industry to not only to raise the level of conversation around the subject, but to increase awareness and appreciation of this artform. WPO hosts a year-round portfolio of industry and public events including: Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition and accompanying global exhibition; the World Photography Student Focus Programme, inspiring and working with the next generation of photographers, and Photo Shanghai, Asia Pacific’s premier art fair dedicated to photography. In addition, WPO has a thriving online presence via its website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and addresses the industry’s latest issues in its monthly online publication, The Magazine. For more information pleasevisit www.worldphoto.org

About Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $75 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

Notes to editors

●2015 Sony World Photography Awards – full list of categories

OPEN COMPETITION

●Architecture

●Arts & Culture

●Enhanced

●Low Light

●Nature & Wildlife

●Panoramic

●People

●Smile

●Split Second

●Travel

YOUTH COMPETITION

●Environment

●Portraits

●Culture

●All competitions are free to enter and all images submitted must have been shot in 2014. Photographers may enter either the Professional or Open competition; it is not possible to enter both. Full conditions of entry are available at www.worldphoto.org

●Images from the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards are available via the World Photography Organisation press centre. Please register at press.worldphoto.org/register

●About World Photography Organisation (WPO)
WPO supports professional, amateur and young photographers, lending a global platform for the photographic industry to communicate, converge and showcase current trends across all genres of photography. Delivering various initiatives to this global community, these programmes involve the photographer in commercial, cultural and educational activities within the many industry sectors, whilst also creating events for the public to participate in. Currently included within the WPO portfolio are: the Sony World Photography Awards; the World Photography Student Focus Competition and Youth on Assignment. In addition the WPO have recently launched Photo Shanghai, Asia-Pacific’s premiere international Art Fair focused on photography and The Magazine, a monthly online publication where photography is explored, debated and discussed. WPO also has a thriving online presence via its website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and engages its online audience via regular PhotoTALK discussions. For more information please visit www.worldphoto.org