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For the 2027 Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards, submit to the Natural History Museum’s open sixty-third competition (WPY63) by Thursday, December 3, 2026, at 11:30 GMT. Adults and young photographers enter through separate tracks, with different age limits, fees and image limits. Entries are judged anonymously in two rounds for originality, narrative and ethical practice; finalists must be able to provide original files for authenticity checks. The Museum’s competition overview has the portal and current schedule.
Who can enter the 2027 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition?
WPY63 is the competition leading to the 2027 awards. The adult and Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year tracks have separate age requirements and entry limits, so first determine which rules apply to you. Age is assessed on the closing date, December 3, 2026—not on the date you took the photograph or started the form.
Adult competition
You must be 18 or older on December 3, 2026 to enter the adult competition. The adult rules list 16 categories, and one entrant may submit up to 25 photographs in total. Some formats require multiple images: Adult Photojournalist Story, Rising Star and Portfolio are sets of 6–10 images, and those images count toward the overall adult limit. Rising Star and Portfolio also have age conditions, so check the current adult competition rules before choosing either route.
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Young WPY is for entrants aged 17 or under on the closing date. It has three brackets: 10 and under, 11–14, and 15–17. Young entrants may submit up to 10 photographs in their age bracket. Entry is free. The Young rules also set out any parental or guardian requirements; review them with a parent or guardian if they apply to you.
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The competition overview’s reference to 19 categories covers the adult and Young tracks together. It does not mean that an adult entrant can choose among 19 adult categories. Read the rules for the relevant track to check subject fit, eligibility and any conditions before uploading.
How do I enter?
Prepare eligible images and captions before opening the portal. The Museum’s prepare-to-enter guidance sets out the file requirements and portal process. Saving uploaded files in the entry portal submits them automatically, so treat each save as part of your actual entry.
- Confirm your track and category. Check your age on December 3, 2026, then use the adult or Young rules to select a suitable category. If you enter one photograph in more than one category, it uses a separate entry place each time.
- Check the image’s date, subject and circumstances. The overview says photographs must have been taken on or after November 1, 2021; the binding adult and Young rules describe the cutoff as captured after October 2021. The practical cutoff is therefore November 1, 2021. Keep evidence of the capture date. Eligible subjects include wild animals, plants, fungi, landscapes and habitats; pets, farm animals and cultivated plants or fungi are excluded. Read the rules for the detailed exclusions and limited exceptions.
- Prepare the upload copy. Create a high-quality JPEG in Adobe RGB (1998), with the longest edge at 1,920 pixels. Do not add a border, signature or watermark. Keep your camera original and do not put your name in the image, caption or owner, copyright or creator metadata.
- Write a factual caption. Use no more than 2,500 characters to explain what is happening and why it matters, including relevant behavior, background, precise location and capture year. Add a scientific name where possible. Do not identify yourself in the caption: anonymity is part of the judging process.
- Create an account, pay if required, and upload. Follow the portal’s instructions for the appropriate track. Save each uploaded file to submit it. You can add, delete or change images until the deadline, but late entries are not accepted.
- Keep a record of the submission. Preserve the original files and note which images you submitted in which categories. That makes it easier to respond if a finalist verification request arrives.
What is the deadline and how much does entry cost?
The WPY63 deadline is Thursday, December 3, 2026, at 11:30 GMT. The Museum does not accept late entries, and the portal’s ability to change a saved entry ends at the deadline.
- Adult entry: a one-off fee of £35 covers up to 25 photographs. The fee is waived for eligible entrants aged 18–26 and for entrants resident in listed qualifying countries who can provide evidence if asked.
- Young entry: free, for eligible photographers in the appropriate age bracket.
Do not assume that residence anywhere in a broad region qualifies for a waiver. Check the Museum’s qualifying-country list and the eligibility evidence it requires. Entry fees and waivers are stated in the official entry preparation guidance.
How are Wildlife Photographer of the Year images judged?
The Natural History Museum says judges assess originality, narrative and ethical practice. Entries are judged anonymously in two rounds, as the Museum’s competition guidance puts it: “Entries are judged anonymously.” Anonymity means your name should not be visible in the image, caption or relevant metadata; it does not mean the photograph is judged only on technical polish.
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Originality and narrative
Originality concerns what makes an image distinctive, while narrative is the story or meaning conveyed by the photograph. A strong caption can supply context—such as the species, behavior, location and circumstances—that the image alone cannot establish. But a caption cannot make an ineligible image eligible or compensate for a misleading account of how it was made.
Judges strongly favor photographs that have not previously won awards in similar international competitions. That is a stated preference, not a blanket prohibition on every image previously published or entered elsewhere. If you have entered or published a photograph before, check the rules and answer any portal questions accurately.
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Choose the category that best matches the photograph or, for eligible sets, the story you are submitting. Under the adult rules, judges may move an image to another appropriate category. Category winners—not every shortlisted photograph—are considered for the corresponding adult or Young grand title. For an adult multi-image winning entry, one selected photograph from the set may be considered for the grand title.
The Museum published an adult grand-title prize of £15,000 for 2026–27, on top of the relevant category prize; check its awards and prizes page for the current list. The figure is for the adult grand title, not a general payment for every entry or finalist.
What ethical rules can disqualify a photograph?
Ethical practice is a judging criterion, and the rules can exclude an image even if it is visually compelling. The basic requirement is to photograph without manipulating an animal’s behavior or damaging the setting for the sake of a picture.
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- Do not bait or lure wildlife with food, feeders, scent or sound.
- Do not interfere with a natural situation, except for the narrowly described documentation of scientific field research set out in the rules.
- Do not distress or injure an animal or damage its habitat.
- Do not use distressing lighting or a drone flown dangerously low or noisily.
- Do not photograph at a nest or den with a wide-angle lens.
- Follow applicable laws and obtain any permits required for the location or activity.
These are not merely technical recommendations. Read the exact competition rules for the full wording, especially if an image involves research, captive animals or a sensitive site. The rules include a narrowly stated exception for truthful reporting on a third party’s treatment of animals; it should not be treated as a general permission to stage, provoke or interfere with wildlife.
What digital adjustments are allowed?
Edits must preserve the reality recorded by the camera. The rules permit adjustments such as tone and contrast, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction and minor cleaning of sensor dust. They do not permit adding, moving or removing scene elements, composites, painting out backgrounds, AI-generated images or AI methods that add new image content.
HDR and image stacking are conditional, not a blanket allowance: use them only within the authenticity and capture constraints specified in the rules. A useful distinction is whether a mark is an artifact on the sensor or an actual part of the photographed scene. Minor sensor-dust removal is permitted; removing real-world dirt, bubbles or backscatter from the scene is not the same thing and can alter what the photograph records.
If you are unsure whether a particular edit changes the represented scene, do not assume that an edited final JPEG is acceptable just because it looks plausible. Compare the edit with the original and consult the Museum’s rules before submission. The official rules page controls where a general description and a specific editing case differ.
Do finalists need to provide original files?
Yes. Finalists are asked to provide original RAW files or untouched JPEGs, or original transparencies or negatives where relevant, for authenticity checks. The Museum may also request surrounding untouched JPEG frames to assess adjustments. If you cannot supply requested originals, the entry is withdrawn.
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Finalists must also provide a full-resolution, print-ready file, preferably an 8-bit Adobe RGB TIFF that matches the crop and color of the submitted image. That TIFF is a production file; it does not replace the original capture file as proof of authenticity.
A converted DNG is not accepted as an original unless DNG is the camera’s native RAW format. The Museum describes an exception involving extraction of an embedded original RAW file, so check its file-preparation guidance if that applies to your camera or workflow. Keep original files unaltered and make working copies for edits; a backup drive is one possible storage method, but it is not a competition requirement.
When are WPY63 results announced?
The Museum’s published schedule sets first-round results for January 22, 2027, and final decisions for March 12, 2027. These dates concern the current WPY63 cycle; they should not be confused with the 2026 winners, which had already been announced by the time WPY63 opened.
For scale, the Museum reported 65,403 entries from 121 countries and territories for the competition whose winners it announced in 2026. Those are historical figures for that completed competition, not an entry count or forecast for WPY63. The Museum’s 2026 launch announcement described opening the new competition as a search for the very best in wildlife photography; the current entry details and dates are on its WPY63 launch page.
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Camera price is not a proxy for judging merit. The Museum notes that smartphone photographs have received awards, so a phone image is not automatically disqualified for being made with a phone. The decisive checks remain whether the image meets the file and eligibility rules, whether the photograph communicates an original and compelling story, and whether it was made ethically.
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Before submitting, use this short checklist:
- Confirm your age track and category against the closing-date rules.
- Check the capture date, subject eligibility, location permissions and ethical circumstances.
- Prepare a correctly sized Adobe RGB JPEG and a truthful caption that does not reveal your identity.
- Count every image, including a photograph entered in another category, against the correct limit.
- Save the entry in the portal before 11:30 GMT on December 3, 2026.
- Keep the original capture files and any surrounding frames that may be relevant to a finalist check.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I enter a photograph that has already been published?
The judging guidance expresses a strong preference for images that have not previously won similar international awards; that preference is not a blanket ban on every previously published photograph. Check the full rules and disclose any prior award or entry where the portal asks.
Can I submit the same photo in two categories?
The rules allow a photograph to be entered in another category, but each placement counts separately toward your track’s image limit. Consider whether the image genuinely fits both categories before using another entry place.
What happens if I cannot find the original RAW file?
If the Museum requests an original for a finalist authenticity check and you cannot provide the required file, the entry is withdrawn. A TIFF export does not substitute for the original capture; check the Museum’s file guidance if your camera records native DNG.
Can a smartphone photo win Wildlife Photographer of the Year?
The Museum says smartphone photographs have received awards, so the device alone does not rule an image out. The image still has to meet the competition’s capture, file, subject and ethics requirements.
