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Submit the Photograph That Tests Your Control.

One defining image. Judged with intent.

$1,500 in total cash awards. Winning images published in the Journal of Wildlife Photography.

Entries close February 28, 2026 at midnight (Pacific Time).

February 2026 Wildlife Photography Contest

Theme: All Things White

Some photographs demand more control than others.

Maybe it’s a frame where brightness dominated the scene.

Maybe it’s a subject where detail could disappear with one wrong decision.

Maybe it’s an image where simplicity left no room for correction.

We want to see the photograph that shows how you work when precision matters most.

Past Photo Contest Winners

December 2025 Beginner Winner ( Theme “Best of 2025” ) : “Precocious Prince” by Wesley Rich

December 2025 Intermediate Winner ( Theme “Best of 2025″ ) : “Calm, Cool, Collected” by Roxanne Plett

December 2025 Advanced Winner ( Theme “Best of 2025″ ) : “To the Throne” by Raphael De Moliner

What We’re Looking For

Whites that hold detail without feeling dull or clipped.
Composition and subject placement feel purposeful, not cautious.
Wildlife photographed honestly in its environment.
Images feel deliberate rather than overworked.
White that carries the image without relying on excess.

Important Guidelines

Ethical Guidelines (Required)

Contest Details

Opens: February 1, 2026
Closes: February 28, 2026 (Midnight Pacific)
Eligibility: Open worldwide
Skill Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Prize: $500 awarded to each skill-level winner ($1500 total pool prize)
Rights: You always retain full copyright
Publication: Winners published in the Journal of Wildlife Photography magazine, on our website, and across JoWP social channels

How to Enter —

This Contest Is Built Different

Every entry comes through a JoWP membership—but not for the reason you think.

Most wildlife contests are one-off gambles: pay, submit, hope. Win or lose, that’s it. No feedback. No growth.

We built this differently.

Your membership includes 12 monthly contests a year, but the real value comes after judging: detailed critiques of non-winning images, live sessions with working pros, and clear insight into the field decisions that separate strong from exceptional.

It’s not just about prizes. It’s about refining your craft month after month with professional feedback.

SPECIAL LIMITED TIME OFFER… 40% OFF ALL MEMBERSHIPS PLUS A FREE ANYTIME PHOTO CONTEST CREDITS

Lifetime Membership

Includes 10 contest entries per month.

Today: $238 USD

Regular price: ~~$397.00~~

Pay once, never pay again.

Annual Plus+ Membership

Includes 5 contest entries per month.

Today: $118 USD/year

Regular price: ~~$197.00~~

Cancel anytime with one click.

Why Wildlife Photographers Trust This Contest

Judged by working professionals

Your images are evaluated by photographers who understand animal behavior, natural light, and field conditions. All judging is blind for complete fairness.

Realistic chances to win

Even with over 14,000 members, each category averages around 1,000 submissions—far fewer than typical major wildlife contests. Your work has room to stand out.

A focus on craft—not luck or popularity

We judge story, behavior, timing, use of light, and composition—not algorithms or follower count.

Your rights stay yours

You always maintain full copyright. We only share winning images for contest promotion and publication.

Real Photographers, Real Growth

Each of these photographers started with a strong skill set — and through this contest, refined it into mastery that earned recognition and publication in our magazine.

All Memberships Include

Monthly Photo Contests

12 contests per year, each with at least $500 prize ($2,000 every December) for every skill level.

(Value: $120/year — Included free)

Monthly Live 90-Minute Trainings + Q&A

Work with award-winning photographers such as Simon d’Entremont, Isaac Grant, Greg Basco, and more.

(Value: $197/year — Included free)

Monthly Live Image Critiques

See 4–5 non-winning images reviewed with detailed instruction to improve future submissions.

(Value: $97/year — Included free)

Quarterly Digital Magazine

Workshop-level education in a beautifully designed publication.

(Value: $97/year — Included free)

Quarterly Digital Magazine

Workshop-level education in a beautifully designed publication.

(Value: $97/year — Included free)

Private Online Community

Connect with serious, ethical wildlife photographers who value growth.

(Value: $97/year — Included free)

Article Library

In-depth articles on behavior, light, fieldcraft, storytelling, and shooting techniques.

(Value: $97/year — Included free)

Wildlife Photography Contest Official Rules

Updated 01/01/2026

Please read and follow the rules carefully. Failure to comply with all rules will disqualify your entry.

Official Rules:

You must be a member of JOWP to enter.
Lifetime members receive 10 free contest entries per month. Annual members receive 5 free contest entries per month.
Members can purchase more entries here: Addition entry credits.
You must be the photographer who took the photo and hold all rights to the image.
No illustrations, paintings, or AI generated photos allowed.
ALL semifinalists and finalists will be required to submit the original untouched RAW file (e.g., ARW, CR2, CR3, DNG, NEF, ORF, PEF) or the original untouched JPEG file (if shot in JPEG) within 5 days of the request from the judges.
Your photo doesn’t have to be new; however, we encourage you to get out and create new, fresh photographs.
Animals must be wild and free, unrestrained, and not domesticated or living in captivity.
Digital adjustments are permitting provided they do not deceive the viewer or misrepresent the reality of nature or the image originally captured by the camera. The integrity of the original scene and subject should be maintained.
Subject to the more detailed rules below, the following digital adjustments are permitted: tone, color, white balance, and contrast adjustments; dodging and burning; cropping; leveling; sharpening; noise reduction; minor cleaning to remove dust spots or scratches on your camera’s sensor; HDR; stitched panoramas; and photo stacking (photographs stacked and combined for the purpose of focus stacking, noise reduction, or lengthening exposure, but only if the photos are taken at the same location at approximately the same time as a continuous sequence). As set forth below, masking may be used to make some or all of these permitted digital adjustments.
Content alteration of digital files is not acceptable. This means no cloning (except cloning to eliminate dust spots or scratches on your camera’s censor). You may NOT add, move, or remove objects, trees, plants, animals, people, or parts thereof, including dirt, backscatter, debris, plant or tree limbs, etc.
Moderate cropping of photographs is allowed. There is no hard and fast rule on the amount of cropping that is permitted, but you should be advised that some judges will disqualify an image if it has been cropped more than 50%. To provide a frame of reference, please note that you will lose 50% or more of an image’s total pixels when cropping from a common landscape (like 3:2) to a portrait orientation (like 2:3), as you are removing the entire left and right portions of the photo. The exact percentage depends on the original and cropped aspect ratios.
Moderate leveling of horizon lines is allowed. There is no hard and fast rule on the amount of leveling that is permitted, but some judges will disqualify an image if it has been leveled more than 10%.
Moderate adjustments to tone, color, contrast, and saturation are permitted. Color and saturation adjustments that are so extreme that the final colors are wildly different from the original image are not permitted.
Masking is permitted. Masking is a technique that allows you to selectively hide or reveal parts of an image so you can edit or make permitted digital adjustments only to specific areas of the image.
The use of AI tools like those in Topaz Photo AI is permitted for sharpening and noise reduction. However, you may not use tools like Topaz Photo AI or Topaz Gigapixel AI to upscale or enlarge images.
Images must NOT have a border, watermark, signature, logo or any other identifiable data.
By entering the contest, entrants agree that their images have been taken following our ethical wildlife photography guidelines.
Entrants under 18 years of age require the permission of a parent or guardian. By entering the contest, entrants under 18 years of age agree that they have obtained permission to enter from a parent or guardian.
The Journal of Wildlife Photography will NOT retain copyright, ownership, or any other rights to your images, however, by submitting your photo/s to our contest, you give JoWP permission to use your images for purposes of promoting current or future photo contests via journalofwildlifephotography.com, JoWP.com, our social media platforms, the JoWP magazine featuring contest winners/runners-up and electronic email.
Contacting the judges directly about an image submitted to the contest is not allowed during the contest.
Images that have won in previous international or national contests are not allowed.
Entries are accepted worldwide.

Submitting a photo:

For the best possible experience, we recommend using Google Chrome. Other browsers will work; however, some people have had some issues uploading.
All photographic entries must be submitted electronically. Digital files must be at least 1500 pixels and no more than 2000 pixels on the long edge, with resolution set to 72 ppi.
Accepted file formats: jpg or png.
Maximum file size is 10 MB.
You are expected to give your photo a short title (maximum ten words).
You may include a brief caption (maximum 50 words) and the name of the specific location where you photographed your entry (backyard, “X” City Park, “X” Nature Center, and the city, state/province, and country), but this is NOT required. You may also include information pertaining to the camera and lens with which the image was shot and the focal length, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, but this is NOT required. If your image is selected as a semifinalist or finalist, you may be required to provide all of this information.

Choosing a Skill Level

NOTE: Select the skill level that reflects where you are today as a photographer. Entries are judged based on your current skill level, not the level you were at when you captured the image.

Beginner: Enter this skill level if you have started photography (any genre) in the past 12 months. You are still learning about correct exposure and composition and have not yet mastered manual exposure.
Intermediate: Enter this skill level if you have learned how to take your camera out of Program Mode and use other modes to control the camera’s ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. You have begun developing your sense of style by working from different angles and using composition, lighting, and color to produce photographs that stand out from a beginner’s work.
Advanced: Enter this skill level if you have mastered the controls of your cameras and you photograph quickly and with ease. You recognize strong compositions, seek unusual perspectives, and use lighting techniques to elevate your work to a higher level than what an intermediate photographer would produce. You produce unusual, dramatic work with impact that leaves viewers with a sense of awe and wonder.

Prizes

Beginner: $500
Intermediate: $500
Advanced: $500
All prizes will be paid out via paypal.
Winning entries are to be featured in the following issue of the Journal of Wildlife Photography showcasing the beautiful work and stories behind the photographs.