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December 2025

Wildlife Photography Contest

“Best of 2025” Photo Contest
December 2024 Advanced Winner "First Frost” by Chris McQuarrie
December 2024 Beginner Winner “Diving for Dinner” by Kristian Wolowidnyk
December 2024 Beginner Winner “Trophy” by Nicolas Cao

The theme for the December 2025 Wildlife Photography Contest is “Best of 2025”

December 2025 Wildlife Photography Contest: Best of 2025

Prize: $2000 to the winner of each skill level.

The year is almost over, and with it comes one final challenge — and one of our most anticipated contests of all: Best of 2025.

This is your chance to look back across the seasons, the expeditions, and the unforgettable encounters that shaped your wildlife photography this year. From once-in-a-lifetime behaviors to quiet moments of beauty, we want to see the image that defines your 2025 journey.

Whether it’s a dramatic predator hunt, a tender moment between parent and offspring, or a scene that captures the essence of an entire landscape, this is the contest to showcase your very best.

What We’re Looking For

  • Images that reflect technical mastery and powerful storytelling
  • Photographs that highlight natural behavior and ethical fieldcraft
  • Work that captures the essence of 2025 in wildlife photography
  • Frames that leave a lasting emotional impact on the viewer

Important Guidelines

  • Your image must feature wildlife
  • No excessive editing — keep the scene true to life
  • Focus on authenticity: natural behavior, natural settings, and ethical practices

Contest Details

  • Opens: December 1, 2025
  • Closes: December 31, 2025 at midnight (Pacific Time)
  • Eligibility: Open worldwide to all wildlife photographers

Why Enter?
The Best of 2025 contest is more than a competition. It is a global showcase — a chance to stand alongside the finest wildlife images created this year.

Entries are judged blind by a panel of award-winning wildlife photographers, ensuring fairness and integrity. Winning images will be featured in the Journal of Wildlife Photography, celebrated by our worldwide community, and recognized as among the most compelling wildlife photographs of 2025.

This is your moment. What is the single image from 2025 that defines your year behind the lens?

Submit your entry today at the Journal of Wildlife Photography and join a global celebration of the art, craft, and passion of wildlife photography.

Click Here to Read the Official Rules
Our Monthly Photo Contests are exclusive to members of the Journal of Wildlife Photography.
To enter this contest please select a membership below. If you’d like to learn more about our contests click here.
We look forward to seeing you there and being a part of your wildlife photography journey.

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  • 10 free contest entries per month included for life.
  • Lifetime access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Lifetime access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Lifetime access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Lifetime access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.
  • 15% OFF all future full-price purchases​
  • 10 free contest entries per month included for life.
  • Lifetime access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Lifetime access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Lifetime access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Lifetime access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.
  • 15% OFF all future full-price purchases​

ANNUAL PLUS+

$197 USD
Per Year
ADD TO CART
  • 5 free contest entries per month included for one year.
  • Access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Instant access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.
  • 5 free contest entries per month included for one year.
  • Access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Instant access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.

LABOR DAY SALE! SAVE $100

LIFETIME

$397USD

$397.00

One-time
BEST VALUE
ADD TO CART
  • 10 free contest entries per month included for life.
  • Lifetime access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Lifetime access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Lifetime access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Lifetime access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.
  • 15% OFF all future full-price purchases​
  • 10 free contest entries per month included for life.
  • Lifetime access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Lifetime access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Lifetime access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Lifetime access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.
  • 15% OFF all future full-price purchases​

LABOR DAY SALE! SAVE $50

ANNUAL PLUS+

$197USD
$197.00
Per Year
ADD TO CART
  • 5 free contest entries per month included for one year.
  • Access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Instant access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.
  • 5 free contest entries per month included for one year.
  • Access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Instant access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.

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  • 1 free contest entries per month.
  • Access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Instant access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.
  • 1 free contest entry per month.
  • Access to live monthly photo critiques of contest winners and runners-up.
  • Instant access to ALL back issues of the Journal, video library, and in-depth articles.
  • Access to live monthly trainings + all past trainings.
  • Access to the "Facebook-like" social media community.
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Wildlife Photography Contest Official Rules

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.
  • 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 finalists will be required to submit the RAW/Original file 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.
  • Content alteration of digital files is not acceptable. This means no cloning (except dust spots).
  • Moderate cropping of photographs is allowed.
  • Modest leveling of horizon lines is allowed.
  • Sharpening, exposure and tonal or color corrections are permitted.
  • Modest dodging and burning are permitted.
  • Selective noise reduction on the background and/or the subject is permitted.
  • 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 or after 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 five words), include a brief caption (maximum 50 words), and name the specific location where you photographed your entry (backyard, “X” City Park, “X” Nature Center, and the city, state/province, and country).

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.