Closed for entries. Winners will be announced in late November 2014

Show Us Your Story

This is an international call to discover the best visual storytellers today — from all corners of the world! We are searching for photography in Documentary, Personal Stories, Photojournalism, Fictional Narratives, and any other photography that tells a story. You are invited to participate.

We believe photographs tell stories that can reach the broadest audiences — across all cultures, languages, political borders and age groups. There are very few rules for these Awards — we are wide open to all themes and approaches.

Most of all, we want to be surprised and delighted: learn things we didn't know; understand situations from different points of view; see stories that sear themselves into our imaginations and become unforgettable. We want to be moved emotionally and intellectually. Inspire us!

Visual Storytelling 2014 International Jury

James Estrin

Lens Blog Co-Editor
The New York Times
New York City, USA
lens.blogs.nytimes.com

more about James

A founder of Lens, The New York Times’s photography blog, James Estrin has been its co-editor since it went online in May 2009. He writes several pieces a week for Lens. He is a Senior Staff Photographer for The New York Times, and was part of a Pulitzer Prize winning team in 2001. In addition to photographing, editing and blogging, he is a writer for the Times and produces audio and video for nytimes.com.

Magdalena Herrera

Director of Photography
Geo France
Paris, France
www.geo.fr

more about Magdalena

Magdalena Herrera is a French citizen born in Havana, Cuba. She is presently Director of Photography at GEO magazine, France. Previous to GEO, Magdalena worked as Art Director and Head of Photography at National Geographic France, since the launch of the French edition in 1999. Based in Paris, Magdalena has an academic background in art history and aesthetics, earning an honors degree at the Sorbonne before starting her career as a photographer and graphic designer. Teacher in photojournalism at Sciences Po / École de journalisme, Paris. Tutor and supervisor, photographic seminars organized by World Press Photo Foundation worldwide. Tutor, photojournalism workshops at Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India. Master at Northen Lights Masterclass in Groningen, The Netherlands.

Dewi Lewis

Founder,
Dewi Lewis Publishing
Stockport, UK
dewilewispublishing.com

more about Dewi

Dewi Lewis established his publishing house in 1994. Its list incorporates major international photographers alongside emerging talents. He works in close collaboration with a number of European publishers and is a founding member of the European Publishers Award for Photography, now in its 21st year.

Prior to launching his own imprint, Dewi Lewis was responsible for the establishment of Cornerhouse, one of the major UK Centres for Visual Arts and Film, and which, as founding Director, he ran for ten years. In 1987 he also established Cornerhouse Publications which achieved recognition internationally and was a winner of the Sunday Times Award for Small Publisher of the Year.

An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, Dewi Lewis was awarded the Society’s inaugural RPS Award for Outstanding Service to Photography in 2009, and in 2012, the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation presented him with an award for Outstanding Service to Photography Publishing.

He has acted as Jury member for several major competitions and as a portfolio reviewer at innumerable international photography events. He was a ‘Master’ for the 2009, 2010 & 2011 World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclasses. As well as his own book, Publishing Photography, he writes occasional texts on photography and has curated exhibitions including a survey show of the famous UK magazine, Picture Post, for the 2010 Atri Festival.

Yumi Goto

Curator, Editor,
Festival Organizer, Gallerist
Tokyo, Japan
reminders-project.org/rps

more about Yumi

Yumi Goto is an independent photography curator, editor, researcher and consultant who focuses on the development of cultural exchanges that transcend borders. She is a founder of the REMINDERS PROJECT and curator of the Reminders Photography Stronghold Gallery and Photobook Store in Tokyo. She is a Prix Pictet Photography Prize nominator, 2012 MAGNUM Emergency Fund nominator, Photo City Sagamihara Asia Prize nominator and a founder and curator of the Asian Women photographers showcase.

Jim Casper

Editor & Publisher
LensCulture
Paris, France
lensculture.com

more about Jim

Jim Casper is the founding editor and publisher of LensCulture, one of the leading destinations for contemporary photography from around the world. As an active member in the contemporary photography world, Casper organizes annual international photography portfolio review events, curates arts exhibitions, writes about photography and culture, lectures, conducts workshops, serves as an international juror and nominator for key awards, and is an advisor to arts and education organizations. He serves on the board of directors at SPE, the Society for Photographic Education, the world’s largest association of photography educators.

About the Competition

We invite entries in five categories of storytelling: Documentary, Photojournalism, Personal Stories, Fictional Narrative and an Open Category. Five Grand Prize Winners (one for each category) and 20 Finalists will be selected.

• 

  Portfolio Category - LCEA 2013
  Alex Masi

  

  Belonging
  Munem Wasif

  

  The Other Side of Rio
  Manu Valcarce

  category:

  Documentary

  Documentary Photographers are invited to submit, in-depth projects that capture an event, situation or idea in vivid details and nuanced understanding. The very nature of this widely defined genre invites many different treatments of significant events, issues, places, or people. All approaches and themes are welcome here.

• 

  Space Project
  Vincent Fournier

  

  Noir City
  Jason Tannen

  

  Gold Coast
  Ying Ang

  category:

  Fictional Narratives

  We invite photographers to submit Fictional Narrative photo projects that develop visual stories where anything can happen, true or false, or a mixture of fact, fiction, mystery, fantasy and imagination. These projects capture people, places, things, and ideas that may or may not exist in the real world — but they come alive through a series of photographs.

• 

  Anna & Eve
  Viktoria Sorochinski

  

  The Reluctant Father
  Phillip Toledano

  

  Hikari
  David Favrod

  category:

  Personal Stories

  Personal Stories provide vivid subjective accounts from a unique point of view. These can be narratives about you, your family, a significant event or someone else you know. They are often specific stories that have universal appeal — rich in their details, nuance, style, and personal or psychological meaning. But we’re always open to all approaches and new ideas, too!

• 

  Afghanistan
  Adam Ferguson

  

  Aleppo Struggles On
  Nish Nalbandian

  

  Syrian Refugees
  Turjoy Chowdhury

  category:

  Photojournalism

  Photojournalism projects offer up-close insights into what viewers might otherwise have missed during an every day occurrence of issues, news and people — from anywhere around the world. Through a truthful visual report, action-packed moments are frozen in time for others to later revisit in order to analyze and understand the details of a real life event.

• category:

  Open

  Some photographic stories don’t fit easily into well-defined categories. A series of photos may be linked poetically or lyrically without any linear narrative or rational logic — but they evoke emotions, understandings and feelings in powerful ways. We love discovering new forms of visual storytelling. What is the photographic equivalent of haiku, pop songs, short stories, symphonies or street art? Share your vision with us!

• 

  The Other Shore
  Nikita Pirogov

  

  Ms. Behavior
  Nancy Grace Horton

  

  Dream Chapter
  Marta Berens

Career Launching Awards

Our competitions are designed to provide influential worldwide exposure for talented photographers:

• Selected winning photographers will have international screenings of their work presented at festivals, exhibitions, and events attracting hundreds of curators, collectors, publishers and photography professionals from around the world.'
• Our extensive list of carefully selected LensCulture Insiders will be able to review the winners' work in a museum-quality printed catalog, as well as through direct access on LensCulture, where they can view all of the top-rated photographers.
• Every day, selected entrants are chosen by LensCulture's editors for publication and recognition. We post these photos to our Competition Gallery and social media channels, reaching a global audience of over 700,000.

Worldwide Screenings in 5 Major Cities

Work from the winners will be screened at photo festivals and events worldwide throughout the year.

Five Photobook Publishing Grants

Each of the five Grand Prize Winners will receive a credit of $1,000 USD with our partner, Edition One Books. This can be used to print a set of photobooks, promotional catalogs, or other bound, print projects. Edition One will work directly with the winners to produce truly customized books that present each photographer's work beautifully.

Learn more about Edition One, the leading book printer for art and design professionals.

Massive Online Promotion

• Every winner and finalist will be included in a feature article on LensCulture
• Winners are featured on LensCulture's home page for over one month
• Winning entries will be shared with LensCulture's global audience of over 700,000

LensCulture Visual Storytelling Printed Annual 2014

A museum-quality competition catalog featuring the winning photographers' work will be distributed to hundreds of LensCulture Insiders and industry representatives including influential editors, curators, festival directors, publishers, gallery directors and more. The Insiders will have the opportunity to see the award-winning photographs in a beautiful printed form.

Winners & Finalists will be given one full-page spread

Immediate Exposure on LensCulture & Social Media

Just by entering your work, you have an opportunity for immediate exposure in our Competition Gallery and across all our online channels. Our editors review every single incoming submission on a daily basis — so don’t wait until the deadline to submit your work!

Exposure. Reach. Results. This has been LensCulture’s mantra, and it seems to be working. We are building the best platform in the world for exposing the work of talented photographers to a global audience. Often, this exposure leads to career-building opportunities — click on a photographer and see for yourself!

• 
  Elena Chernyshova

  Moscow, Russia

  In this video, hear Elena’s thoughts about her long-form documentary project, Days of Night, Nights of Day, and what happened when the story went viral, reaching over 738K people in just a week. It’s a unique story that grips people from the start.
• 
  Laura Stevens

  Paris, France

  Emerging Talent 2014 Winner Laura Stevens shares her story of one woman's journey throughout a breakup with her project Another November, and the global exposure she received after it was published on LensCulture.

Success Stories

• Tina Schula

  United States

  View »
  

  Tina Schula

  Radical Camp

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

  “My biggest and best success since LensCulture has been my recent first assignment for The New York Times. They asked me to shoot a great story on the writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis and his new book ‘Travels with Casey: My Journey Through Our Dog-Crazy Country.’ I was very excited to shoot it.”

• Tsutomu Yamagata

  Japan

  View »
  

  Tsutomu Yamagata

  Thirteen Orphans

  3rd Prize, Portfolio Category,
  LensCulture Portrait Awards 2014

  “After the announcement, my work was featured on Huffington Post Italia, Artist Database Japan, Rinse, and more. I can’t count how many times I was reblogged and shared on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr. The sales of my photography book increased in the USA. It hit the weekly best-seller list on photo-eye books. This autumn, my work will be featured in the international photo festival “La Quatrieme Image” in Paris. My work will be known all over the world—all thanks to LensCulture.”

• Maroesjka Lavigne

  Belgium

  View »
  

  Maroesjka Lavigne

  Island

  Grand Prize Winner,
  LensCulture New & Emerging Photographers 20132013

  “I received a lot of attention after being published in LensCulture! Mainly, it was the first time that my work received some response from the US. First, my work was published in a couple of US magazines and then, I was offered an exhibition in New York City at the Robert Mann Gallery in Chelsea! I went there for the opening and it was an amazing experience for me. The gallery also represented my work at the AIPAD Fair, which was great.
  
  The LensCulture opportunity was key in allowing me to finance my new project about Beauty Culture in Seoul. And it motivates me to keep working as a photographer!”

• Dayna Bartoli

  Norway

  View »
  

  Dayna Bartoli

  Florafaunal Angiography

  Finalist,
  LensCulture New & Emerging Photographers 2013

  “My biggest success that came as a direct result of submitting my photos to LensCulture was seeing my work published in Harper’s Magazine! One of my photos was featured on LensCulture’s Facebook page before the contest results were even announced and it was seen by someone at Harper’s. Harper’s contacted me and asked if they could publish 3 of my photos. They ran in the July 2013 issue! It felt amazing to see my photos in every newsstand across the US. It would not have happened without LensCulture.”

• Richard Tuschman

  United States

  View »
  

  Richard Tuschman

  Hopper Meditations

  3rd Prize, Portfolio Category,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

  “I have seen a huge increase in interest in my work since the award was announced. I have begun working with a private dealer who has purchased several prints and also received serious interest from a dealer in Moscow. I have been approached by a commercial agency in Spain, my work will be the subject of articles in several print magazines across the globe and there have been numerous features on photo sites and blogs. I also got about 1,000 new Facebook fans and traffic to my website has increased by almost 500%.”

• Carlotta Cardana

  United Kingdom

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  Carlotta Cardana

  Mod Couples

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

  “A popular monthly magazine really liked my project about Native American pride in LensCulture, and they have decided to commission me to go back and shoot more. So exciting, I still can’t believe it! ALSO I have seven images from the Mod Couples series in The Eyes Collection #1 exhibition (thanks to LensCulture/Fotofest, obviously!).”

• Michael Marten

  United Kingdom

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  Michael Marten

  Sea Change

  1st Prize Portfolio Winner,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2011

  “Winning 1st prize in the portfolio category of the LensCulture Exposure Awards, as well as attending the portfolio reviews in Paris that November, were a breakthrough for me. It led directly to the 2012 publication of my book ‘Sea Change’ by Kehrer and a solo exhibition of the work at London’s Oxo Gallery. There were reviews of the book in The Observer newspaper as well as Source magazine and features in magazines and blogs ranging from The Guardian weekend magazine to Reddit. This led to a huge spike in visitors to my website. My ‘Sea Change’ book is almost sold out.
  
  More recently, last year I was asked to contribute to a group exhibition on the theme of James Joyce at the Francis Kyle Gallery in London’s West End. I also received a commission from the Financial Times magazine for some landscape photographs. My ‘Sea Change’ photographs have now been featured by 30 or 40 photography blogs around the world and have been published in magazines in France, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Brazil.”

• Yijun Liao

  United States

  View »
  

  Yijun Liao

  Experimental Relationship

  2nd Prize Portfolio Winner,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

  “February 27, 2014: I have to tell you that my email has been busy non-stop ever since the announcement of the LensCulture Exposure Awards. LensCulture has indeed given me great exposure worldwide. I have had really good luck in the press lately worldwide, and it’s still snowballing! It took my name to an international level. Look at where my work has been featured since I won: Huffington Post (US), iGnant (Germany), BUST (US), Daily Life (Australia), Medium, TAXI, Escapism (Canada), Il Post (Italy) Also, I have been invited to a residency in Finland, contacted by a UK collector, a Chilean Museum and a European publisher for possible projects. It’s truly been the best award I’ve won!”
  
  “March 31, 2014: I’m here at FOTOFEST in Houston and I’m surprised how many people recognized my work because of LensCulture! It is the biggest exposure I’ve received. I also met with Regina Anzenberger, who is wonderful and reviewed both my old and new work. Thanks to LensCulture, my work is being recognized in the field. It helped me make important connections with people.”

• Jessica Hines

  United States

  View »
  

  Jessica Hines

  My Brother’s War

  1st Prize, Portfolio Category,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2010

  “LensCulture is wonderful. It is an excellent source of innovative photography and I highly recommend it. Winning their 1st Prize got me more exposure than just about anything else I’ve done. I received hundreds and hundreds of hits to my website and they still come through to this day. I also met some wonderful people through it. I have only good things to say about them. Go for it!”

• Anne Berry

  United States

  View »
  

  Anne Berry

  Behind Glass

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

  “Since I won the award, my photographs have been published in the Huffington Post, PetaPixel, Viralnova, and Feature Shoot.”

• Candace Gaudiani

  United States

  View »
  

  Candace Gaudiani

  Forty Eight States II

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2012

  “Receiving an Honorable Mention in the LensCulture Exposure Awards for the project “Between Destinations” made a huge difference in helping my exhibitions and publications come into fruition. In short, it was a “stamp of recognition” for my work. Since that time, Kehrer has published my book Between Destinations. I have been exhibited in festivals and musems around the world: from Photoville in Brooklyn to the Griffin Museum of Photography in Boston to the Festival de la Luz in Argentina. My work has been reviewed in LensScratch, Germany FAZ, American Photography’s Pro Photo Daily, ForeWord, and La Lettre de la Photographie. In 2013, I was a nominee for the 2014 Leopold Godowsky, Jr. Color Photography Awards. Thank you, LensCulture! The support keeps me inspired!”

• Daniele Pintore

  United Kingdom

  View »
  

  Daniele Pintore

  The Painting is Me

  Featured in LensCulture Spotlight

  “Since my work was recognized by LensCulture, my project “The Painting Is Me" was published by Shot Directory. I also showed the work in a group exhibition in the summer of 2013. Finally, I was contacted by the agency Millennium and asked to be part of their archive. This felt like one of the biggest goals I had reached thus far. My photographic career continues to grow and change but LensCulture was the first major institution to celebrate and expose my work.”

• Fabrice Fouillet

  France

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  Fabrice Fouillet

  Eurasism

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

  “One jury member, Regina Anzenberger, offered me representation in her agency. I will be featured online in GUP Magazine. And I’ve seen a significant increase in traffic to my website. Not to mention the happiness it brings me to be a LensCulture Finalist.”

• Ellie Davies

  United Kingdom

  View »
  

  Ellie Davies

  Smoke and Mirrors

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2010

  “Being selected for a LensCulture award in 2010 had a fantastic impact on my career, giving me worldwide exposure and leading to six solo exhibitions and many group exhibitions throughout Europe, Russia, North America and Malaysia over the last four years, as well as inclusion in Arles, Singapore and Norderlicht Photofestivals in 2012. My work was published in magazines around the world and also included in a number of books, most notably WUD: Four Fictional Walks in the Woods, a hand-bound limited-edition photobook published by Tangarine Press.
  
  The LensCulture Awards were one of the best awards I’ve won because of the touring exhibition and also due to the continued LensCulture website page give my work ongoing exposure. But I think most importantly I love the strength and diversity of the work that LensCulture promotes and selects in its awards, and I’m very happy to have been included in this.”

• Claire Felicie

  Netherlands

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  Claire Felicie

  Here are the young men

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2011

  “Winning a LensCulture award did a LOT for my career. When LensCulture published my whole series, requests for publishing came in from all over the world. Among them were the Daily Mail and the Huffington Post. I found that LensCulture is highly respected and to be published and featured there opens doors with galleries and museum curators. So, for me it is very important that my work is to be seen on such a platform with such a wide audience.”

• Kerry Mansfield

  United States

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  Kerry Mansfield

  Self-Portrait, Chemo 4th Cycle, 03.2006

  1st Prize, Single Image,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2011

  “One of the best aspects of winning the award is the sheer amount of exposure the work gets, no pun intended. I have received emails from people all over the world.”

• Andrejs Strokins

  Latvia

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  Andrejs Strokins

  People in the dunes

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Emerging Talent 2014

  “What can I say about such joyous news? It’s a pleasure to finally join the ranks of those who grace the pages of your fine publication. I couldn’t be happier. Thanks to you LensCulture, I’ve received a lot of attention and also some purchase requests for work. More news to come!”

• Acacia Johnson

  United States

  View »
  

  Acacia Johnson

  Polaris

  Featured in LensCulture Spotlight

  “This is truly fabulous news, I can’t believe how much traffic it has received, probably more than any publication of my work to date. It means a lot... motivation for my next projects.”

• Nina Roeder

  Germany

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  Nina Roeder

  Mutters Schuhe

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Portrait Awards 2014

  “Yes, I got amazing feedback so far: some postings in blogs in New York and Boston; a Swedish publishing house wants to work together with me, and an Austrian magazine wants to publish the ‘Mother Shoes’ series in the September issue. So — I’m very happy!
  
  The past few weeks have been crazy! A lot of international blogs featured my work since it appeared on LensCulture so I keep getting lots of attention. I’m especially happy that Ben Füglister, from European Photography, will publish my work in the next edition.”

• Hebe Robinson

  Norway

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  Hebe Robinson

  Echoes of Lofoten

  Featured in LensCulture Spotlight

  “After being published on LensCulture, I was contacted by several magazines and photo editors. My work has been published on CNN Photos and will be in the next issue of RearViewMagazine (Italy). I have also been invited to exhibit at the Athens Photo Festival in November...LensCulture really did lead to my breakthrough and very exciting things are still happening (one is still a secret)...”

• Douglas Ljungkvist

  United States

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  Douglas Ljungkvist

  Ocean Beach

  Finalist,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

  “I got a lot of FB Likes and increased web traffic. Also, lots of folks were really impressed with me being Finalist which goes to show the respect people have for LensCulture.”

• Michelle Sank

  United Kingdom

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  Michelle Sank

  In My Skin

  2nd Prize, Single Image,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2012

  “The Award brought increased attention to my newest body of work (4 publications, one exhibition, one additional award). I like the fact that the work represented is always of a high and diverse calibre and that it is a highly respected competition.”

• Andrea Stone

  United States

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  Andrea Stone

  City Reflections

  Featured in LensCulture Spotlight

  “I just wanted to let you know that as a result of you publishing my City Reflections portfolio in LensCulture last January, Lumas gallery in Berlin saw my work and will be selling 5 of my images in their European galleries. They have 30 galleries right now, including SoHo, Dubai, and Moscow. Woohoo!!!”

• Tara Bogart

  United States

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  Tara Bogart

  A Modern Hair Study

  Featured in LensCulture Spotlight

  “After being published in LensCulture, Tara’s photo series, “A Modern Hair Study” received a lot of additional attention online. Of special note, the series was picked up and featured by CNN online, and was published by ZOOM magazine. Independent of LensCulture, six images from Tara’s series were acquired by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF).”

• Louisa Marie Summer

  United States

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  Louisa Marie Summer

  Jennifer’s Family

  3rd Prize, Portfolio Category,
  LensCulture Exposure Awards 2010

  “After receiving the award I was able to publish my book. The LensCulture Exposure Awards offered the perfect support at the right time of my career within the ideal space and community to fully nurture my professional and artistic growth.”

We are open to all photography that tells a story about our world. Stories from all points of view, from all over the world, from anyone with a tale to tell. If you are a photographer using visual narratives in any of your photos, show us your story!

You may submit projects that have already been published as photobooks. Entrants can self select the category they wish to enter. For further explanation on how the competition works please see our FAQ for more details.

Closed for entries. Winners will be announced in late November 2014