LONDON.- Today, the National Portrait Gallery opens entries to the 2026 Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize. The international competition, which celebrates and promotes the very best in contemporary portrait photography, is inviting submissions from 9am on 10 March 2026 until 10pm on 21 April 2026.

One of the most competitive photography awards in the world, the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize showcases the work of some of the most creative and cutting-edge contemporary photographers. The competition is open to everyone aged 18 and over from around the world, whether a leading professional, a talented amateur or an exciting emerging artist. Photographers are encouraged to interpret ‘portrait’ in its widest sense, with ‘photography focused on portraying people with an emphasis on their identity as individuals’. £15,000 will be awarded to the winner of the competition, with second prize receiving £3,000 and third prize £2,000.

A commission prize worth £8,000 will also be awarded, giving a chosen photographer the opportunity to create a portrait for the Gallery’s Collection. Hollie Fernando, winner of the commission prize in 2025, will unveil a new portrait for the Collection at this year’s award ceremony in November. The exhibition will open in London on 5 November 2026 and run until 17 January 2027.

“Now in its nineteenth year, the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize is a highlight of our calendar and gives an insight into the extraordinary creativity, imagination and skill of photographers working all over the world today. Thank you to Taylor Wessing and good luck to everyone entering the competition this year, I look forward to the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in November.” -- Victoria Siddall Director, National Portrait Gallery

“This year marks the nineteenth anniversary of our partnership with the National Portrait Gallery and the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize. This long-standing collaboration is dedicated to celebrating outstanding photographic portraiture. We are delighted once again to support this global platform for the best artists, inviting photographers from around the world to share their images.” -- Shane Gleghorn, Managing Partner, Taylor Wessing

Entrants to the competition are encouraged to submit works as a series, either a group of individual portraits based on a particular theme, or two or more photographs that form a single portrait when shown together, in addition to stand-alone portraits. One series of photographs submitted to the competition may be chosen by the judges to be exhibited in its entirety.

To enter the 2026 competition, photographers are required to upload their image(s) via the National Portrait Gallery’s competition platform. All images will be viewed anonymously by a panel of judges who will collectively select the prize winners and works for the exhibition. The digital platform can be accessed via www.competitions.npg.org.uk.

The entry fee for the competition is £22 per image. Photographers in receipt of Universal Credit or Pension Credit can enter this year’s Prize for free, and a new discount is in place for photographers who receive Disability Benefits, who are students or are between the ages of 18 and 25. Full information about how to enter, including entry forms and rules, can be found online.