We are delighted to announce our annual APOY photography competition is back! Amateur Photographer of the Year 2025 is now open for entries. We invite amateur* photographers from all over the world to enter the competition. Young Amateur Photographer of the Year is also open and free to enter for photographers aged 21 and under.
We have 10 rounds of the competition, and the sixth is now open. The theme is NIGHT & LOW LIGHT. Photographers can choose to enter all rounds or pick and choose which suits them. Regardless of how many you enter, you will be in with a chance to win prizes, and points that go towards the final leaderboard. A shortlisted entry can give you 10 points! So, it’s all to play for.
For 2025 we welcome Camera Centre UK back as our headline sponsor of Amateur Photographer of the Year, and they are joined by DxO, BOB Books, The School of Photography and Viewsonic. Over $35,000 / £26,000 worth of prizes are being provided!
*‘Amateur’ in this context means photography is your hobby, and not your primary source of income.
Amateur Photographer of the Year 2025, Round Six – Night & Low Light now open!
The sixth round, Night & Low Light is now open for entries! Submit your best photos by 13th October 2025.
This round always provides our judges with a wide range of exciting and original entries. Cities are almost the perfect night and low-light subject, especially when they are photographed in the blue hour, when twilight and artificial illumination balance so beautifully. You could also shoot indoors, in an atmospheric café or using the light of a woodburning stove in the home, or at a night-time gig or event. It’s a great theme for landscapes, too; when the sun is low in the sky and raking across the scene, it gives compositions an added dimension. This is also the category for those spectacular star trail and astrophotography images, but you might also choose to photograph people at night or in low light, imbuing your shot with a sense of mystery.
Your guest judge: Sarah Lee
Your guest judge for Round Six is Sarah Lee. Sarah has been photographing for the Guardian and Observer since 2000, and her images have been featured on the covers of Time, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. She’s an official BAFTA photographer and a Leica ambassador, and is prolific with her personal work, much of which is shot in the dusky light at the end of the day. See more at sarahmlee.com
Need some guidance on your entries? Check out these guides:
- Night photography: how to take great photos at night
- The night sky: How to photograph stars and the Milky Way
- Guide to night landscape photography
- Capturing nocturnal animals in low-light photography
- Low-light wildlife photography tips
- Best smartphones for low light
- How to shoot film at night
APOY 2025 Prize details – over $35,000 / £26,000 in prizes!
Amateur Photographer of the Year round winners:
The winner of each round of APOY receives a voucher for £500 to spend at Camera Centre UK**, plus free DxO PhotoLab and FilmPack licences worth £340, and a £50 voucher for Bob Books, and an annual subscription to The School of Photography worth £120.
The two runners-up in each round will receive a free DxO Nik Collection licence worth £146 and a £25 voucher for Bob Books.
The top ten entries will be published in Amateur Photographer Magazine and on our website.
Amateur Photographer of the Year Grand Prize winner:
The overall winner after ten rounds wins a £1,000 voucher to spend at Camera Centre UK** and a £100 voucher for Bob Books.
Young APOY 2025
Young Amateur Photographer of the Year round winners:
The winner of each round of Young APOY receives free DxO software (DxO PhotoLab 8 and DxO FilmPack 7) worth £340, an annual subscription to The School of Photography worth £120, and a £50 voucher for Bob Books.
The two runners-up in each round will receive a free DxO Nik Collection licence worth £146 and a £25 voucher for Bob Books.
Young Amateur Photographer of the Year grand prize winner:
At the end of the 10 rounds, the photographer with the most combined points will be crowned the Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2025 and will take home a £500 voucher to spend at Camera Centre UK** and a £100 voucher for Bob Books.
Camera Club winners
The winning club will receive £2,600 of ViewSonic prizing, comprising a 4k ViewSonic projector worth £1,600, and a ViewSonic monitor worth £1,000 to the club member who contributed the most points to their club’s final points tally.
Learn more about our sponsors and prizes here.
**All prizes in 2025, including the vouchers for Camera Centre UK, are available to every winner, wherever in the world they may be based. Please note that any winners of Camera Centre vouchers who live outside the UK will be liable for their country’s import duties and costs.
How to enter
Visit https://www.photocrowd.com/photo-competitions/photography-awards/apoy-2025/
APOY 2025: You can enter up to 5 images in each of the 10 rounds. 1 free entry per round can be obtained via a unique code published in Amateur Photographer magazine (from 6th May issue) during the period in which that round is open. Without the code, you’ll be able to enter a maximum of 4 images per round.
If you are a member of a camera club, tell us your UK camera club when you fill out our simple agreement form before you enter your first image.
The cost is based on the number of images you want to enter. Entries are bought in advance and can then be used at any time before midnight on 2nd February 2025. The following entry bundles are available for the main APOY 2025 competition, and entries can be used across any of the 10 rounds:
- 1 image – £8
- 4 images – £24 (£6 per image)
- 12 images – £48 (£4 per image)
- 40 images – £100 (£2.50 per image) – this image bundle will reduce in size and cost as the rounds progress, to reflect the maximum number of images that can still be submitted at the time of purchase
The 10 rounds are open to ‘amateur’ photographers of all ages and nationalities.
Entering Young Amateur Photographer of the Year – it’s free!
Now a well-established part of APOY, the Young Photographer of the Year competition encourages our up-and-coming snappers. Entrants should be 21 years old or younger by the competition’s final closing date of 2 February 2026. All the categories are the same as for the main contest – simply select the Young APOY option on Photocrowd when you upload your images. Entry is free.
Eligible photographers can enter up to 4 free images per round.
Any entrant under 18 on the date when they enter must gain the permission of a parent or guardian to enter the competition. People under the age of 13 are not permitted to register on the Photocrowd platform.
For more information on entering and to see terms and conditions see here.
Amateur Photographer of the Year 2025 Key Dates:
| Theme | Round Open | Round Close |
| Night and Low Light | 16 September 2025 | 13 October 2025 |
| Animal Kingdom | 14 October 2025 | 10 November 2025 |
| Movement | 11 November 2025 | 08 December 2025 |
| Urban Life | 09 December 2025 | 05 January 2026 |
| Open | 06 January 2026 | 02 February 2026 |
The Judges
All images submitted to APOY 2025 will be reviewed by our panel of photography experts from Amateur Photographer magazine, joined by some special guest judges for individual rounds.
The main judging panel includes AP’s Nigel Atherton, Geoff Harris and Jessica Miller. Alongside APOY Project Manager Ailsa McWhinnie, photographer and writer Peter Dench, Rod Wheelans from the PAGB, Tyler George from Camera Centre UK and, photographer and curator Dominique Nok.
