
June 1, 2015
APOY 2015 Round 4: In Focus – Shallow Depth of Field
APOY 2015 Round 4: In Focus – Shallow Depth of Field – You could win a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A lens, an EF-610 DG ST electronic flash and USB dock
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Amateur Photographer of the Year (APOY) is the UK’s most prestigious photography competition for amateur photographers.
The competition is open to all amateur photographers* and once again we have teamed up with Photocrowd, who will be hosting the competition on a simple and intuitive platform.
The competition has 10 rounds, each with a different theme. The themes for the 2025 competition will be: Black & White, People and Portraits, Close-Up and Details, Landscapes, Celebrating Colour, Night and Low Light, Animal Kingdom, Movement, Urban Life, and Open (anything goes!).
Get one additional free entry in each round of APOY 2025 using a code printed in the latest issue of Amateur Photographer magazine. Starting from 6th May issue Purchase a print or digital copy here.
Our Young Amateur Photographer of the Year category and Camera Club award are back, more information can be found below.
* For the purposes of this competition, ‘Amateur’ in this context means photography is your hobby, and not your primary source of income.
We are delighted to welcome Camera Centre UK back as our sponsor for this year’s competition!
Also joining us for 2025, are DxO, BOB Books, ViewSonic and The School of Photoography, who are contributing some fantastic prizes!
Our Young Photographer of the Year category is open to those aged 13-21, entry for this category is FREE and all rounds are the same as for the main competition.
Entrants should be 21 years old or younger by the competition’s final closing date of 2nd February 2026. Minimum age to enter is 13 years old.
Do you belong to a camera club? You can accumulate points for your society when you enter APOY. Select your camera club when entering.
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.
After all ten rounds are complete, the club with the most points will win the overall title.
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, 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.
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 Amateur Photographer of the Year round winners:
The winner of each round of Young APOY receives free DxO PhotoLab and FilmPack licences worth £340, 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.
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.
The winning club receives a ViewSonic 4K projector, and a monitor for the highest scoring member of that club.
Learn more about our sponsors and prizes here.
Below is a list of all this year’s rounds, including opening and closing dates:
Theme | Round Open | Round Close |
Black & White | 06 May 2025 | 26 May 2025 |
People and Portraits | 27 May 2025 | 23 June 2025 |
Close-up and Details | 24 June 2025 | 21 July 2025 |
Landscapes | 22 July 2025 | 18 August 2025 |
Celebrating Colour | 19 August 2025 | 15 September 2025 |
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 |
June 1, 2015
APOY 2015 Round 4: In Focus – Shallow Depth of Field – You could win a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A lens, an EF-610 DG ST electronic flash and USB dock
May 26, 2015
April 28, 2015
Win a Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM and a Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye lens in the latest round of APOY 2015 The Wider Perspective - Creative Wideangle
April 21, 2015
We’re off to a great start in APOY 2015. Here are the results from APOY round 1 Night Life
March 31, 2015
Enter the second round of Amateur Photographer of the Year, "Going Abstract"
March 3, 2015
APOY 2015 Round 1 Night Life - Take part in this year's Amateur Photographer of the Year competition and you could win a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM |A, a EF-610 DG Super flashgun and…
January 28, 2015
Coming soon Amateur Photographer of the Year 2015. Details for APOY 2015 will be announced in AP magazine dated 7 March 2015 and online 3 March 2015.
January 27, 2015
We interview the winner of Amateur Photographer of the Year 2014.
January 27, 2015
We reveal the overall winner of the 2014 Amateur Photographer of the Year competition and the 50 entries of round 10 Architecture - Building Blocks
December 30, 2014
Here are the results for the top 50 from APOY 2014 Round 9 Kept in the Dark - Night Photography
December 30, 2014
Your chance to enter the UK's most prestigious competition for amateur photographers. Here we give you the details on how to enter APOY 2014 by email, rules and all the terms and conditions.