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APOY
Our annual photography competition Amateur Photographer of the Year returns for 2025 – over £20,000 worth of prizes to be won!
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!).
APOY 2025 IS COMING SOON!
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.
Sponsor: Camera Centre UK
We are delighted to welcome Camera Centre UK back as our sponsor for this year’s competition!
Plus, DxO, BOB Books & Viewsonic
Also joining us for 2025, are DxO, BOB Books and ViewSonic, who are contributing some fantastic prizes!
Why enter APOY?
- A whopping £20,000+ worth of prizes! See details below.
- Your work will be seen by a panel of experienced judges
- Get your photographs in front of a wider audience
- Gain exposure in Amateur Photographer magazine and online, through our website and social media!
Young Amateur Photographer of the Year
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.
The Camera Club award
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.
What could I win?
Young 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.
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 APOY 2025
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, 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 receives a ViewSonic 4K projector, and a monitor for the highest scoring member of that club.
* Please note that for 2025, the Camera Centre vouchers are available only to winning photographers who are based in the UK.
Learn more about our sponsors and prizes here.
Plan your APOY 2025 entries
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 |
