APOY

Our annual photography competition Amateur Photographer of the Year 2025 now open – over £26,000 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 NOW OPEN – ENTER HERE!

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 and The School of Photography

Also joining us for 2025, are DxO, BOB Books, ViewSonic and The School of Photoography, 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?

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 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, 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.

Camera Club winners

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.

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