LCE Photographer of the Year 2025 Opens for Entry with a £10,000 Prize Fund
After the remarkable success of last year’s launch, London Camera Exchange (LCE) is now accepting entries for its Photographer of the Year 2025 competition. This free-to-enter contest boasts an impressive £10,000 prize fund and celebrates the diversity and creativity within the photographic community across 14 unique categories.
With categories ranging from action and wildlife to street and creative photography, this year’s competition introduces a new ‘Emerging Talent’ category, which offers photography students a chance to shine. Winners in this category will receive awards for themselves and their schools or universities, a nod to LCE’s commitment to fostering the next generation of photographic talent. Alongside this addition, the popular ‘People’s Choice’ category returns, where the public can vote on their favourite entries.
Last year, the title London Camera Exchange Photographer of the Year 2024 was won by SheClicker, Marilyn Taylor for her image of a long-tongued bat approaching a banana leaf.
How to Enter
Entries are welcomed online through poty.lcegroup.co.uk or in-store at any of LCE’s 26 locations across the UK, where staff are on hand to assist. Follow the link to find the nearest LCE store.
The submission deadline is midnight on 21 January 2025, with early entries increasing chances of success in the public vote category.
Prizes and Recognition
The total prize pool is valued at £10,000, with the overall winner awarded £3,000 in LCE vouchers and further prizes available to each category winner. In addition to receiving these coveted prizes, finalists will have their work displayed at an exhibition during The Photography & Video Show in March 2025 at ExCel, London, and featured in a special commemorative book.
Expert Judges and Industry Support
I’m thrilled to be on this year’s judging panel alongside notable figures like Chris George, content director at Future Publishing, and renowned street photographer Peter Dench.
The competition is supported by headline sponsors Canon, Nikon and Sony, partners Fujifilm and OM System, and affiliates Lexar, Cewe and Sigma.
LCE’s Managing Director, Lee Harasyn, shared his enthusiasm for the second year of the competition saying: “Last year’s competition was immensely popular, attracting large quantities of high-quality entries across every category and genre. We’re thrilled to announce it is now open for submissions for the second year, and proud to provide this platform for photographers to showcase their talents and gain visibility. With the addition of the ‘Emerging Talent’ category, we are pleased to help showcase the creativity and vision of up-and-coming photographers, providing them with an opportunity to present their work and find a route into the industry early in their careers. We can’t wait to see the entries and look forward to discovering some exceptional photographers.”
LCEPOTY Categories
Photographers are invited to submit their work to the following categories:
Action
After Dark
Birds
Creative
Emerging Talent (for photography students)
Landscape
Macro
Music
Pets
Portrait
Street
Travel
Wildlife
People’s Choice (public vote)
The competition is open to all non-professional photographers aged 18 and over, welcoming international entries, however, the prizes will only be awarded to UK residents. For full terms and conditions, visit poty.lcegroup.co.uk.
For this competition, ‘professional’ means that photography is the entrant’s primary source of income.
