Close-up Photographer of the Year

What you will actually pay

Entry costs, explained.

2026: adults £22/6, £33/15 or £44/30 images; early £20/£30/£40. Youth £5/15.

All advertised routes are paid. Repeating one photograph in another category consumes another entry. Choose the package for your finished edit: unused capacity is not a reason to send weaker pictures. [4]

Close-up is an approach, not a lens specification

The contest spans small landscape sections, animals within their surroundings, extreme macro and microscopic subjects. Focus stacking, HDR and stitched images are accepted. Standard adjustments and AI denoising are permitted, but generated content is prohibited. Software composites belong only in Studio Art. That distinction makes accurate captions and an honest account of technique essential. [2]

Wildlife must not be harmed or restrained for a picture. Freezing, chemicals and live bait are forbidden. Photographs of historical specimens or genuine scientific research are allowed; apparent perfection achieved by mistreating a living subject is not. [2]

Evidence of attention beyond the organiser

PetaPixel's illustrated February 2026 feature on CUPOTY 7 discusses Ross Gudgeon's overall-winning view inside a soft coral and reproduces winners across the categories. It reports more than 12,000 entries from 63 countries, assessed by 22 photographers, naturalists and editors. Those are participation figures, not a measured audience. The feature nevertheless shows that selected work reaches an independent photography publication. [6]

The examples include frog eggs, mayflies, frost and oxidised copper. That variety is useful evidence against assuming the award is only for immaculate insect portraits. We would study how the winning photographs organise ordinary subjects, rather than treat their subjects as a shopping list for the next entry. Media coverage for winners cannot promise attention to everyone who pays. [6]

Cash is concentrated in the winning places

The overall award is £2,500 cash, a trophy and a Macro Kit valued by the organiser at £1,350. The kit is equipment and software, not extra cash. Other adult category winners receive £250 each; the overall winner does not also collect that category payment. Young CUPOTY awards £300 and a trophy. [3]

Top 100 selection brings the online exhibition and ebook, while shortlisted entrants receive gallery placement and a digital badge. Every entrant is promised the CUPOTY 8 ebook, advertised at £19.99. We would count that only if you actually want the publication: its retail valuation does not reduce the money paid to enter. [3]

Worldwide, with separate adult and youth routes

Professional and amateur photographers of any nationality can enter, subject to exclusions for the organisers, jury and their families. The principal 2026 eligibility clause places people aged 18 or above on 12 July in the adult contest. [1]

There is no capture-date limit. Earlier CUPOTY Top 100 images cannot return; previously shortlisted pictures have restricted repeat eligibility. Major wins elsewhere may affect the judges' discretion, rather than automatically bar entry. [2]

Five years of competition use, plus the archive

Copyright remains yours. Winning, Top 100 and shortlisted pictures receive a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free licence for five years of competition-related use by CUPOTY, sponsors and supporters. It includes publications, calendars, exhibitions, publicity and press sublicensing. The website archive may remain permanently. Separate uses need further agreement. Credit is intended but omission does not create liability. Consider any conflicting client or exclusive licences before entering. [1]

Payment and image upload are separate steps

The 2026 payment cutoff was 12:00 UTC on 13 July, described as the end of 12 July everywhere. Images could follow for seven days. The process is to purchase a package, then upload through Send Images using the same email address; paying alone does not deliver the pictures. [2][4]

Prepare sRGB JPEG copies at 2,200 pixels on the longest edge, or the largest available if smaller. Keep originals intact and omit watermarks, borders and signatures. Name files with category, photographer and title; captions should explain subject, place and technique. Judging is anonymous, and shortlisted photographers must supply original files and matching high-resolution versions when requested. [5][4]