Wellcome Photography Prize

What you will actually pay

Entry costs, explained.

Free in every category; no paid entry tier or limit on the number of submissions.

There is no entry charge to recover from a hypothetical win. Editing, captioning and obtaining consent still take time. We recommend submitting a considered selection: an unlimited allowance is an invitation to share distinct strong work, not to upload every near-duplicate. [3]

What the prize is looking for

The brief connects scientific discovery with lived experience. Relevant subjects include mental health, infectious disease and the effects of climate change on health. Work can be personal, observational or produced through specialised imaging. Its strength should lie in what it helps another person understand, rather than in spectacle alone. [1]

Judges assess visual invention, storytelling relevance and technical execution. Treat the caption as part of the entry: explain what is happening, why it matters and how the image was made. Our editorial advice is to build a short series around a clear question, with each frame adding something the others cannot. [5]

An established prize with demonstrable public reach

The programme approaches its thirtieth anniversary and includes the earlier Wellcome Image Awards in its archive. Its 2025 exhibition at London's Francis Crick Institute ran from July to October, showing the top 25 entries. The 2025 jury combined photography, journalism, science and health expertise. That is a persuasive institutional record for work intended to start a public conversation. [1][4]

The Guardian published a gallery of the 2025 winners and finalists. [6]

We regard actual publication and exhibition as stronger evidence than a promised exposure figure. Neither tells an individual entrant how many people will see their work, nor establishes a likely commercial return. This opportunity makes most sense when its subject and audience already align with your practice. [4]

What is awarded, and to whom

Each of the three category winners receives £10,000. Another 22 entries receive £1,000 each, making a £52,000 total across 25 awards; £52,000 is not the first prize. Public announcements are planned for summer 2027. The timetable is therefore much longer than the October submission deadline might suggest. [2]

The previous round demonstrates that these awards have been paid: Wellcome's 2025 announcement names three £10,000 recipients and reports payments to the other finalists. For this review, that documented delivery supports the value judgement more than hypothetical downstream commissions. [4]

Image dates, reuse and consent

Entries are international, including collaborations; under-18s need guardian consent. Images must date from after 31 December 2021. Previously published work is allowed, but previous Wellcome winners or shortlisted images and work commissioned by Wellcome are excluded. Do not reuse one photograph across categories or as both a solo entry and part of a series. [3]

AI-generated imagery is ineligible. Disclosed photographic manipulation can be accepted. Sensitive stories require appropriate subject or patient permission; our advice is to check whether consent covers the competition's public uses before preparing an entry, especially when the original project involved clinical or private circumstances. [2][3]

The significant trade-off is image use

Copyright stays with its holder. All entries carry a worldwide, irrevocable licence for prize-related use for three years. For shortlisted and winning work, permission continues perpetually and extends to Wellcome's wider charitable health mission. This is broader than judging or announcing winners. Revenue-generating merchandise attracts an offered reasonable fee; the other permitted use is royalty-free, with related sublicensing allowed. [3]

For a project intended to inform the public, that reach may be welcome. For a tightly licensed commission or a sensitive personal story, the same permission may be a poor fit. We recommend the opportunity conditionally on that decision, rather than treating retained copyright as the whole rights test. [3]

Preparing a submission

Submit online by 21 October 2026. The terms specify 23:59 GMT, so use that stated zone and finish ahead of the last evening. The entry guide asks for high-resolution TIFF or JPEG files, Adobe RGB (1998), and at least 15 MB uncompressed size. Uncompressed size is not the same as the size of a saved JPEG. [3][2]

Remove visible identifying watermarks, retain original files and make captions precise. A useful final edit is to ask whether the image and its explanation would still matter to a viewer who has never heard of the photographer. That is a better preparation strategy here than chasing a fashionable visual style. [5][3]