Food
World Food Photography Awards
Food here includes farming, markets, family meals and documentary stories as well as studio still life. The 2027 award offers a £5,000 overall prize and a London finalist exhibition, but most adults must budget for paid entry.
Our assessment · Worth considering
A credible food-story showcase, provided the paid route matches your work.
Our editorial judgement: worth considering for photographers with a distinctive food story and a deliberate competition budget. The broad briefs and demonstrated coverage make it more persuasive than an unsupported exposure promise. The strongest reason to enter is the fit between your work and the specialist panel. Do not stretch a weak photograph across multiple categories simply because additional submissions are available. [6][7][5][3]
A good fit for
- Documentary, travel and commercial photographers whose food-related images tell a human story, as well as specialists in carefully made food still life. [6]
- Eligible young photographers, photography students and people from refugee or forced-displacement backgrounds, who have defined free routes. [1][10][11]
Think carefully if
- The £5,000 overall prize is unavailable to several routes, including wine, drinks, student, stylist and youth winners. A category win is not necessarily a chance at the headline cash award. [2]
- An entry fee buys consideration, not publicity. The organiser’s testimonials about work won by previous finalists are individual experiences; they do not forecast a commercial return. [4]
Photo Competitions’ editorial judgement · 2027 competition · Reviewed 4 Oct 2026
What you will actually pay
Entry costs, explained.
Adult £35 for six entries; phone £7 each; selected youth, student and refugee routes free.
| Entry route | Cost | Who and what it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Adult single-image categories | £35 | Up to six entries; further submissions £7 each. Repeating one photograph in another category consumes another paid entry. [1][3] |
| On the Phone | £7 per entry | Separate single-entry option for mobile-phone photographs; £2 per entry supports Action Against Hunger. [1] |
| Food Stylist | £35 per portfolio | Exactly five photographs per set, submitted with each photographer’s permission; no overall-title eligibility. [1][9] |
| Young | Free | Up to five entries; ages 12-and-under and 13–17, measured at closing. Separate from adult awards. [10] |
| RPS Student | Free | Up to five entries; currently on, or completed in the preceding 12 months, a recognised college/university photography course. [1] |
| UK for UNHCR Food as Home | Free | Up to five entries; restricted to people with a refugee background or experience of forced displacement. [11] |
| Optional membership | £50 per year | Includes six entries; this is paid membership, not a generally free adult competition. [8] |
The fee page also quotes £35 for a five-image M&S Rising Star portfolio, but that route is absent from the current category index. We cannot confirm it is open in 2027 and would not pay specifically for it without clarification. The established adult, phone and free routes above are described on current pages. [1][6]
Find the right kind of food story
Food at the Table is for meals in eateries; Food Portraiture covers prepared food in a studio style. Harvest pictures need the human element, while Food in the Field is about produce in its setting. The new Feast of Flowers theme is specific to 2027. These distinctions matter: a beautifully lit ingredient is not interchangeable with a story about the people producing it. [6]
David Loftus chairs a panel spanning photography, food publishing, creative direction, chefs and food businesses. The listed affiliations include Guardian photography, the UN World Food Programme and Fortnum & Mason. That creates relevant professional contexts for assessment, although a judge’s employer is not a promise that it will publish, exhibit or commission your work. [7]
Actual coverage, without an exposure guarantee
Digital Camera World published Jo Kearney’s 2026 overall-winning photograph and discussed its quiet meal scene in a Tajik sanatorium. This is independent editorial attention to an award winner, not merely a listing of an open call. The article also described the London exhibition. It supports the award’s visibility outside its own channels, but does not quantify an audience or establish results for ordinary entrants. [5]
An individual top prize and separate category benefits
The overall winner receives £5,000. The 2027 launch promises all finalist images at the Mall Galleries, a selected group at Fortnum & Mason, and finalist invitations to the 18 May awards evening. Innovation adds a £1,400 bursary and four-week Hugo Burge Foundation residency. Those category benefits should not be treated as cash payable to every finalist. No travel allowance is promised in this launch, so international attendance needs its own budget. [4]
The overall award is selected from eligible category winners. Wine, World of Drinks, RPS Student, Food Stylist, Bimi Prize and youth are excluded in the terms. Select a route for its actual recognition, rather than assuming every entry competes for £5,000. [2]
International entry and no capture-year restriction
Adult entrants are 18 or older at closing; youth entrants are 17 or younger. Entries can come from any country. Previously overall-winning photographs and previously shortlisted images cannot be re-entered. The entrant must control the needed rights and permissions. [2]
The FAQ allows photographs made at any time and previously posted online. However, do not identify them publicly as entered images before the shortlist is released. Generative reconstruction is prohibited; retain originals and workflow information. Older work is therefore worth reviewing, but its permissions and processing still need to stand up to scrutiny. [3]
Copyright retained, but broad award-related use
Copyright remains with the entrant. The licence is worldwide, non-exclusive and irrevocable for award/exhibition use across media, including books, publicity and associated merchandising. Commercial opportunities are to be separately agreed where a commercial benefit is likely. Archive withdrawal can be requested after three years; this is not a simple three-year expiry of all usage rights. Expect unpaid promotional publication and read the full licence before submitting valuable commissioned work. [2]
Complete payment as well as uploading
The deadline is midnight GMT on 7 February 2027. The public shortlist is scheduled for 1 April; private shortlist contact is earlier. Winners are due on 18 May, with the Mall Galleries exhibition 19–23 May. Uploading early leaves time to resolve account or payment problems. [3]
Register on the official site, upload to the image library, select categories, confirm details and complete payment. Check that entries appear under My Entries rather than Pending Entries. The terms require JPEG/PNG files at no more than 1,920 pixels on the long side, without identifying marks; finalists need files suitable for A2 printing. [8][2]
Details still worth checking.
M&S Rising Star appears in fee wording but not the current category index. Its availability is unverified; the review does not present that portfolio route as confirmed open. [1][6]
The evidence behind this review
Sources & last checked.
Fees, rules and prize details come from the organiser. Independent reporting supports our assessment of reputation; it does not guarantee publicity or a return on your entry fee.
- 2027 fees and free routesOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- 2027 terms, eligibility and image licenceOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- 2027 dates, file age and FAQOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- 2027 launch and prizesOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- Digital Camera World: Jo Kearney’s 2026 overall winIndependent reporting · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- Current category indexOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- 2027 judges and industry affiliationsOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- Official entry processOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- Food Stylist portfolio routeOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- Young photographers routeOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
- Free refugee and displaced photographer routeOrganiser source · Checked 4 Oct 2026
Dates, fees and terms can change. Read the current rules on the official competition website before entering.