Free Wedding Photography Competition 2026
Wedding Photography Competition 2026
Your Best Wedding Photograph Could Win
Great wedding photography deserves to be seen.
The Institute of Wedding Photographers (IOWP) is opening its 2026 Wedding Photography Competition to EVERYONE — IOWP members and non-members from around the world.
And best of all, it’s completely FREE to enter.
Whether you’ve photographed hundreds of weddings or 2026 is your first year shooting weddings professionally, we want to see the photograph you’re most proud of.
This isn’t about how many followers you have, how long you’ve been a photographer or what equipment you use.
It’s about the photograph.
Show us your creativity. Show us the emotion. Show us the moment.
What Can You Win?
1ST PRIZE
🏆 Godox iT32 Flash
⭐ IOWP Premium Membership
2 RUNNERS-UP
⭐ IOWP Professional Membership for each photographer
TOP 10 WINNERS
📖 A copy of VISION by Michael Lundbeck for each of the Top 10 photographers
FREE ENTRY • OPEN WORLDWIDE • MEMBERS & NON-MEMBERS
Simply create an account or log in, read the competition rules and submit your photograph.
ENTER THE COMPETITION FOR FREE
Competition Rules
We want to keep the competition fair, simple and focused on real wedding photography created by real photographers.
1. Your photograph must be your own work
You must have personally taken the photograph you submit. You must be the original photographer and have the necessary rights to enter and display the image.
2. The photograph must be from a real 2026 wedding
Your entry must have been photographed at a genuine wedding during 2026. Images from styled shoots, portfolio-building days, workshops, model shoots or staged wedding sessions cannot be entered.
3. No AI-generated photographs
AI-generated wedding photographs are not permitted. The principal content of the image must come from a genuine photograph captured by you.
Generative AI must not be used to create or replace people, couples, backgrounds or significant elements of the photograph.
4. Normal photographic editing is permitted
Normal professional editing is absolutely fine. This includes exposure and colour adjustments, cropping, black & white conversion, sharpening, dodging and burning and normal photographic retouching.
The finished image must still represent the genuine photograph and moment that you captured.
5. No watermarks
Please submit a clean image with no watermark, photographer's logo, studio name, website address, border or identifying branding.
This helps ensure photographs can be considered on the image itself.
6. We may ask to see the original photograph
IOWP reserves the right to request the original RAW file and/or additional photographs from the same wedding to confirm the authenticity of an entry.
If an entrant cannot provide reasonable verification when requested, the photograph may be removed from the competition.
7. Enter through your own account
All photographers, including IOWP members and non-members, must log in or create their own account before entering.
You cannot submit another photographer's work.
8. Permission and privacy
It is the photographer's responsibility to ensure they have the appropriate rights and permissions to submit the photograph and allow it to be displayed publicly in connection with the competition.
9. Judging
Photographs may be considered across areas including storytelling, emotion, creativity, composition, lighting, timing, originality and overall photographic impact.
10. Winners and prizes
The competition will recognise an overall winner, two runners-up and a Top 10. Prizes are as advertised for this competition and have no cash alternative unless otherwise stated by IOWP.
11. Copyright remains yours
You retain copyright in your photograph. By entering, you give the Institute of Wedding Photographers permission to display and reproduce the submitted image for purposes connected with the competition, judging, results, IOWP awards and promotion of the competition.
12. Fair competition
IOWP reserves the right to reject or remove an entry where there is reasonable evidence that it does not comply with the competition rules.
Think You've Got a Photograph Worthy of the Top 10?
Go back through the weddings you've photographed during 2026.
Find that photograph that made you stop when you first saw it.
The incredible moment. The perfect light. The emotion you couldn't plan. The photograph where everything simply came together.
That could be the one.
You don't need to be an IOWP member.
You don't need to have won awards before.
You don't need years of experience.
You just need a great wedding photograph.
Entry is completely FREE.