Magazine Photo Competitions

A good place to find photo competitions is in the magazines you read. These might be photography or hobby magazines, your weekly news bulletin, or that deliciously trashy publication full of celebrity gossip you read at the dentist.

Good Chance of Winning

Unless it's a photography magazine, a lot of the competition entries will be submitted by readers who are not as skilled at photography as you are, so you have a good chance of winning a prize.

Here are a few Australian magazines that host photo competitions, but you'll find photo competitions in magazines all over the world.

Woman's Day - Australia

Take a cute picture of your pet or child, or a photo of yourself holding a copy of the magazine in an exotic location and it may be printed in Woman's Day. Every image printed receives $25 and the winning entries receive $150.

When: Each week

How: Email to talktotheday@bauer-media.com.au along with your phone number and address

Open to: Readers of the magazine

Prizes: $25 and $150

Web: Woman's Day

Tip: Pick up a copy of the magazine to see what the judges are looking for.

Australian Photography + Digital

This photography magazine has a monthly competition called "Your Best Shot". While this is a print publication, the website is worth a visit. For example, take a look at these Landscape Photography Tips. You can also see winning entries from previous months.

When: End of each month

How: Upload via the form on the magazine's website.

Themes: Each month has a different theme and previous themes have included: street photography, texture, the beach and love.

Open to: You have to be an Australian Photography subscriber or Australian Photography Society member

Prizes: Vary according to the month

Web: Australian Photography Website.

Image Doctor

Also a section in Australian Photography + Digital Magazine, Image Doctor isn't promoted as a competition, but there is always a monthly winner who usually receives quite a good prize. The idea is you submit your photo and a professional photographer gives you feedback on how to improve your technique.

When: Every month

How:  Email images - see the Image Doctor page for details

Open to: The Terms & Conditions don't appear to exclude any photographer, but you do need an Australian address to receive the prize if you should happen to win.

Prizes: Change monthly, but in the Feb and March editions, the prize was a Fujifilm X-Pro 1 camera kit valued at $1,800. Not bad!

Deadline: Every month and there's a limit of one image per person per month

Web: Australian Photography Website.

Australian Traveller Magazine

Australian Traveller magazine is published bi-monthly and every edition features a reader's photo.

When: Every two months

Tip: Have a look at previous winning entries to see what the judges are looking for.

How: Email to photo@australiantraveller.com along with a short description of the photo and your contact details.

Prizes: Prizes vary, but at the time of writing the current prize was a very nice 70 - 200 Tamron f/2.8  lens.

Web: Australian Traveller


Have you noticed any regular photographic competitions in the magazines you read? Please feel free to share them in the comments section below.