Deadline Extended!!
Closed for new entries.

Announcing the LensCulture Black and White Photography Awards 2023

Black-and-white photography celebrates the world of shadows, light and moody darkness. B&W is dramatic, iconic and timeless. It is the aesthetic choice of many photographers. Stripped of color, the story lies in the details, contrasts, and the raw emotion it captures.
We want to discover remarkable B&W photographers from all cultures and all experience levels, and connect them with global audiences and career-changing opportunities — including an exhibition in New York during The Photography Show 2024. Are you ready for the world stage? Read on for information about award benefits, jurors and our free entry option for single image submissions.

Top Awards

  • Exhibition in New York 2024
  • Cash grants of $10,000
  • Solo feature published on LensCulture
  • Featured at international photo festivals
Images in video above by © Damion Berger, Daniel Combs, Enayat Asadi, Hady Barry, Ignacio Iturrioz, Ram Kaushalyan, Roberio Braga
Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Wendy Stone

Our International Jury

Bindi Vora
Bindi Vora
Curator
Autograph
United Kingdom

Bindi Vora is an interdisciplinary photographic artist of Kenyan-Indian heritage, Associate Lecturer at London College of Communication and Curator at Autograph, a London-based non-profit arts charity that explores issues of identity, representation, human rights and social justice through photography. Since joining Autograph, she has curated Hélène Amouzou: Voyages (2023) Eric Gyamfi: Fixing Shadows – Julius and I (2023), Poulomi Basu: Fireflies (2022), co-curated Sasha Huber: You Name It (2022) Care I Contagion I Community – Self & Other (2021-2022); Lola Flash: [sur]passing and Maxine Walker: Untitled (both 2019); published a series artist conversations with Sasha Huber, Mónica Alcázar-Duarte, Maryam Wahid, Tobi Alexandra Falade, David Uzochukwu amongst others. She has independently curated Poulomi Basu: Centralia for Rencontres d’Arles – Louis Roederer Discovery Award (2020); Let’s Go Through This Again (2018); her writing has appeared in publications by Maryam Wahid Zaibuinnisa (MAC, 2022); Another Country: British Documentary Photography Since 1945 (Thames & Hudson); FOAM and British Journal of Photography, participating in public programmes for Tate, GRAIN Photo Hub, The Photographers’ Gallery, The Paul Mellon Centre amongst others. She is currently an artist-in-residence at the National Museums NI (Ulster Museum) as part of the 20/20 project, led by the UAL Decolonising Arts Institute.

Aya Musa is a curator at FOAM, the prominent photography museum in the Netherlands.
Aya Musa
Curator
FOAM Photography Museum
The Netherlands

Aya Musa is a curator at FOAM, the prominent photography museum in the Netherlands. Musa develops exhibitions at FOAM that provide a deepening and innovative interpretation of the museum’s artistic identity. Prior to this, Musa was a curator and head programmer at the Dutch Photomuseum. In his work, Musa combines social developments with new exhibition forms; where photography is not subordinate to the context from which it arises, but at the same time never loses sight of this context. In this way, he gives photography a stage that goes beyond existing clichés.

Caroline Wall is the director of the Robert Mann Gallery.
Caroline Wall
Director
Robert Mann Gallery
United States

Caroline Wall is the director of the Robert Mann Gallery. She graduated from McGill University with a degree in Art History and began her career in the art world at the O’Hara Gallery before joining the team at Robert Mann Gallery in 2006. Robert Mann Gallery features several emerging artists along with an impressive roster of international superstars.

With the gallery, Caroline has participated in many national and international art fairs and works with numerous contemporary photographers and estates organizing both solo and curated group exhibitions. Caroline is a member of the Board of Directors of AIPAD.

Danielle A. Scruggs is a Photo Editor at The Wall Street Journals and a freelance photographer and writer living in Chicago, Illinois.
Danielle A. Scruggs
Photo Editor
Wall Street Journal
United States

Danielle A. Scruggs is a Photo Editor at The Wall Street Journals and a freelance photographer and writer living in Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from Howard University with a degree in journalism and from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a Master’s in Digital Art. Her photography clients include the New York Times, AARP, Buzzfeed News, ESPN, Financial Times, and the New Republic. She has written about art, culture, and film for RogerEbert.com, Ebony, Essence, Teen Vogue, Artsy Magazine, and other publications. Scruggs is also the founder and editor of Black Women Directors, a digital library highlighting the work of Black women and non-binary filmmakers throughout the Diaspora.

arbara Tannenbaum has organized well over 100 exhibitions during her four-decade career as a curator and academic.
Barbara Tannenbaum
Curator of Photography
The Cleveland Museum of Art
United States

Barbara Tannenbaum has organized well over 100 exhibitions during her four-decade career as a curator and academic. From 1985 through 2011, she was chief curator at the Akron Art Museum, where she grew the photography collection from 500 to 2,500 works. She has authored numerous publications including books on TR Ericsson, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, and print-on-demand photobooks, and lectured throughout the U.S. and in Canada, Brazil, and China. As Curator of Photography at The Cleveland Museum of Art, Barbara’s recent and future shows have focused on 19th and 20th century artists including Raja Deen Dayal, American Pictorialist photographers, Ilse Bing, Lois Conner, Aaron Rothman, Tyler Mitchell, Matt Eich, Barbara Bosworth, and Ann Hamilton.

Gwen Lee. Director. Singapore International Photography Festival.
Gwen Lee
Director
Singapore International Photography Festival
Singapore

After six years of experience in museum management, Gwen Lee went on to pursue her first love for photography and founded Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF), the longest running photography festival in Southeast Asia. In 2014, Lee and her team built DECK, an arts centre dedicated to photography arts to provide year-round programming for the community and residency programmes for photographers. Lee has curated over 60 photography exhibitions in Singapore and overseas. In addition to many other awards and honors, in 2022, Lee was a Recipient of Chevalier, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres conferred by Ministry of Culture, France.

Jim Casper is the editor-in-chief of LensCulture, one of the leading online destinations to discover contemporary photography from around the world.
Jim Casper
Editor-in-Chief
LensCulture
The Netherlands

Jim Casper is the editor-in-chief of LensCulture, one of the leading online destinations to discover contemporary photography from around the world. As an active member in the contemporary photography world, Casper organizes annual international photography events, travels around the world to meet with photographers and review their portfolios, curates art exhibitions, writes about photography and culture, lectures, conducts workshops, serves as an international juror and nominator for key awards, and is an advisor to arts and education organizations.

Black & White Photography Awards 2023. Photography Prize. An exhibition in New York during The Photography Show 2024.

Exhibition in New York!

Winning photographers will be exhibited at a gallery in New York during The Photography Show, the eminent photo fair that brings together hundreds of galleries, publishers and collectors, as well as an ambitious program of exhibitions, conversations, artist book signings and curated fair events.

An opening reception will be held for LensCulture artists, invited media, photo editors and industry insiders for a night of art appreciation and networking during New York’s largest international art fair dedicated to photography.

I work in color sometimes, but I guess the images I most connect to, historically speaking, are in black and white. I see more in black and white – I like the abstraction of it.”
Mary Ellen Mark
Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Florian Kriechbaumer
Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Nicolas St-Pierre
Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Christina McFaul
Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Jacob Black

Get the opportunity to grow your career with our awards & benefits

Solo Feature Published on LensCulture

First, second and third place winners in the Series category will have their work published on LensCulture. Benefitting from LensCulture’s high search rankings and traffic to the site, our features offer significant ongoing exposure for your work.

Featured at International Photo Festivals

Select works will be screened at photo festivals and events worldwide. In the past, our winners, finalists, and jurors’ picks were screened at festivals in the US, the UK, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, The Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Hungary, Serbia, and more.

Visibility With Industry Insiders & Creative Professionals

All it takes is one set of eyes to change the course of your career. If our jury ranks your submission highly, you will be included in LensCulture Discoveries, our directory of top-rated photographers. We provide this directory to key decision-makers including editors, book publishers, gallery owners, festival directors, creative directors, curators, and online media publishers.

Permanent Exhibition in LensCulture Online Gallery

LensCulture has become a key resource for discovering new photography work all over the world. All winners, finalists and jurors’ picks for this award will be prominently featured in the permanent online gallery on our site.

International Press Exposure

Award winners receive press coverage in publications and media outlets around the world — the kind of exposure that can lead to viral, global recognition of your work. Winners, finalists and selected entrants have been featured in major publications including BBC, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Internazionale, VICE, The Times of London, Huffington Post, Spiegel Online, The British Journal of Photography, and The Telegraph.

See this great recent feature about our Street Photography Award Winners in The Guardian.


The Guardian – International Press Exposure, photography award competition, photography prize, Black & White Photography Awards
The Timelightbox – International Press Exposure, photography award competition, photography prize, Black & White Photography Awards;
BJP – International Press Exposure, photography award competition, photography prize, Black & White Photography Awards
The Telegraph – International Press Exposure, photography award competition, photography prize, Black & White Photography Awards
The New York Times– International Press Exposure, photography award competition, photography prize, Black & White Photography Awards
Speigel – International Press Exposure, photography award competition, photography prize, Black & White Photography Awards
Hufftington Post – International Press Exposure, photography award competition, photography prize, Black & White Photography Awards

Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Mitch Dobrowner

Competition Gallery
Editors’ Picks

When you enter this award, your work will be immediately reviewed by our editors. Selected submissions will be featured in our Competition Gallery and published across all of our online channels, reaching an international audience of three million. (For example, more than 562 early entries were selected and featured during our 2021 Black & White Photography Awards, and more than 200 of those were promoted via LensCulture’s Instagram and Facebook platforms, garnering more than 430,000 likes and comments.) Enter your work early to take advantage of this incredible opportunity for global exposure!
Note: While our editors review entries for inclusion on a daily basis, not every submission can be shown here.
Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Ash Shinya Kawaoto

Cash Awards & Recognition

Jurors' Picks

Each juror will select an individual Juror's Pick to receive special distinction, including quotes from the experts praising each of the selected series or single images.

25 Finalists

25 Finalists and their work will be highlighted and featured on the winners’ page, and in the worldwide promotions, along with the Winners and Jurors’ Picks.

Benefits for All Who Enter

BenefitsWinnersJurors‘ picks25 FinalistsEditors‘ Picks(1)Every Entrant
$10,000 in Cash Awards
Exhibition in New York 2024
Solo Feature Published on LensCulture(2)
Visibility with LensCulture Insiders
Featured in International Photo Festival Projections
International Press Exposure
Massive Exposure to our Global Audience of 3 Million
LensCulture Portfolio Account(3)
Opportunity to be in LensCulture Discoveries online directory of top-rated photographers(4)
Share your Work with the Global Photography Community
Opportunities for Immediate Exposure
(1)Editors’ Picks: During the competition, LensCulture’s editors will curate hundreds of entries for immediate exposure to our global audience through the competition gallery and our Instagram and Facebook pages, all updated daily. (2)Solo Feature for series winners.(3)LensCulture Portfolio Account: Available for all Series entries and 5+ Single entries.(4)All highly-rated photographers are automatically included in LensCulture Discoveries online directory.
Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Jayesh Joshi

Get a written review of your work

Enter a series or 5+ single images, and you can add a professional written review of your submission for an additional $25. This is a unique opportunity to receive valuable and specific feedback on your work from one of our experienced industry professionals.

“This review was extraordinarily insightful and immensely helpful. Truly, I didn’t anticipate this level of attention... I am extremely encouraged.” Fred Zafran

Show Us Your Work

Open to all types of B&W photography: fine art, experimental, fiction, documentary, visual storytelling, portraits, landscapes, staged/constructed, street, mixed media, alternative processes, conceptual.

Closed for new entries.
Why enter our Awards for Photography Competition 2023
LensCulture has been helping photographers gain visibility and recognition for over 19 years.
Hear from a few winners about this career-changing impact.
Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Camila Berrio

Be Persistent

Many successful photographers enter the same work in several competitions before they finally win. This is an effective strategy to have your work seen by many different jurors and build your career. Persistence is the key to getting your work seen by influential experts worldwide - it only takes one person to make a positive impact on your creative journey!

Success Stories

For 19 years, LensCulture has been committed to helping photographers of all levels move forward creatively and professionally. In that time, we have heard from hundreds of photographers who were able to achieve breakthroughs in their careers through participation in the LensCulture community.

“My success with LensCulture gave me invaluable media exposure that helped grow and solidify my reputation within the street photography community. My work has been featured in exhibitions, festivals, and magazines. I’ve had wonderful networking opportunities and contact with photographers I revere.”
Argus Paul is a previously Awarded winner for our Photography Competitions 2023
Argus Paul Estabrook
Winner, Black & White Photography Awards 2021
“Winning the LensCulture Black & White Photography Awards is one of the most prestigious recognitions I could get in my photography journey! Since winning, I’ve had my photos featured in a local newspaper in Hong Kong, which led to a local gallery offering me representation. Along with being represented by this gallery, I’ve had other publications discover my work and offer me features.”
Jason Au is a previously Awarded winner for our Photography Competitions 2023
Jason Au
Winner, Black & White Photography Awards 2021
“My work gained great attention because of the LensCulture Award. My book The Monument was nominated for The Swedish Photo Book Award 2019, and also nominated for Prix Pictet!”
Ulf Lundin is a previously Awarded finalist for our Photography Competitions 2023
Ulf Lundin
Finalist, Black & White Photography Awards 2018
“The recognition from LensCulture helped me get into the fellowship program at the Bronx Museum for the Arts. I launched my first solo exhibition at Kingswell Art Museum, and had a spread of my work published in the Visual Arts Journal. I made connections with people I admired and was offered opportunities because of LensCulture spearheading this initiative to recognize photographers.”
Photography Competition 2023 Awards previous winner Atonio Pulgarin
Antonio Pulgarin
Winner, Art Photography Awards 2018
“Receiving the LensCulture award gave me more visibility and the encouragement to keep going. National Geographic reached out to me about applying for their storytelling grant, and I made connections with people who were interested in exhibiting my work. This showed me that the story I was telling speaks to other people and is universal. ”
Photography Competition 2023 Awards previous Jurors's Pick Vikesh Kapoor
Vikesh Kapoor
Jurors' Pick, Art Photography Awards 2018
We respect artists’ rights
All photographers retain full copyrights for their own work. Period. Winners, Jurors' Picks and Finalists grant LensCulture limited, restricted use of winning photos only to promote the photographers themselves and in connection with marketing the Awards competition itself. Details can be found in the Competition Rules.
Black & White Photography Awards 2023 – Photography Competition
© Ram Kaushalyan