KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY)
Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards (explorenation.net / KL Photoawards Malaysia), with FORMAT International Photography Festival klphotoawards.com ↗
Closes Nov 24, 2026
·
D − 43
Worth entering? $1.1K top prize against 12 EUR per image. The jury read and the rights terms below are what decide it — not the prize math. Jury read ↓ · Rights & disqualifiers ↓
Submit-Safe · before you pay the entry fee
Read the fine print
Read the fine print first — KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY) has 6 hard disqualifiers and demanding rights terms.
What this contest takes
Standard terms — you keep copyright and full control; the licence is limited to promoting the contest.
- Entrants agree work may be exhibited by the organisers and festival collaborators "for 3 years from the close of the contest", and that entries featured in the exhibition may be used "without any payment to the Photographer [...] for any sales, marketing, educational and publicity use on, and in, all media worldwide [...] for 3 years from the close of the contest" in connection with KLPA only, with credit. "The Photographer always retains the copyright of all submitted images at all times."
- Duration: 3 years from the close of the contest
- You keep your copyright
- Credited when used
What disqualifies you
AI-generated or AI-rendered content is disqualified — and RAW files can be demanded to prove it.
- Age minimum Photographers must be 16 or over on 25 November 2026. “Must be 16 years of age or over on 25 November 2026.”
- Ai generation No AI prompt-generated imagery in whole or part; finalists may have to supply original RAW or JPEG files. “All AI prompt-generated digital images are not permissible, in whole or part of any submission. We rely on photographers' integrity and honesty not to submit AI-created images.”
- Image format Minimal enhancement only (levels, curves, dodging, burning, minimal sharpening, colour correction). No heavy manipulation, HDR, morphing, splicing, erasing features, heavy vignetting, toning or filter effects; in-camera multiple exposures allowed. No commercial/advertising images. “Commercial and advertising images, heavily digitally manipulated or post-processed, HDR (High Dynamic Range) or digitally content-altered images are not permissible. eg. morphing, splicing or erasing features, heavy vignetting, extreme darkening of skies, toning, filter effects. In-camera multiple exposures are allowed.”
- Capture date after All photographs must have been taken between 2024 and 2026. “All photographs must have been taken between 2024 and 2026. Proof may be required at the verification stage.”
- Copyright ownership Entrant must own the work and hold model releases for exhibition, sales, marketing and publicity uses. “Entrants warrant to the organisers that they (the Photographer) own the work submitted, that the whole copyright in the work is vested in the Photographer”
Closes Nov 24, 2026 · D−43
12 EUR per image
Upload spec:
Files: JPGMax 1500px long edgesRGB colour profileCaption requiredNo watermarks
Check your photo against these exact rules — free →
No account · reads the editing line, the AI clause and the file spec · confirm on the official page before you pay
The full editorial read continues with past-winner pattern, fee-to-prize value, rights translated, and three comparable competitions. Studio reads the rest.
Categories
Students (free, one image)
Single
Full-time students under 25 may enter one self-portrait free; judged alongside the main category.
- Proof of full-time enrolment (student ID or establishment letter) required.
Main Category — Self-Portrait (theme: PLAY)
Single · up to 10 photos
Self-portrait photography of people and identity on the theme PLAY — experimentation, camera play, playful or subversive self-portraiture. Up to 10 single images with captions per submission; max 2 submissions.
F Format requirements 1 spec
klpa_entry
- File types: jpg
- Max long edge: 1500px
- Color profile: sRGB
- No watermarks
- Caption required
E Eligibility 5 rules
-
Photographers must be 16 or over on 25 November 2026.
hard
“Must be 16 years of age or over on 25 November 2026.”
-
No AI prompt-generated imagery in whole or part; finalists may have to supply original RAW or JPEG files.
hard
“All AI prompt-generated digital images are not permissible, in whole or part of any submission. We rely on photographers' integrity and honesty not to submit AI-created images.”
-
Minimal enhancement only (levels, curves, dodging, burning, minimal sharpening, colour correction). No heavy manipulation, HDR, morphing, splicing, erasing features, heavy vignetting, toning or filter effects; in-camera multiple exposures allowed. No commercial/advertising images.
hard
“Commercial and advertising images, heavily digitally manipulated or post-processed, HDR (High Dynamic Range) or digitally content-altered images are not permissible. eg. morphing, splicing or erasing features, heavy vignetting, extreme darkening of skies, toning, filter effects. In-camera multiple exposures are allowed.”
-
All photographs must have been taken between 2024 and 2026.
hard
“All photographs must have been taken between 2024 and 2026. Proof may be required at the verification stage.”
-
Entrant must own the work and hold model releases for exhibition, sales, marketing and publicity uses.
hard
“Entrants warrant to the organisers that they (the Photographer) own the work submitted, that the whole copyright in the work is vested in the Photographer”
Jury context
Blind, live judging by a panel of curators and artists: Jodi Kwok (QUAD / FORMAT curator), Enrico Stefanelli (Photolux Festival), D. M. Terblanche, Mari Katayama and Sean Cham. Portrait is read "in its widest sense" — identity in relation to surroundings, status and humanity — and this edition foregrounds experimentation and play in self-portraiture.
Priorities: concept and theme fit experimentation identity and self representation craft
Tone: playful experimental self reflexive contemporary art
Avoid: commercial advertising heavy retouching hdr ai generated exploitative images of children
Prizes
1st €1,000, 2nd €500, 3rd €300. Top 35 finalists projected at the FORMAT27 festival in Derby, UK (11 March – 11 April 2027) and in Kuala Lumpur.
Exhibition
R Rights & licensing what you grant the organizer
- What you grant
- Entrants agree work may be exhibited by the organisers and festival collaborators "for 3 years from the close of the contest", and that entries featured in the exhibition may be used "without any payment to the Photographer [...] for any sales, marketing, educational and publicity use on, and in, all media worldwide [...] for 3 years from the close of the contest" in connection with KLPA only, with credit. "The Photographer always retains the copyright of all submitted images at all times."
- Duration
- 3 years from the close of the contest
- Exclusivity
- none
- Attribution
- Required
- Copyright retained by photographer
- Yes
Before you enter — quick answers
- Is KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY) free to enter?
- KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY) is not free: 12 EUR per image. Check the organizer's page for the full fee rules and any waivers.
- Are AI-generated images allowed in KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY)?
- No. KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY) does not permit AI-generated images — entries must be photographs, and AI image generators are prohibited.
- When is the KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY) deadline?
- KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY) closes on Nov 24, 2026 (in 43 days).
- How do I know if my photo is eligible for KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY)?
- Read your photograph against KL International Photoawards — AUTOPORTRAIT 2026 Open Call (theme: PLAY)'s published rules — the editing line, the AI clause, and the file requirements — free and without an account with WinPhoto's eligibility check. It tells you whether your image is eligible before you pay the entry fee.