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MY · Moderate entry · 2027 · verified

MUSE Photography Awards 2027

International Awards Associate Inc (IAA) musephotographyawards.com ↗

Closes Feb 25, 2027 · D − 102

Get a reminder before MUSE Photography Awards 2027 closes on 25 Feb 2027, and before every other deadline, with the Photo Contest Planner 2027, free, by email.

One email now to confirm, then one reminder on 18 February 2027, 7 days before it closes. Nothing else, and the reminder has a cancel link. Privacy

MUSE Photography Awards 2027 is open for entries until 25 February 2027; the organiser names no time zone, and we read it as Kuala Lumpur time (UTC+8). The standard entry fee is 35 USD per image. Accepts AI-generated images. The licence covers every entry; it has no end date. Checked against the organiser's rules on 4 November 2026.

Top prize $3.0K grand prize
Fee Moderate 30 USD per image
AI policy AI allowed in a dedicated category
Categories 12 12 single · 0 multi-image

Worth entering? $3.0K top prize against 30 USD 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 — MUSE Photography Awards 2027 has 5 hard disqualifiers and demanding rights terms.

What this contest takes

You keep copyright, but grant a perpetual promotional licence — they can keep using entered images to promote the contest.

  • Copyright stays with the entrant. Terms of Use 3.C: "Submission of any entry acknowledges the right of The MUSE Photography Awards to use it for exhibition and publication in any medium." "Copyright and all other rights remain that of the entrant. All entrants understand and agree that any work submitted to the competition may be used by the MUSE Photography Awards and its media partners for marketing and promotional purposes of the competition only, including in any media such as exhibitions, print and digital media directly related to the MUSE Photography Awards competition." The site-wide upload clause in 3.B also applies to uploaded images: "When you upload User Uploaded Information via the Websites, you grant to the International Awards Associate Inc, without any credit or compensation to you, a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, unrestricted, irrevocable, displayable, and export any User Uploaded Information, in whole or in part, or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, software or technology of any kind for any purposes whatsoever." Section 3.A: "Once you sign up and submit your entry, we reserve the right not to remove your content, including but not limited to your data, images, description, all content you had uploaded previously, or intellectual property even if you remove your account."
  • Duration: No term is stated for the competition use; the 3.B upload grant is perpetual, unrestricted, irrevocable
  • You keep your copyright
  • Credited when used

What disqualifies you

AI imagery is permitted, usually only inside a dedicated category — enter it in the right track.

  • Age minimum Open to anyone aged 18 or over, anywhere in the world: professional, amateur and student photographers, and agencies, designers, in-house teams and business owners entering photographic work. “The MUSE Photography Awards is open to anyone aged 18 and above residing anywhere in the world.”
  • Capture date Work must have been created within the last five calendar years, 2023 to 2027, up to the final deadline. MUSE may ask for proof of the production or publication date. “Work submitted must have been created within the last 5 years (2023-2027).”
  • Image format Entries must be judged exactly as they were published or implemented and may not be modified for the competition (FAQ). For images with significant digital enhancement, the FAQ suggests the Special Category's Digital Enhance Photography. “All entries must be submitted for judging exactly as published or implemented and may not be modified for the competition. The MUSE Photography Awards may request proof of initial production and/or publication date.”
  • Original files Mobile Photography only: photos must be taken with a phone or tablet and not altered in desktop software; MUSE may ask for the original images to verify them and disqualifies images it cannot verify. No request date is stated. “All photos must be taken with a mobile phone or tablet. The photos are not to be altered in Photoshop or any other desktop image processing programs. Add-on lenses can be used. However, we may ask for the original images for verification purposes. Any images that cannot be verified will be disqualified.”
  • Copyright ownership The entrant must own the work or have permission from a client or other party to enter it; an entrant without those rights is not eligible (Terms of Use 3.C). “MUSE Photography Awards assumes all entries are original and the entrant either owns the submission or has permission from a client or other appropriate party to enter the work, with all rights granted therein.”
Closes Feb 25, 2027 · D−102 30 USD per image Upload spec: Files: JPGUnder 4 MBCaption requiredNo watermarks
Check your file against these file rules, free → No account · type, pixel size and file size, in your browser · it does not judge the photograph
№ 02 · The editorial read

What this jury looks for

Blind judging by an international jury of creative and art directors, photographers, photo editors, art collectors, educators and business owners; entrant information is removed, and the judges' names are withheld during the evaluation. Each entry is scored from 1 to 100 on its own, "without comparison to other entries in a category", and…

Categories

Advertising Photography

Single

Subcategories include automotive, beauty, billboard and print ads, e-commerce, fashion, food and beverage, product and travel campaigns. Single image or series of 2-8.

Architecture Photography

Single

Subcategories include buildings, cityscapes, drone, heritage, interior, night, real estate, symmetry and urban exploration. Single image or series of 2-8.

Black & White Photography

Single

Black and white work in subcategories from abstract and architecture to landscapes, portrait, street, wedding and wildlife. Single image or series of 2-8.

Commercial Photography

Single

Subcategories include brand campaigns, corporate, e-commerce, fashion, food and beverage, product, still life and travel. Single image or series of 2-8.

Editorial Photography

Single

Subcategories include documentary, feature story, general news, photojournalism, political, sports, street, travel and war/conflict. Single image or series of 2-8.

Fashion Photography

Single

Subcategories include avant-garde, beauty, campaign, editorial, high fashion, runway and street style. Single image or series of 2-8.

Film Photography

Single

Work shot on film: subcategories include black and white, colour film, darkroom processing and printmaking, expired film, landscape, portrait and street. Single image or series of 2-8.

Fine Art Photography

Single

Fine art subcategories from abstract and architecture to landscape, photomanipulation, portrait, surreal and wildlife. The FAQ says fine art keeps digital manipulation minimal. Single image or series of 2-8.

Minimalist Photography

Single

Minimalist work in subcategories from abstracts and aerial vistas to landscapes, macro, monochromatic works, nature and wildlife, and portraits. Single image or series of 2-8.

Nature Photography

Single

Subcategories include aerial/drone, aquatic/underwater, astrophotography, comedy wildlife, landscapes, macro, Milky Way, plants and flowers, weather and wildlife. Single image or series of 2-8.

People Photography

Single

Subcategories include business, children, culture, environmental, family, portrait, self-portrait, sports, street and wedding. Single image or series of 2-8.

Special Category

Single

AI-Generated Photography, Comedy, Covid-19 Related, CSR, Digital Enhance, Event, Experimental, Long Exposure, Minimalism, Mobile, Night, Panoramic and Smartphone Photography. Single image or series of 2-8.

F Format requirements 1 spec

muse_entry

  • File types: jpg
  • Max size: 4.0 MB
  • No watermarks
  • Caption required

Check a photo against these file rules, free and in your browser.

E Eligibility 8 rules
  • Open to anyone aged 18 or over, anywhere in the world: professional, amateur and student photographers, and agencies, designers, in-house teams and business owners entering photographic work. hard

    “The MUSE Photography Awards is open to anyone aged 18 and above residing anywhere in the world.”

  • Work must have been created within the last five calendar years, 2023 to 2027, up to the final deadline. MUSE may ask for proof of the production or publication date. hard

    “Work submitted must have been created within the last 5 years (2023-2027).”

  • AI-generated work has its own category, AI-Generated Photography, in the Special Category group. No other AI rule is published: nothing bars AI images or AI tools from the other categories, and nothing describes the AI category further. soft

    “SP2701 AI-Generated Photography”

  • Entries must be judged exactly as they were published or implemented and may not be modified for the competition (FAQ). For images with significant digital enhancement, the FAQ suggests the Special Category's Digital Enhance Photography. hard

    “All entries must be submitted for judging exactly as published or implemented and may not be modified for the competition. The MUSE Photography Awards may request proof of initial production and/or publication date.”

  • Mobile Photography only: photos must be taken with a phone or tablet and not altered in desktop software; MUSE may ask for the original images to verify them and disqualifies images it cannot verify. No request date is stated. hard

    “All photos must be taken with a mobile phone or tablet. The photos are not to be altered in Photoshop or any other desktop image processing programs. Add-on lenses can be used. However, we may ask for the original images for verification purposes. Any images that cannot be verified will be disqualified.”

  • Professionals, amateurs and students are judged separately. Anyone who has earned some or all of their living from photography, had photographic work published or belongs to a professional photographic organisation must enter as a professional; students of any subject may enter as students. soft

    “If you have earned some or all of your living as a photographer, had photographic work published, or are a member of a professional photographic organization, then you must submit as a professional.”

  • The entrant must own the work or have permission from a client or other party to enter it; an entrant without those rights is not eligible (Terms of Use 3.C). hard

    “MUSE Photography Awards assumes all entries are original and the entrant either owns the submission or has permission from a client or other appropriate party to enter the work, with all rights granted therein.”

  • Previously published, awarded or earlier-entered work may be entered, though MUSE encourages new work. soft

    “Previously published or awarded work is accepted if it meets MUSE eligibility and rights requirements.”

Jury context

Blind judging by an international jury of creative and art directors, photographers, photo editors, art collectors, educators and business owners; entrant information is removed, and the judges' names are withheld during the evaluation. Each entry is scored from 1 to 100 on its own, "without comparison to other entries in a category", and professionals are not compared with amateurs and students. The score sets the award level: the entry guide gives Platinum 85-100, Gold 75-84 and Silver 65-74, while the FAQ gives Gold 70-84 and Silver 50-69 and says entries averaging under 50 win nothing. A category may have several winners or none.

Priorities: originality and distinctive vision storytelling and emotional resonance composition and visual cohesion technical execution and intentional craft relevance and overall impact

Tone: originality story wow factor marketability

Avoid: modified for the competition work before 2023

Prizes

Photographer of the Year (Professional): $3,000 and a MUSE Statuette; Photographer of the Year (Amateur): $2,000 and a MUSE Statuette; 12 Category Winners of the Year (professional and amateur): $100 each. Platinum, Gold and Silver winners receive an e-certificate and a place in the online gallery, and "may also choose to purchase Limited-Edition MUSE Awards statuettes and / or certificates": for them the FAQ says statuettes are bought, not included. Results on 16 April 2027.

  • A MUSE Statuette for each Photographer of the Year
  • MUSE e-certificates for Platinum, Gold and Silver winners

Exhibition Publication

R Rights & licensing what you grant the organizer
What you grant
Copyright stays with the entrant. Terms of Use 3.C: "Submission of any entry acknowledges the right of The MUSE Photography Awards to use it for exhibition and publication in any medium." "Copyright and all other rights remain that of the entrant. All entrants understand and agree that any work submitted to the competition may be used by the MUSE Photography Awards and its media partners for marketing and promotional purposes of the competition only, including in any media such as exhibitions, print and digital media directly related to the MUSE Photography Awards competition." The site-wide upload clause in 3.B also applies to uploaded images: "When you upload User Uploaded Information via the Websites, you grant to the International Awards Associate Inc, without any credit or compensation to you, a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, unrestricted, irrevocable, displayable, and export any User Uploaded Information, in whole or in part, or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, software or technology of any kind for any purposes whatsoever." Section 3.A: "Once you sign up and submit your entry, we reserve the right not to remove your content, including but not limited to your data, images, description, all content you had uploaded previously, or intellectual property even if you remove your account."
Duration
No term is stated for the competition use; the 3.B upload grant is perpetual, unrestricted, irrevocable
Exclusivity
none
Attribution
Required
Copyright retained by photographer
Yes

Before you enter — quick answers

Is MUSE Photography Awards 2027 free to enter?
MUSE Photography Awards 2027 is not free: 30 USD per image. Check the organizer's page for the full fee rules and any waivers.
Are AI-generated images allowed in MUSE Photography Awards 2027?
Yes. MUSE Photography Awards 2027 accepts AI-generated images in a dedicated category.
When is the MUSE Photography Awards 2027 deadline?
MUSE Photography Awards 2027 closes on 25 February 2027; the organiser names no time zone, and we read it as Kuala Lumpur time (UTC+8).
How do I know if my photo is eligible for MUSE Photography Awards 2027?
Only the organiser decides whether an entry is eligible. Read MUSE Photography Awards 2027's published rules before you enter, in particular the editing line, the AI clause and the file requirements. WinPhoto's free contest file check compares your file's type, pixel size and file size with those file requirements, in your browser and without an account. It does not judge the photograph.