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Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026

Perspectives (Partners N & J Irvine) scottishnaturephotographyawards.com ↗

Closes Nov 30, 2026 · D − 15

Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026 can ask for your RAW or original file (rule). Compare your RAW with the photo you plan to enter, free, on your computer → Small retouching, such as removing dust spots, is almost never marked; HDR, panoramas and focus stacks show as differences.

One email now to confirm, then one reminder on 23 November 2026, 7 days before it closes. Nothing else, and the reminder has a cancel link. Privacy

Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026 is open for entries until 30 November 2026, London time (UTC+0). The standard entry fee is 6 GBP for up to 2 images, then 1 GBP per extra image. Strict ban on AI-generated images. The licence covers every entry; it ends for some uses or entries only. Checked against the organiser's rules on 26 October 2026.

Top prize $200 grand prize
Fee Nominal 6 GBP for up to 2 images, then 1 GBP per extra image
AI policy No AI images originals can be demanded
Categories 11 9 single · 2 multi-image

Worth entering? $200 top prize against 6 GBP for up to 2 images, then 1 GBP per extra 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 — Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026 has 11 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.

  • Copyright stays with the entrant: "Entrants retain the copyright to images submitted." Every entry: "By entering the competition, you grant Scottish Nature Photography Awards free, non-exclusive usage of the images for the following purposes directly connected with the competition, until judging is completed." The purposes are "on a secure web browser for image submission", "for judging purposes", "on the Scottish Nature Photography Awards website" and "for use in press coverage giving information about or promoting the competition, exhibition etc.". Shortlisted and winning images: "By entering the competition, you grant Scottish Nature Photography Awards a free, non-exclusive, international licence without date restriction to reproduce, enlarge, publish or exhibit, on any media, the shortlisted and winning images for any purpose directly connected with the competition." The listed uses "may include, but is not limited to" "inclusion in a book featuring images", "display at any exhibitions", the website, press coverage, "for use as part of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards “Winners Archive” to promote the competition/exhibition in perpetuity" and "for use by sponsors and partners in acknowledging/publicising their support of the competition/exhibition. This usage will be limited to 2 years after the winners are announced." Outside that scope: "Free usage of any photograph outside of the scope of the competition and exhibition will not be permitted by Scottish Nature Photography Awards, or any of its partners or sponsors." and "For any use that falls outside the scope of promotion of the competition, exhibition etc. (as detailed above) royalties will be discussed & negotiated with the photographer concerned." Credit: "Scottish Nature Photography Awards will make every effort to ensure that name credits are included with images." Entrants also confirm "they have not licensed or disposed of any rights in the image that would conflict with uses to be made by Scottish Nature Photography Awards" and "Entrants agree to take part in competition and exhibition publicity if required."
  • Duration: Every entry until judging is completed; shortlisted and winning images "without date restriction", with Winners Archive use "in perpetuity" and sponsor and partner use "limited to 2 years after the winners are announced".
  • 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 Main, Portfolio and Student categories: 18 or over. Junior category: under 18 on 30 November 2026, with a parent's or guardian's permission; Junior entrants cannot enter the main categories. Student category: full- or part-time students on a further or higher education course with a photography element. “Entrants must be at least 18 years of age with the exception of entrants to the Junior section.”
  • Professional status Open to professional and amateur photographers, except people directly involved in organising and judging the competition and their families. “Entry is open to everyone except for those directly involved in the organisation and judging of the competition and their families.”
  • Capture date Images must have been taken within 5 years of the closing date, from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2026. “Images should have been taken within 5 years of the closing date of the competition i.e. from 1st December 2021 to 30th November 2026.”
  • Animals and field conduct Entries are welcome from anywhere in the world, but every image must have been photographed in Scotland. Subjects can be native, resident or migrant wild species. “Entries are welcome from around the world, but all images entered must have been photographed in Scotland.”
  • Animals and field conduct Wildlife photographed in a studio or a captive environment is not eligible; wildlife and botanical subjects should be photographed in their natural habitats, and Scottish Botanical plants must be growing wild, not cultivated. “Wildlife subjects photographed in a studio setting or a captive environment are not eligible.”
  • Animals and field conduct Live baiting is prohibited. Entrants are responsible for animal welfare, the environment and compliance with wildlife law (NatureScot guidance); a subject that needed a photography licence (e.g. a Schedule 1 species) must be declared with the shortlist submission. “Use of live baiting is prohibited.”
  • Prior publication Images that have won an award or been shortlisted or commended in a nationally or internationally promoted competition, or that are entered in one whose results are pending, are not eligible. Images published in magazines or other media, and camera-club entries, may be entered (FAQ). “Images that have won an award, or have been shortlisted/commended, in a nationally or internationally promoted competition, or that have been entered in such a competition where the results are still pending, are not eligible for entry.”
  • Copyright ownership Entrant must be the photographer of each entry, which must be their original work, and must own its copyright; model and property permissions for the competition's usage are the entrant's responsibility. “they are the photographer of each entry and that it is their original work;”
  • AI rule AI-generated images and image components are not eligible; AI-supported functions such as noise reduction are allowed only within the processing rules. Images should be a true representation of the subject: levels, curves, colour, black-and-white conversion, saturation, contrast and minor cleaning (e.g. dust) are allowed; removing or adding objects, major retouching, montages and stitching (including stitched panoramas) are not. HDR and focus stacking from a single point of view are allowed but must be declared ("HDR" or "FS" at the end of the file name); in-camera multiple exposures are eligible. “AI (artificial intelligence) generated images and image components are not eligible.”
  • Original files Shortlisted entrants in every category must supply the original RAW or camera JPEG file or the original film scan (for focus-stacked or HDR images, the RAW files of the series or an unprocessed stack) with a high-resolution file; an image whose original cannot be provided is eliminated from the shortlist. “For ALL categories (Main, Student and Junior) we will also request the original RAW or camera JPEG file or original scan from film. For focus stacked or hdr images, we will request RAW files from the series, or an unprocessed stack. [...] Failure to provide a RAW, original JPEG or original scan from film will eliminate an image from the shortlist.”
Closes Nov 30, 2026 · D−15 6 GBP for up to 2 images, then 1 GBP per extra image Upload spec: Files: JPG1000px long edgeAdobe RGB (1998) or sRGB colour profileNo 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
Compare your RAW with the photo you plan to enter → The organiser can ask for your RAW or original files · free · on your device, nothing is uploaded · it does not judge the photograph
№ 02 · The editorial read

What this jury looks for

A panel of judges assesses all entries and draws up a shortlist in February 2027; shortlisted entrants supply a high-resolution file, the original RAW, camera JPEG or film scan, and caption details for final judging. The judges page names Jason Gilchrist (ecologist and lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University), Niall Irvine (photographer a…

Categories

Environmental

Single

All aspects of the environment and man's impact upon and relationship with nature. A reportage category: images that convey a message or tell a story, e.g. natural energy, pollution, conservation, regeneration, land use, biodiversity or invasive species.

Natural Abstract

Single

An abstract image of even the most familiar aspects of nature and landscape that transforms perception; the judges look for great impact and something extraordinary.

Scottish Botanical

Single

Native and naturalised plants, flowers and fungi in their natural habitat, i.e. growing wild rather than cultivated.

Scottish Landscape - The Land

Single

Scotland's landscapes, from remote mountains and lochs to farmland and rivers; the creative aim is to show new places and new slants on familiar places.

Scottish Landscape - Sea & Coast

Single

Coastal landscapes and seascapes of Scotland's coastline and islands, showing the Scottish Sea & Coast at its absolute finest.

Scottish Landscape - Urban Greenspace

Single

Nature in towns and cities (parks, gardens, woods, rivers, tow paths), from large villages to big cities; built-environment images only with a strong element of nature, judged on landscape technique applied innovatively.

Scottish Wildlife Behaviour

Single

Wildlife in its natural habitat (native, resident or migrant wild species) caught in an often fleeting moment of behavioural display; behavioural interest combined with aesthetic and technical considerations.

Scottish Wildlife Portrait

Single

Wildlife in its natural habitat (native, resident or migrant wild species); as with human portraiture, the portrait should convey the character and essence of the individual or group.

Portfolio

Portfolio · up to 3 photos (min 3)

A strong, cohesive portfolio of exactly 3 images on any subject area of the main categories, judged as its own category; up to 3 portfolios per entrant, not counted against the 33-image main-category limit. Its winner competes for Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year.

Student Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year

Portfolio · up to 3 photos (min 3)

One portfolio per entrant of exactly 3 images responding to the 2026 theme 'Natural Treasures', carrying the theme through all 3 images. Students may enter the main categories instead, but only Student entrants compete for this title.

  • Full- or part-time students aged 18 or over on a further or higher education course with a photography element

Junior Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year

Single

Up to 5 images on any Scottish nature subject, free of charge, with a parent's or guardian's permission. Junior entrants cannot enter the main categories.

  • Under 18 on 30 November 2026
F Format requirements 1 spec

snpa_entry

  • File types: jpg
  • Min long edge: 1000px
  • Max long edge: 1000px
  • Color profile: Adobe RGB (1998) or sRGB
  • No watermarks

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

E Eligibility 10 rules
  • Main, Portfolio and Student categories: 18 or over. Junior category: under 18 on 30 November 2026, with a parent's or guardian's permission; Junior entrants cannot enter the main categories. Student category: full- or part-time students on a further or higher education course with a photography element. hard

    “Entrants must be at least 18 years of age with the exception of entrants to the Junior section.”

  • Open to professional and amateur photographers, except people directly involved in organising and judging the competition and their families. hard

    “Entry is open to everyone except for those directly involved in the organisation and judging of the competition and their families.”

  • Images must have been taken within 5 years of the closing date, from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2026. hard

    “Images should have been taken within 5 years of the closing date of the competition i.e. from 1st December 2021 to 30th November 2026.”

  • Entries are welcome from anywhere in the world, but every image must have been photographed in Scotland. Subjects can be native, resident or migrant wild species. hard

    “Entries are welcome from around the world, but all images entered must have been photographed in Scotland.”

  • Wildlife photographed in a studio or a captive environment is not eligible; wildlife and botanical subjects should be photographed in their natural habitats, and Scottish Botanical plants must be growing wild, not cultivated. hard

    “Wildlife subjects photographed in a studio setting or a captive environment are not eligible.”

  • Live baiting is prohibited. Entrants are responsible for animal welfare, the environment and compliance with wildlife law (NatureScot guidance); a subject that needed a photography licence (e.g. a Schedule 1 species) must be declared with the shortlist submission. hard

    “Use of live baiting is prohibited.”

  • Images that have won an award or been shortlisted or commended in a nationally or internationally promoted competition, or that are entered in one whose results are pending, are not eligible. Images published in magazines or other media, and camera-club entries, may be entered (FAQ). hard

    “Images that have won an award, or have been shortlisted/commended, in a nationally or internationally promoted competition, or that have been entered in such a competition where the results are still pending, are not eligible for entry.”

  • Entrant must be the photographer of each entry, which must be their original work, and must own its copyright; model and property permissions for the competition's usage are the entrant's responsibility. hard

    “they are the photographer of each entry and that it is their original work;”

  • AI-generated images and image components are not eligible; AI-supported functions such as noise reduction are allowed only within the processing rules. Images should be a true representation of the subject: levels, curves, colour, black-and-white conversion, saturation, contrast and minor cleaning (e.g. dust) are allowed; removing or adding objects, major retouching, montages and stitching (including stitched panoramas) are not. HDR and focus stacking from a single point of view are allowed but must be declared ("HDR" or "FS" at the end of the file name); in-camera multiple exposures are eligible. hard

    “AI (artificial intelligence) generated images and image components are not eligible.”

  • Shortlisted entrants in every category must supply the original RAW or camera JPEG file or the original film scan (for focus-stacked or HDR images, the RAW files of the series or an unprocessed stack) with a high-resolution file; an image whose original cannot be provided is eliminated from the shortlist. hard

    “For ALL categories (Main, Student and Junior) we will also request the original RAW or camera JPEG file or original scan from film. For focus stacked or hdr images, we will request RAW files from the series, or an unprocessed stack. [...] Failure to provide a RAW, original JPEG or original scan from film will eliminate an image from the shortlist.”

Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026’s rules let the organiser ask for your RAW or original files. Compare your RAW with the photo you plan to enter, free and in your browser.

Jury context

A panel of judges assesses all entries and draws up a shortlist in February 2027; shortlisted entrants supply a high-resolution file, the original RAW, camera JPEG or film scan, and caption details for final judging. The judges page names Jason Gilchrist (ecologist and lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University), Niall Irvine (photographer and co-organiser of the Awards) and Christopher Swan (landscape and commercial photographer and author). "In all categories, the judges will be looking for originality, creativity and technique." The FAQ adds that "part of the judging criteria is originality and a widely published image may have a reduced chance of winning on these grounds", and that the judges look for images "representative of contemporary Scottish nature". The nine category winners (the eight main categories and Portfolio) are judged again for Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year.

Priorities: originality creativity technique

Tone: original creative technical skill storytelling true representation

Avoid: ai generated images adding or removing objects stitched panoramas montages overmanipulation captive or studio wildlife live baiting cultivated plants previously awarded images

Past winners — text notes

The 2025 winners page (read 26 October 2026) names Dance of the Gnats by Toby Houlton as Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2025 and winner of the Scottish Wildlife Behaviour category; judge Niall Irvine praised "the creative use of photographic technique". Junior Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2025: The Leaf Eater by Kiran Simpson (age 14). Student Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2025: Rob Henderson's portfolio In the Time Between.

These are text-only curatorial observations, never images of past winners.

Prizes

Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2026: engraved glass award, £150 cash, a copy of the Portfolio Yearbook 2026 and a Hilltrek Knoydart Ventile Gilet. Category winners (Environmental, Natural Abstract, Scottish Botanical, the three Scottish Landscape categories, Scottish Wildlife Behaviour, Scottish Wildlife Portrait and Portfolio): engraved glass award and a copy of the Portfolio Yearbook 2026. Student and Junior winners: engraved glass award, £50 cash, the Yearbook, a Ron McCombe hide session and Photech C-Type prints. 2nd and 3rd places in every category: a Prize Certificate (Junior 2nd and 3rd also the Yearbook, Junior 2nd a £30 National Book Token). Winners and runners-up are featured in the Portfolio Yearbook 2026 and the Touring Exhibition in 2027; images in the final shortlist are included in the Yearbook.

  • Hilltrek Knoydart Ventile Gilet for Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2026
  • Ron McCombe hide session near Hawick for the Student (badger hide) and Junior (woodland bird hide) winners, valid April 2027 to March 2028
  • Photech Print & Frame 20" x 16" C-Type prints for the Student (portfolio of 3) and Junior (winning image) winners
  • £30 National Book Token for the Junior 2nd place

Exhibition Publication

R Rights & licensing what you grant the organizer
What you grant
Copyright stays with the entrant: "Entrants retain the copyright to images submitted." Every entry: "By entering the competition, you grant Scottish Nature Photography Awards free, non-exclusive usage of the images for the following purposes directly connected with the competition, until judging is completed." The purposes are "on a secure web browser for image submission", "for judging purposes", "on the Scottish Nature Photography Awards website" and "for use in press coverage giving information about or promoting the competition, exhibition etc.". Shortlisted and winning images: "By entering the competition, you grant Scottish Nature Photography Awards a free, non-exclusive, international licence without date restriction to reproduce, enlarge, publish or exhibit, on any media, the shortlisted and winning images for any purpose directly connected with the competition." The listed uses "may include, but is not limited to" "inclusion in a book featuring images", "display at any exhibitions", the website, press coverage, "for use as part of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards “Winners Archive” to promote the competition/exhibition in perpetuity" and "for use by sponsors and partners in acknowledging/publicising their support of the competition/exhibition. This usage will be limited to 2 years after the winners are announced." Outside that scope: "Free usage of any photograph outside of the scope of the competition and exhibition will not be permitted by Scottish Nature Photography Awards, or any of its partners or sponsors." and "For any use that falls outside the scope of promotion of the competition, exhibition etc. (as detailed above) royalties will be discussed & negotiated with the photographer concerned." Credit: "Scottish Nature Photography Awards will make every effort to ensure that name credits are included with images." Entrants also confirm "they have not licensed or disposed of any rights in the image that would conflict with uses to be made by Scottish Nature Photography Awards" and "Entrants agree to take part in competition and exhibition publicity if required."
Duration
Every entry until judging is completed; shortlisted and winning images "without date restriction", with Winners Archive use "in perpetuity" and sponsor and partner use "limited to 2 years after the winners are announced".
Exclusivity
none
Attribution
Required
Copyright retained by photographer
Yes

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Before you enter — quick answers

Is Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026 free to enter?
Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026 is not free: 6 GBP for up to 2 images, then 1 GBP per extra image. Check the organizer's page for the full fee rules and any waivers.
Are AI-generated images allowed in Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026?
No. Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026 has a strict ban on AI-generated images.
When is the Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026 deadline?
Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026 closes on 30 November 2026, London time (UTC+0).
How do I know if my photo is eligible for Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026?
Only the organiser decides whether an entry is eligible. Read Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2026'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.