Since 2004 we have been helping photographers all over the world to create, exhibit and inspire, awarding over $850,000 in cash and prizes.

The Head On Photo Awards represent a global selection of the best work from emerging and established photographers. In 2023 the four categories were:

Portrait | Landscape | Environmental | Student

The Head On Portrait, Landscape and Environmental Awards are open INTERNATIONALLY to photographers of all levels.

Photo awards summary

  • Judged without artists’ names
  • 20-40 finalists per awards category
  • Prize pool including cash and products
  • Printed finalists exhibitions Head On Photo Festival at no additional expense.
  • Inclusion in the annual Head On Photo Awards Catalogue

“Being a finalist and exhibitor in the Head On Photo Festival, I got to connect with photographers with whom I am still in contact. Also being a finalist gets major street cred.”
Krystle Ricci – Portrait Award Finalist 2018

Exhibit with us EOI

I want to keep up-to-date about(Required)
Name(Required)
You will be added to our mailing list.

Portrait Awards

The Head On Portrait Award (est 2004) is a prestigious photography portrait competition that is the heart of the annual Head On Photo Festival. It provides a platform for both emerging and established artists looking to push the boundaries of portraiture.

We are known for our anonymous judging process that seeks out innovative approaches that redefine the traditional portrait. Winners and finalists of the competition receive significant exposure through free public exhibitions, publications and press coverage.

The image must feature or reflect the essence of a person or group of people and must be photographed by the Applicant. Group portraits, self-portraits and collages are accepted. We encourage all photographic styles and interpretations of photographic portraiture.

See the 2023 Head On Portrait Awards finalists.

See more: 15 portrait photographers you should know and 14 most influential portrait photographers

Landscape Awards

Our approach to ‘landscape’ is very broad and encompasses ‘large vista’ images of the natural environment (land or sea), urban or industrial settings. It may include people, but these should be ‘incidental’ rather than the main subject matter. We encourage all photographic styles and interpretations of ‘landscape’.

See the 2023 Head On Landscape awards finalists.

See more: 13 inspirational urban landscape photographers and 10 women landscape photographers.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS BY AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC

The inaugural Head On Environmental Awards by Australian Geographic celebrates the power of photography to capture and provoke reflection on our world and our place in it, inspiring action and driving positive change for our planet. Make your picture make a difference!

Images should highlight specific issues, elements or people impacting the natural world and our environment’s wellbeing, including, but not limited to, human-induced climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss, sustainable practices, pollution, ocean acidification and micro-diversity.

See the 2023 Head On Environmental awards finalists.

See more: What is environmental photography?, Inspirational environmental photographers pt 1 and pt 2

Work is judged anonymously; no identifying details of the photographer will be visible to the judges to ensure that the work is selected on creative merit alone.

The judging panel comprises leaders in the Australian and international photography communities. It represents all aspects of the photography world, including curators, picture editors, photographers, educators and other industry professionals.

Our 2023 international judging panel

team-member1 Aline Smithson is a visual artist, editor, and educator based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known for her conceptual portraiture and a practice that uses humour and pathos to explore the performative potential of photography. Growing up in the shadow of Hollywood, her work is influenced by the elevated unreal. She has exhibited widely, including over 40 solo shows at a variety of international institutions, and her work has been featured in publications, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, and PDN. Smithson is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Lenscratch, a daily journal on photography. In 2012, she received the Rising Star Award through the Griffin Museum of Photography for her contributions to the photographic community and the prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award from CENTER. In 2014 and 2019, Smithson’s work was selected for the Critical Mass Top 50. In 2015, the Magenta Foundation published her first significant monograph, Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography, and in 2016, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum commissioned Smithson to create a series of portraits for the upcoming Faces of Our Planet Exhibition. In 2018 and 2019, her work was exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of the Taylor Wessing Prize. Kris Graves Projects published her book, LOST II: Los Angeles, including her work in SOLACE and On Death. Peanut Press released her monograph, Fugue State, in 2021. In 2022, Smithson was recognised as a Hasselblad Heroine. Smithson is the Founder and Editor- in-Chief of Lenscratch, a daily journal on photography. In 2012, she received the Rising Star Award through the Griffin Museum of Photography for her contributions to the photographic community and she also received the prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award from CENTER. In 2014 and 2019, Smithson’s work was selected for the Critical Mass Top 50. In 2015, the Magenta Foundation published her first significant monograph, Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography, and in 2016, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum commissioned Smithson to create a series of portraits for the upcoming Faces of Our Planet Exhibition. In 2018 and 2019, her work was exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of the Taylor Wessing Prize. Kris Graves Projects published her book, LOST II: Los Angeles and included her work in SOLACE and On Death. Peanut Press released her monograph, Fugue State, in Fall of 2021. In 2022, Smithson was recognized as a Hasselblad Heroine.

Aline Smithson

Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Lenscratch (USA)
Close icon
team-member1 Bill Shapiro is the former Editor-in-Chief of LIFE magazine and the founding Editor-in-Chief of LIFE.com, which won the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital photography. Bill is the author of several books, including Gus & Me, the best-selling children’s book he co-wrote with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. In 2018, he published What We Keep. He is a contributing editor to Leica Conversations, and he’s written about photography for the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, the Atlantic, Vogue, Esquire, and Blind, among others. On Instagram, he’s @Billshapiro, and he lives in Taos, New Mexico.

Bill Shapiro

Former Editor-in-Chief, LIFE magazine (USA)
Close icon
team-member1 Nicky has worked as a commissioning photo editor and shoot producer for 25 years assigning visual stories across all continents. She is the Group Picture Editor at Australian Geographic, and her current focus lies in promoting conservation photography and advocating for image makers who can shift mindsets by moving audiences beyond a passive appreciation of the natural world.

Nicky Catley

Group Picture Editor, Australian Geographic (Australia)
Close icon
team-member1 Jesse Marlow is an award-winning Melbourne-based photographer. His works are held in public and private collections across Australia, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Australian Parliament House Canberra, Monash Gallery of Art, City of Melbourne and State Library of Victoria. Marlow has published five books and has been featured in numerous other books, including Street Photography Now (Thames & Hudson). He was awarded the International Street Photographer of the Year Award in 2011 and, in 2012, won the Monash Gallery of Art’s Bowness Prize. Marlow is a member of the international street photographers’ Collective and UP Photographers and a Leica Camera Ambassador.

Jesse Marlow

Photographer (Australia)
Close icon
team-member1 After six years of experience in the museum industry, Gwen Lee went on to pursue her first love for photography and founded Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF). In 2010, Lee received an arts award from the Japan Chamber of Commerce & Trade for her contribution to the Singapore arts community. In 2013, she embarked on curatorial research in Germany supported by Goethe-Institut Singapore and National Arts Council. In 2022, Lee was a Recipient of Chevalier, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres conferred by the Ministry of Culture, France. 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. DECK received the Singapore President’s Design Award 2015 for its innovative architectural design for the arts. Since 2016, DECK has received the NAC Major Company Grant as a dedicated space for photography arts in Singapore. Lee has curated over 60 photography exhibitions in Singapore and overseas. Some of these highlighted exhibitions are Margins: Drawing Pictures of Home (2020) at the ArtScience Museum, Flux: Contemporary Photography from China (2014) at the ArtScience Museum, STEIDL DECK: 1001 Steidl Books (2016) at DECK, Southeast Asia premiere showcases Daido Moriyama: Prints and Books from the 1960s – 1980s (2016) in 6th SIPF and Between Love and Death: Diary of Nobuyoshi Araki (2018) in 7th SIPF, and The Natural History of an Island at Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival 2021. She has served as a jury member and portfolio reviewer on international platforms FOAM Paul Huf Award, New Cosmos Japan, FORMAT UK, KL PHOTO Award, KG+, DIPE China, Houston Fotofestival, Daegul Photo Biennale, Recontres d’ Arles and Ballarat International Foto Biennale. 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. DECK received the Singapore President’s Design Award 2015 for its innovative architectural design for the arts. Since 2016, DECK has been a recipient of the NAC Major Company Grant as a dedicated space for photography arts in Singapore. Lee has curated over 60 photography exhibitions in Singapore and overseas. Some of these highlighted exhibitions are: Margins: Drawing Pictures of Home (2020) at the ArtScience Museum, Flux: Contemporary Photography from China (2014) at the ArtScience Museum, STEIDL DECK: 1001 Steidl Books (2016) at DECK, Southeast Asia premiere showcases Daido Moriyama: Prints and Books from 1960s – 1980s (2016) in 6th SIPF and Between Love and Death: Diary of Nobuyoshi Araki (2018) in 7th SIPF, and The Natural History of an Island at Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival 2021. She has served as a jury member and portfolio reviewer on international platforms FOAM Paul Huf Award, New Cosmos Japan, FORMAT UK, KL PHOTO Award, KG+, DIPE China, Houston Fotofestival, Daegul Photo Biennale, Recontres d’ Arles and Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

Gwen Lee

Co-founder and Director, DECK and Singapore International Photography Festival (Singapore)
Close icon
team-member1 Natan Dvir is the Director of Education at the Houston Center for Photography and a Sony Imaging Ambassador. He received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and his MBA from Tel Aviv University. Natan’s personal work focuses on the human aspects of social and cultural issues and is represented by the Polaris Images photo agency and Anastasia Photo Gallery. His images were exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia, have been published by numerous international magazines, and have received recognition and won prizes around the world.

Natan Dvir

Director of Education, Houston Center for Photography (USA)
Close icon
team-member1 Krishna Sheth has recently joined 1843 Magazine at The Economist as the Head of Photography. She has been an art buyer and Director of Photography commissioning for print and web content for a variety of clients, Saatchi & Saatchi, Monocle, The Financial Times, Telegraph Media Group, Airbnb, Bookings.com and Aston Martin, as well as book publishers and individual luxury clients. Krishna has more than 23 years of experience commissioning photography and photo research; She was Deputy Photography Director at the Telegraph Magazine for 17 years and a key player in building the visual profile of the magazine. Krishna specialises in editorial and contract publishing, dealing directly with newspapers, magazines and commercial clients. She was also a tutor on the MA Photography online for Falmouth University and lectures at various universities. She has been Chair Judge for pre-selection for all Sony World Photography Awards and is judging the AOP Students Awards for 2023 this year. Krishna also reviews portfolios and book dummies and is passionate about raising awareness for emerging talent in the industry.

Krishna Sheth

Head of Photography, The Economist (UK)
Close icon
team-member1 Photographer and documentary storyteller James Whitlow Delano has made Tokyo his home for over two decades while pursuing his passion for the environment, human rights, and indigenous cultures. Delano is a grantee at the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, and his award-winning work has been featured in numerous publications, including National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler magazines, The New York Times Magazine, Time, The New Yorker, and Foreign Policy. Since 2011, he has documented the aftermath of the Great East Japan earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, resulting in his fourth book, “Black Tsunami: Japan 2011.” National Geographic featured his photography series documenting the 1.5 million sacks of radioactive soil in Fukushima Prefecture on the fifth anniversary of the disaster. His work for National Geographic has recently focused on documentary projects around the United States/Mexico border. In 2015, James founded the @EverydayClimateChange Instagram feed, where photographers document global climate change on all seven continents. The project has been exhibited around the world.

James Whitlow Delano

Photographer (Japan)
Close icon
team-member1 Jessica Hromas is a freelance photographer with over 25 years of experience in the industry. Her previous full-time positions have included staff photographer for the Sydney Morning Herald, staff photographer for the Australian Financial Review Magazine, Director of Photography for the Australian Financial Review Group, and Picture Editor for the Guardian Australia. Jessica lived and worked as a freelance photographer in Hong Kong for several years, working for Getty Images, Bloomberg and a raft of commercial clients, including Art Basel, the British Consulate, Moncler, Mandarin Oriental and more. She has several portraits held in the permanent collection of the Australian National Portrait Gallery.

Jessica Hromas

Freelance photographer (Australia)
Close icon
team-member1 Moshe Rosenzveig OAM is the founder and Creative Director of Head On Photo Festival. Moshe has over 40 years’ experience in the media as a photojournalist, award-winning television producer/director (SBS TV) and commercial photographer. He has held lecturing positions at the University of Technology (UTS), the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and others. He has also sat on judging panels for various competitions including The Walkleys, Tokyo Photography Prize, Sydney’s Art & About and is the lead judge for Head On Photo Awards. In 2018, Moshe received an Order of Australia Medal for services to the arts.

Moshe Rosenzveig OAM

Founder and Creative Director, Head On Photo Festival (Australia)
Close icon
bg-ctap-mobile bg-ctap-desktop

Head On Photo Awards 2024

Entries to the Head On Photo Awards 2024 open in May/June.

Image detail: Gary Ramage