RPS International Photography Exhibition 168

About this call

The International Photography Exhibition of The Royal Photographic Society, based in Bristol, United Kingdom, has been held almost every year since 1854. Edition 168 is an open call with no predefined categories: any subject, genre, process or technique, film or digital, experimental and traditional. Anyone of any age can enter, from students and amateurs to professionals, and RPS membership is not required. Selection is anonymous: the RPS longlists the images online, a guest selection panel shortlists them, shortlisted entrants send prints, and about 100 prints are chosen for a touring exhibition that opens at an RPS partnering venue and tours to at least one other. Awards include the IPE Award and the Under 30s Award of GBP 1,000 each with a year of RPS membership, a 2-week solo exhibition, four RPS Journal features and five Selectors Spotlights.

Who can apply

• Open to applicants of any nationality
• Medium: Photography
• Free entry
• Open to anyone of any age or level of practice worldwide; RPS membership is not required. One free single image entry for everyone; further entries (a series of 4 images from one project, or 4 single images) cost GBP 35 standard, GBP 27 for RPS members, GBP 20 for under 30s, with reduced entry for groups of 10 or more; multiple paid entries allowed, paid by credit or debit card online only. Early-bird prize draw deadline 19 October 2026. Upload through the online entry system only: JPEG, sRGB, no more than 10MB, every image titled. Work that includes generative AI in whole or in part is not eligible. Images must be the entrant's own work but may include found photographs; collaborations are permitted with all parties credited. Manipulation is permitted; in genres such as documentary, photojournalism, travel or natural history, say in the submission text if the authenticity of the subject has been altered. Work must be made ethically, with appropriate explicit consent. Entries must be anonymous (no name in titles, descriptions, statements or watermarks). Images previously selected and exhibited in RPS exhibitions are not eligible; the same image cannot be entered twice; past award recipients cannot win awards with different images from the same body of work. No limit on when photographs were taken. Works larger than 50cm x 60cm are not normally exhibited or toured. Shortlisted entrants need high-resolution files and must supply unframed prints; shortlisted prints are returned only by arrangement with return shipping paid. The RPS mounts and frames selected prints at no cost; return after the tour is at the exhibitor's expense. Selected photographers must reply within 14 days of notification. Entrants license the RPS to reproduce images for publicity without payment for up to four years; entries may be shared on social media during the call unless you ask exhibitions@rps.org not to. New entries close 15 December 2026, 23:59 GMT; entries can be edited until 16 December 2026, 23:59 GMT.