The 2014 incarnation of the Sony World Photography Awards, run by the World Photography Organisation (WPO), is now open for entries from professional, amateur, student, and young photographers. Prizes range from $25,000 for the winner of L'Iris d'Or, the overall winner of the professional competition, to new equipment from Sony for all category winners.
There are 15 categories in the professional competition, ten in the open competition, the youth competition is for photographers aged under 20, whilst the student competition is for students of photography studying in higher education aged between 18 and 30.
The professional competition is judged on a series of images from the same body of work that was completed or first published in 2013. Series must comprise between three and ten images and you can enter as many categories as you want, but you can't submit the same series to multiple categories. As for the categories, you can choose from: architecture, arts and culture, campaign, contemporary issues, current affairs, fashion & beauty, landscape, lifestyle, nature & wildlife, people, portraiture, sport, still life, and travel.
Basic members of the WPO are eligible to enter up to three photographs for free, submitted into one category or spread across multiple categories of the open competition. Categories comprise: architecture, arts and culture, enhanced, low-light, nature and wildlife, panoramic, people and places, smile, split second, and travel.
There are three categories for the youth competition—culture, environment, or portraits—and entrants can submit between three and 20 images across the categories.
As for the closing dates: the open and youth competitions close at 23:59 GMT on Monday 6 January 2014 and the professional competition closes at 23:59 GMT on Thursday 9 January 2014.
Should the student focus competition interest you, the brief is to shoot a single image for the front page of a newspaper. Style doesn't matter but content does: the aim is to draw attention to an issue that's significant to you. Entries need to be submitted by 6 December 2013.
All of the information detailing how to enter, the Rules, and more on the prizes can be found on the WPO website.