The International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) stands as a highly esteemed global photography competition and exhibition, renowned especially within the realms of garden, plant, flower, and botanical photography.
Proudly supported by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, the main exhibition typically takes place annually at Kew, followed by a continuous series of touring exhibitions across the UK and internationally.
While the competition’s name is ‘International Garden Photographer of the Year,’ IGPOTY embraces a broad interpretation of the term ‘Garden,’ considering it to encompass everything from personal gardens and local parks to expansive landscapes and forests, ultimately recognizing that the Earth itself is everyone’s garden.
Main Categories open until October 31, 2025:
Abstract Views, Beautiful Gardens, Breathing Spaces, Plants & Planet, The Beauty of Plants, The World of Fungi, Trees, Woods & Forests, Wildflower Landscapes and Wildlife in the Garden.
Special Awards:
- Beautiful Blenheim (2025) – Closes June 9, 2025
- The Wonders of Walmer – Closes August 2, 2025
- Life at Bodnant Garden – Closes August 11, 2025
- Around the World at Cambridge University Botanic Garden – Closes September 4, 2025
Entry Fees
There is a fee for entering the competition which helps to cover the expense of administration, prizes and the exhibition tour. This fee is £16 for 4 single images (‘Single Entry’), or £30 for a portfolio of 6 images.
File Preparation:
For all main category entries.
Capture guidelines: * Minimum – JPEG, quality: high, 3780 pixels [longest side] at 300 ppi (pixels per inch). As a guide a 10 Megapixel image captured should be fine for printing.
* Ideal – JPEG, quality: highest (maximum) Adobe RGB (1998) colour profile at 300 ppi (pixels per inch) the image needs to be 4961 pixels [longest side], A3 size and above would enable us to make larger quality prints if needed.
If shortlisted, a larger file with more data is always preferred.
Top prize – International Garden Photographer of the Year
£4,000
The title “International Garden Photographer of the Year”**
IGPOTY award certificate
Extensive press coverage
Your photograph featured in the latest IGPOTY touring exhibition
Royal Photographic Society Gold Medal for Best Portfolio
£1,000
Royal Photographic Society gold medal
IGPOTY award certificate
Extensive press coverage
Your photograph featured in the latest IGPOTY touring exhibition
Main Category first place:
IGPOTY award certificate
Extensive press coverage
Your photograph featured in the latest IGPOTY touring exhibition
Photo Projects first place:
IGPOTY award certificate
£250
Your photograph featured in the latest IGPOTY launch exhibition
Press coverage
Runner-up Prize Winners
Portfolio second and third places:
Royal Photographic Society silver medal and bronze medal respectively
IGPOTY award certificate
Press coverage
Your photograph featured in the latest IGPOTY touring exhibition
Main Category second and third places:
IGPOTY award certificate
Your photograph featured in the latest IGPOTY touring exhibition
Press coverage
Finalist Prizes
Highly Commended Prizes
Highly commended photographs will be shown on the International Garden Photographer of the Year website.
Commended Prizes
Commended photographs will be shown on the International Garden Photographer of the Year website.
All entrants retain the copyright of any of their images which are entered.
If you enter a photograph, you agree any photographs (and entry information) uploaded may be retained on the IGPOTY website as a record of entries, to opt-out entrants would need to file a GDPR removal request. Removal does not apply to awarded entries.
If your image is shortlisted you will be requested to send your high-res image(s) to us.
For the avoidance of doubt only awarded images will be promoted/publicised. Press coverage is normally widely received each year, but obviously the scope of this cannot be guaranteed. Use of awarded photographs and photographer names and any associated data, text or metadata is permitted by International Garden Photographer of the Year, or any of its partners, sponsors or exhibition hosts only to promote the competition and to show exhibitions; this includes the production of books, posters, cards, or calendars (which are seen as legitimate ways of promoting the contest and defraying costs).
You grant International Garden Photographer of the Year and its supporting partners a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free licence to reproduce, enlarge, publish, bring within printable colour gamut, make ready for print/or any publication, and exhibit on any media, the photographs and their accompanying text (which we reserve the right to edit)/metadata for any purpose connected with the Competition. This may include, but is not limited to:
(a) inclusion on the Site and on the websites of sponsors and supporters;
(b) inclusion in associated books;
(c) display at any associated exhibitions;
(d) use in press releases to be distributed to national, regional & specialist press giving information about or promoting the Competition.
You also agree that the organisers can sub-license images to the media for reproduction in connection with the Competition and Exhibition only. International Garden Photographer of the Year will make every effort to ensure that name credits are given to any photograph published in any medium.
If there is a plan for images to be used on any merchandise which falls outside the scope of the above promotional uses then IGPOTY will ask photographer’s permission first and will be subject to separate agreement(s) which will be discussed individually with photographers.
Disclaimer: Although we make every effort to provide accurate information, we advise a thorough review of the competitions rules and details to ensure your understanding and acceptance before proceeding with your entry.
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