Here you can find help and advice on the photography industry. This guide includes a list of links related to: careers, communities, courses, developing skills, funding, resources, and festivals.
Careers | community | competitions | Courses | festivals | Funding | resources |
Please note: Our site contains links to other websites. Studio12 and Leeds City Council do not necessarily endorse or support the organisations that are linked to or from our website. We cannot guarantee that links will work all the time, and we have no control over the content or availability of the linked pages on other websites. We aim to keep this page as up to date as possible, however please check details yourself before applying for opportunities. If you’re a Studio12 member and need some help or advice in applying for any opportunities or funding, please get in touch: studio12@leeds.gov.uk
Some of the opportunities in this guide take place outside of Leeds.
Careers
Interested in becoming a professional photographer?
Visit the National Careers Service to find out about careers in photography.
Want to learn the theory behind photography, the history, and the possibilities?
Check out the events at The Photographers’ Gallery (London based)
Need to build a portfolio but not sure how to do it?
Here are some useful articles to get you started:
How to create a successful photography portfolio
How to Build a Photography Portfolio that Attracts Residency Opportunities
Creating the Perfect Photography Portfolio
How to Create a Photography Portfolio
Community
British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP)
Since its inception in 1901, the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) has been a cornerstone of the photography industry in the United Kingdom and overseas, shaping the standards, education, and professionalism that define the field today. With over a century of history, BIPP stands as a testament to the evolution of photography and the dedication of its practitioners.
Association of Photographers (AOP)
The AOP Photography Awards known as the ‘Oscars’ of the photography world celebrate professional excellence in the creative photography and image-making industry.
Focusing on human creativity and professional practice, this is an opportunity to be seen by leading commissioners and names within the photographic industry and not to be missed. As in previous years, stills, moving image & innovation can now be entered into each category.
The Royal Photographic Society
Competitions/Prizes/Awards
British Photography Awards
We run a series of online and LIVE events throughout the year; a charity-oriented photography competition, Live and Virtual Galleries, Judging, Global Public Voting, our black-tie Awards Gala in November and an upcoming British Photography Roadshow in 2024-25.
We are open to every photographer based in the UK, no matter their nationality, as well as British photographers the world over.
For decades all other art forms have had their own unified, national awards, while photography has not. This gave us our purpose.
Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust Photography Competition
From macro images of microscopic life to marvellous mammals, from waterfalls to water voles – we’re launching a competition to find the best photographs of our Yorkshire Dales rivers and wildlife, to be included in our Rivers 4 Life exhibition, which is our project funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to players of the National Lottery!
We would love you to share with us your favourite photos taken in the catchments of the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust which includes the rivers Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe and Ouse, and associated tributaries. We are looking for amazing images showing our beautiful rivers and streams, along with the wildlife found in and around our rivers.
British Wildlife Photography Awards
Each year, the BWPA images are adored in the press (both in print and on TV), toured around the UK in a travelling exhibition, and published in our beautiful collection books.
Our competition has a number of key aims:
Raise awareness about British biodiversity, species, and habitats.
Recognise the talents of photographers practising in the UK, whilst highlighting the great wealth and diversity of Britain’s natural history.
Celebrate British wildlife and wild spaces through a collection of inspirational photographs.
Showcase the very best of our nature photography to a wide audience and engage all ages with evocative and powerful imagery.
Encourage discovery, exploration, conservation and enjoyment of our natural heritage.
International Amateur Photographer of the Year
Amateur Photographer magazine invites amateur photographers from around the world to enter its annual competition for the chance to win some of the £26,300 worth of prizes, exposure in the magazine, and the title of ‘International Amateur Photographer of the Year 2025′.
UK Film Photographer of the Year
Welcome to the second year of AP’s UK Film Photographer of the Year award! We’re looking for your best images of 2025 – that represent your creativity, expertise, and personal vision. Enter a portfolio of 5-8 images that showcase your ability to shoot fantastic film images across a range of situations and styles.
HONOR Night Photographer of the Year
HONOR and Amateur Photographer have set up a unique competition seeking your best photos taken at night – either on a camera or a smartphone. Any camera or smartphone brand can be used.
Any photographic genre is acceptable so long as the image was taken at night, or in very low light. So, between now and midnight (GMT) on Sunday January 18th 2026, please send us up to five of your best photos taken at night. The competition is free to enter, and is only open to residents of the UK and Ireland.
Anthology Photography Competition
Open to photographers working at any level, the Anthology Photography Competition celebrates outstanding standalone images. It also provides a platform for photographers to showcase their work through publication.
Images submitted must be on the theme of ‘The World As You See It’. Submissions will be judged on quality, creativity, originality, and visual/emotional impact.
Photography styles can include street photography, landscapes, natural world & wildlife, macro photography, lifestyle, object and still life and architectural. Technically manipulated images such as abstract, panoramic, stitched and composite are also permitted. Extra merit will be awarded to creative interpretation of the brief.
Travel Photographer of the Year
Travel Photographer of the Year awards (TPOTY) is run by photographers for photographers. TPOTY is truly global – wherever you live in the world and whether you are amateur or professional, beginner or expert, young or old, Travel Photographer of the Year is for you!
TPOTY has been showcasing the best in travel photography for 22 years and has received entries from 157 countries. The winners are both amateur and pro photographers of 56 different nationalities.
Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize
The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize showcases the work of talented young photographers, gifted amateurs and established professionals in the very best of contemporary photography.
The competition celebrates a diverse range of images and tells the fascinating stories behind the creation of works, from formal commissioned portraits to more spontaneous and intimate moments capturing friends and family. The selected images, many of which are on display for the first time, explore both traditional and contemporary approaches to the photographic portrait whilst capturing a range of characters, moods and locations.
Close-Up Photographer of the Year
Close-up Photographer of the Year celebrates the art of close-up, macro and micro photography through an annual global competition, themed challenges, newsletter and book.
CUPOTY 8 opens in May 2026.
Comedy Wildlife Awards
“Through the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, we aim to widen understanding and engagement of a sustainable world – and wildlife conservation specifically – for the preservation of biodiversity and the health and enrichment of everyone on Earth.”
This is our mission. Yup, it is certainly ballsy, a bit grandiose, but isn’t that what a mission should be? Aspirational, otherwise what’s the point. We want to educate and enlighten, and we want to do this by earning people’s attention by showing them things they don’t expect.
Once we have opened their eyes, we can expand their understanding of the natural world and encourage them to share our enjoyment of nature and its value.
Every year our reach grows bigger and our conservation message gets a little louder. We are so proud to be a part of it and happy that we can put a smile on your face!
International Garden Photographer of the Year
International Garden Photographer of the Year continues to be one of the world’s most respected photography competitions and exhibition, particularly within the genres of garden, plant, flower and botanical photography.
The main competition closes on October 31 every year. Winners are announced at the opening of the launch exhibition, the following February.
There are regular main competition categories each year including favourites such as; ‘The Beauty of Plants’, ‘Beautiful Gardens’ and ‘Abstract Views’ plus there are 5 photo projects and numerous seasonal special awards – for example: ‘Captured at Kew’.
Although the Competition name is ‘International Garden Photographer of the Year’ – IGPOTY has always embraced the word ‘Garden’ in its broadest definition, that is a ‘Garden’ could be; a back/front/balcony garden, a local park, landscapes and forests, after all – Earth is everyones’ Garden.
Weather Photographer of the Year
Now in its tenth year, Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year showcases the world’s most striking weather and climate photographs and provides an international platform to raise awareness about the environmental issues threatening our planet. This annual competition is open to photographers of all ages and skill levels and is free to enter.
Abbey Road Music Photography Award
Our free to enter global competition celebrates the unforgettable, unique & unsung music moments & the photographers who captured them.
The culmination of the MPA is the awards ceremony at Abbey Road Studios. The evening centres around showcasing the photographer’s nominated images, which are displayed around the Studios.
There is a thread that binds the evening together: the creative community coming together to support each other. Seeing the work of the ICON winner displayed alongside the nominees tells the story of the MPA: emerging, established & undiscovered photographers, celebrating the art of music photography.
Wellcome Photography Prize
The prize explores how health is experienced, represented and understood. It brings together different perspectives, using photography and biomedical imaging that together reveal how health and science shape lives around the world.
The competition calls for entries that explore urgent themes such as mental health, infectious disease, climate change, and discovery research, to celebrate artistic excellence, provoke meaningful conversation and inspire positive change.
Courses
Looking to get started in photography, or to improve your skills?
The British Academy of Photography runs a range of accredited courses for all skill levels.
The School of Photography
Whether you intend to become a professional photographer or you’re a beginner who wants to create stunning photos for social media, our courses give you everything you need for success. Over the years we’ve tutored passionate photographers just like you and helped them take their art to the next level.
The London Institute of Photography
Our primary goal is to help you develop sound technical skills and elevate your photography to a professional level in the shortest possible time. We pride ourselves on offering a variety of courses, including our Professional Photography Course and 10 Short Photography Courses, which cater to students from diverse backgrounds and across the globe.
At LIoP, we believe in fostering a strong community of photographers, encouraging continuous learning and growth both during and after your course. Our unique approach not only focuses on providing training to the highest professional standard but also helps students discover and hone their creative voice.
Festivals
Photo North
PHOTO NORTH celebrates documentary photography and film that tell real stories, challenge perspectives, and spark conversation. We champion underrepresented voices and explore pressing social issues. While rooted in documentary practice, the festival also makes space for work that celebrates creativity, culture and pop culture, embracing everything from serious social commentary to lighter, more playful perspectives.
Festival number 7 is taking place at the Carriageworks in Leeds, from 13th – 15th March 2026
FORMAT International Photography Festival
FORMAT International Photography Festival was established in 2004 and is the UK’s leading international contemporary festival of photography and related media. It organises a year-round programme of international commissions, open calls, residencies, conferences and collaborations in the UK and internationally and welcomes over 100,000 visitors from all over the world to its biennale.
The festival and off year programmes celebrate the wealth of contemporary photographic practice and feature everything from major conceptual works, participative projects, documentary photography, mobile phone imagery to the archive and all that falls between. We are concerned with what is happening now in the scene and beyond, whilst sharing and contributing to it.
Belfast Photo Festival
Described as “One of the best photography festivals in the world” (Capture Magazine), the annual Belfast Photo Festival provides the perfect platform for those looking for new or additional exposure to both international and industry audiences.
Belfast Photo Festival gives opportunity for established and emerging photographers to have their work assessed by an influential jury, receive a range of prizes and an investment in production and promotion of their work in Festival exhibitions and outreach.
The open theme removes most barriers. Submissions must be photographic or lens-based but can include combinations with other art forms such as performance, painting, sculpture, music, literature and more.
Individuals and collectives are welcome to apply by entering between 1 and 15 photographs from a particular series or body of work. In addition or alternatively they may submit their Photo-book for consideration.
Photo Oxford
Every two years, we fill spaces across Oxford with a vibrant programme of exhibitions and events, celebrating contemporary practice as well as the rich history of photography.
Founded in 2013, Photo Oxford is a charity dedicated to making photography accessible to everyone. Our programme explores big ideas and current debates, and is grounded in current photographic discourse, theory and debate, while also recognising photography’s relevance to people beyond the photographic community.
Featuring local, national and international photographers, the festival offers audiences moments of discovery and reflection, while providing photographers with opportunities to develop their practice and network.
Stirling Photography Festival
Established in 2018 in celebration of Scotland’s Year of Young People, our festival is now in its 7th year and is now established as an annual event in Scotland’s photography calendar. Run by a team of passionate volunteers, we have developed strong relationships across our community and have twice been nominated for and finalists in the Stirling Go Forth Business Improvement District Awards – Outstanding Contribution to the City. We are supporting home grown talent to achieve their creative potential by partnering with some of the newest and finest photographers from Stirling, Scotland and further.
Our festival features inclusive, free to attend workshops, exhibitions and talks. We are proud to have worked with and exhibited some of Scotland’s renowned contemporary artists, including Alex Boyd, David Eustace, Kierian Dodds, Frank McElhinney, Frances Scott, Kim Simpson, Leeming + Paterson, Coulson &Tennant, Scott Hunter and Margaret Mitchell as well as international artists including Helene Schmitz of Sweden, Mihai Moiceanu of Romania and Michael Carroll of America.
We work with some of Stirling’s leading creative and cultural organisations who host our events in the city’s most prestigious venues including the Barracks Conference Centre, the University of Stirling, the Tolbooth theatre, Creative Stirling, Historic Environment Scotland’s Engine Shed and The Smith Art Gallery and Museum. We also pop up in community spaces and work with other artists, groups and charities supporting good causes, like Equi-Power, Riding for the Disabled and Argaty Red Kites, a local conservation organisation committed to wildlife protection and rewilding.
Funding opportunities
The Royal Photographic Society
The RPS offers many opportunities to develop as a photographer and interact with others. Most of these opportunities are open to all and range from the chance to have your work considered for major exhibitions to applying to receive funding for your next photographic project.
Arts Council England
We’re looking for organisations, artists, events, initiatives and others to apply for our funding and help us achieve our strategy, Let’s Create!
Photography Foundation Grant
Founded in 2021, the Photography Foundation Grant is delivered in partnership with The Photography Foundation and LIMI London charity providing £2,500 towards the production of a social documentary or environmental photo essay. This grant is for a maximum 12-month period and can be used towards any combination of travel, equipment or living expenses while completing the project.
Grants for Analogue Photography
Grants of £500 – £1,500 are available to support photographers in projects for which use of analogue techniques are central to implementation. The next round of grants will be in 2026 and will open for application on 16th June.
For the purpose of these grants, analogue photography is defined as the predominantly film-based processes that were used before the development of digital photography. Examples include: 35mm and medium format film photography, wet plate collodion, polaroid, tintype, slide transparency, pinhole camera photography and camera-less processes such as photogram or cyanotype.
Resources
Royal Photographic Society
As an educational charity, we offer free resources to all those with an interest in photography. These include our model release form (which has been downloaded over 10,000 times), inspiring teaching materials linked to our exhibitions, access to the archive of our RPS Journal going back to 1853, information on copyright and best practice for photographing wildlife. We will be adding to this section regularly.
The Photographers’ Gallery
Access to articles, resources, and past exhibitions.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
In 1852, the V&A became one of the first museums to acquire photographs for its collections, holding its inaugural photography exhibition in 1858. Today, the collection is one of the most important in the world with approximately 800,000 images dating from the 1820s to the present day, and including examples of work from William Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Cecil Beaton, Eadweard Muybridge and many more.
Royal Collection Trust
Windsor Castle is home to the Royal Photograph Collection – part of the wider Royal Collection which is one of the most important art collections in the world.
There are around 500,000 photographs in the Royal Collection, acquired by British monarchs, their consorts and other members of the royal family from 1842 to the present day. The photographs consist of portraits of royalty from Britain, Europe and beyond; portraits of celebrities and statesmen; architectural, topographical and landscape works from around the world, exterior and interior studies of royal residences, 20th century press photographs, and photographs taken by members of the Royal family.
These resources have been collated to supplement a study of / visit to the exhibition below which explores the evolution of Royal portrait photography from Beaton in the 1920s to photographers, such as Leibovitz, in the present day. Examining the relationship between the sitter and the photographer, as well as the change in status of both the photographer and photography itself, the display will feature over 150 stunning portraits of the Royal Family.
Amateur Photographer
Online magazine with news, reviews, and how-to guides for amateur photographers.
Weather Photographer Resources
Sharpen your weather photography skills, find out what makes a good climate image, and learn more about the science of the skies.
British Journal of Photography
The world’s oldest photography title, established in 1854, this magazine has articles about all things photography.