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We invite photographers and biomedical image makers from all disciplines and levels to enter the Wellcome Photography Prize. We’re looking for entries that can captivate people with stories of health, science and human experience, and start conversations about some of the health challenges humanity faces today.
Prizes and publicity
The winner of each category will receive £10,000.
An additional 22 entries from across the three categories will be awarded £1,000 each.
These top 25 entries will be shown in a major public exhibition in London in summer 2025. They may also get the opportunity to take part in events to showcase their work to a range of audiences. The prize receives extensive international media coverage each year.
Subject matter
From a molecular process in a single cell to the impact of a disease across an entire community, we’d like to see imagery exploring health, medicine and science.
This year, we’re looking for stories of hope and resilience across Wellcome’s core areas of focus, and the spaces where they intersect. There are three categories in the competition, and your image should explore one or more of the following subject matters:
Mental health
Your image might:
- Show the impact mental health conditions are having on communities
- Shine a light on what it’s like to live with a mental health condition
- Explore the relationship between mental and physical health
Infectious disease
Your image might:
- Tell the story of how environmental change is impacting infectious disease
- Investigate how outbreaks can bring people together
- Explore what infectious disease looks like in isolated parts of the world
Climate and health
Your image might:
- Document how changes in policy are having a positive impact
- Connect the planet’s health with our own
- Track the evolution of a particular health condition as the climate changes
Discovery research
Your image might:
- Give people the unique opportunity to see research in motion
- Reveal a world of specialised medical equipment usually kept behind the scenes
- Look at how we fight current and future threats to our health
Categories
There are three categories in the competition.
The images shown in each category are to inspire you but are for illustration only. Your entry doesn’t necessarily need to be in a similar style or about a similar topic.
- Category 1: Striking solo photography – Captivate people with a single photograph that stirs imaginations and starts conversations.
- Category 2: A storytelling series – Unpack a narrative in greater depth or explore different perspectives using anywhere between 3-5 photographs.
- Category 3: The marvels of scientific and medical imaging – Capture the wonder of human health in a single image created by a scientific or medical imaging technique.
Judging criteria
The story behind an image and the reasons why it was created are as important as the image itself. Our judges are looking for three things:
1. Creativity and visual impact
- Strong visual impact
- Thoughtful/considered composition
- Use of colour (or intentional lack thereof) to enhance impact
2. Storytelling
- Strong visual story that centres on a health issue
- Clear written narrative around health or medicine
3. Technical excellence
- Excellent image quality for the type of imaging technique used
- Appropriate and skilful image manipulation/editing if used
- High-resolution image and size suitable for print outputs
- Meets criteria in terms and conditions.
Find out everything you need to know about entering the Wellcome Photography Prize and submit your images.
