LCE Photographer of the Year 2027 is an annual photography competition organised by London Camera Exchange, inviting submissions across 14 categories. These cover a broad range of subjects, including landscape, wildlife, birds, portrait, street, travel, action, events, macro and creative photography. There are also categories for pets and photographs taken after dark. Images captured with smartphones and other digital devices are accepted alongside traditional camera photography, as are digital scans of film photographs.
The competition includes an Emerging Talent category for photography students and a People's Choice award decided by public voting. A shortlist of photographs, including selections influenced by votes cast in the online gallery, will be reviewed anonymously by four photography professionals. The judges will assess composition, lighting, subject matter and technical skill before selecting the overall Photographer of the Year from the 14 category winners.
Photographers can submit one image per category, but different edits of the same original photograph cannot be entered into multiple categories. Submissions must be JPEG or PNG files, with a maximum of 2,500 pixels on the longest edge, accompanied by a title and a description of up to 280 characters. There is no restriction on when a photograph was taken, although previous winners and runners-up of this competition cannot resubmit the same images. Shortlisted entrants must be able to provide a high-resolution JPEG or RAW file. Winners will be announced at The Photography & Video Show 2027, scheduled to take place at ExCeL London from 13 to 16 March 2027.
Entry fee: Free to enter, with no purchase required. Each photographer may submit one image per category, up to a maximum of 14 entries.
Eligibility
Open to photographers worldwide aged 18 or over, excluding LCE employees, agents, their immediate families and others directly connected with the competition; entries must be original photographs without AI-generated imagery, the Emerging Talent category is restricted to photography students studying in the UK, and only UK residents are eligible to receive prizes.
Prize
LCE Photographer of the Year 2027 has a total prize fund of £10,000. Each of the 14 category winners will receive £500 in London Camera Exchange vouchers and a trophy. The overall Photographer of the Year will receive an additional £2,500 in vouchers and a trophy, bringing their total voucher prize to £3,000. The photography department, university or other eligible place of study attended by the Emerging Talent winner will receive an additional £500. Shortlisted photographs will be included in a commemorative awards book, with each shortlisted entrant receiving a complimentary copy and an invitation to the awards ceremony at The Photography & Video Show 2027. Entrants outside the UK may be recognised as winners but are not eligible to receive the advertised prizes.