Photography Competition

Intimate, thought-provoking portraits that reveal the character and spirit of a Suffolk mammal species. 

Images celebrating the beauty and behvaiour of a Suffolk bird species, from great flocks and parent-chick dynamics, to lethal raptors and colourful feathers.

Close-up portraits of a Suffolk invertebrate species. Big pictures that provide an intimate glimpse into the small but marvellous world of insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and molluscs. 

Macro photography that celebrates the fascinating world of plants and fungi.

Landscape photography that celebrates the natural beauty and distinctive character of Suffolk’s wild places.

Alternative perscptives on wildlife and the environment, with artistic approaches to photography may capture the movement, emotion, or complexity of the natural world.

Each category winner will be printed in the Autumn/Winter 2026 edition of Wild Suffolk magazine (the Trust's membership magazine).

Winning photographs, and selected highly-commended photographs, will also be displayed at a public exhibition in Ipswich in the autumn of 2026, plus be featured in the 2027 Suffolk Wildlife Calendar.

Additionally, the winner of the Young Photography Prize will win a one-to-one photography course with a wildlife photographer.

The Young Photographer Prize aims to shine a spotlight on the incredible passion, diversity and creativity of Suffolk’s emerging photographic talent. The Young Photographer Prize will be awarded to one competition entrant aged under 25 years old

In addition to the general competition prizes, the winner of the Young Photographer Prize will be awarded a one-to-one photography course with a professional, local wildlife photographer.

When submitting an entry to the competition, young entrants will need to confirm their date of birth and confirm that they wish to be considered for the Young Photographer Prize.

A panel of judges will select the winners and runners-up of each catergory. The panel will include Trust staff and volunteers, a member of the Trust's Youth Board, and the competition sponsors.

Each individual entrant can submit a maximum of three entries, distributed among the categories as they wish. No single image may be entered into more than one category. All images must have been taken in Suffolk and no earlier than 2024.

Image files must be JPEG or PNG format, with a minimum resolution of 2000 pixels on the shortest side, and a maximum file size of 50 MB

The welfare of the wildlife subject is more important than the photograph itself. If entries are found to have evidence of undue disturbance or stress inflicted on wildlife in the process of taking the photograph, the entrant will be disqualified. Please avoid damaging habitat or disturbing wildlife in search of the perfect shot.

Entrants are required to provide their full name and email for the purpose of the administration of the photography competition. This data will be processed and stored in a secure manner and will only be kept for the duration of the 2026 competition. We will store the data of the winners in order to make contact and to facilitate the award of prizes only.

All images submitted to the competition may be used by Suffolk Wildlife Trust on social media accounts, associated local, regional, national or international press releases and media, as well as on website, publications, internal and external exhibitions associated with the Trust and future promotional materials to promote the Trust’s work, unless specifically stated by the entrant. Copyright will remain with the photographer and Suffolk Wildlife Trust will make every reasonable effort to ensure that name credits of entrants are reproduced on images published in online and printed publications.

All images submitted must be the work of the individual submitting them. It is the responsibility of each entrant to ensure that any images they submit have been taken with the permission of the subject (where necessary) and do not infringe the copyright of any third party. Entrants must warrant that the photograph they are submitting is their own work and that they own the copyright for it.

Images generated using AI (Artificial Intellegience) will be disqualified.

Events may occur that render the competition itself impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the promoter and accordingly the promoter may at its absolute discretion vary or amend the promotion. The entrant must agree that no liability shall attach to the promoter as a result thereof.

All information detailing how to enter this competition forms part of these terms and conditions. It is a condition of entry that all rules are accepted as final and that the entrant agrees to abide by these rules.

Submission of an entry will be taken to mean acceptance of these terms and conditions.

If any further questions about the Suffolk Wildlife Trust Photography Competition, or any problems submitting your entry, please email comms@suffolkwildlifetrust.org.

How do I enter the competition?

You can submit your photography to the competition using our online form.

Who can enter the competition?

Anyone and everyone! We welcome submissions from people of all ages and abilities.

What are your rules around editing photos?

We will accept photos that have been edited to enhance the subject or the natural atmosphere of the image, or that have used editing as a creative tool to fulfill the category.

What are your rules around using AI?

The purpose of the competition is to celebrate the real natural world and the creative talent of human photographers. Therefore images generated using AI, or heavily editted with AI-assisted tools, will not be considered for the competition.