2026 Submission Page

The competition for 2026 is OPEN.

Below you will find how to submit your photos and other important information such as the frequently asked questions (FAQ), our entry guidelines and important details on participating in the exhibition (printing, fees, etc.). Please be sure to read them before submitting your entry.

 

Submission Deadline

Wednesday, October 31st, 2026 (23:00 CET)

 

⚠️ IMPORTANT ENTRY RULES (Please read before submitting)

  1. How many photos can I submit?
    – Each photographer can submit up to two (2) photos.

  2. Do I need to provide a title and description?
    – Yes. Every submission must include a title and a brief description (50–100 words) detailing the backstory of the photo and its connection to the theme.

  3. Is there a required aspect ratio?
    – While there is no required aspect ratio, we strongly recommend the 3:2 ratio. All our passepartouts are cut to fit standard 3:2 photos (its rental is already included in the participation fee). Other ratios require you to cover additional costs and timely preparation of custom passepartouts. Please see “Participation in the Exhibition” for details.

  4. What is the minimum photo size?
    – Images should be no smaller than 1MB and no larger than 10 MB. Images should be in one of the following formats: JPEG, PNG, TIFF or GIF. If necessary, adapt the compression rate to meet the required file size.

  5. Is post-processing (photoshopping) permitted? To what extent?
    – Yes, post-processing is allowed, however submitted photo(s) with basic, simple editing are favoured. Submitted photos with “heavier” post-production may be considered, if there are clear creative intentions behind them.

  6. Am I permitted to submit photo(s) taken before the competition start date (i.e. 1st August 2026)?
    – Yes, this is permitted. It is not required that the submitted photo(s) be taken during the time frame of the competition submission period.

  7. Are AI generated images allowed?
    – This is a photography contest and AI generated images are not allowed.

  8. Is there a fee to enter the contest?
    – Entry is free. Please note if you are selected as a winner, there is a small fee to participate in the exhibition. Please see the section “Participation in the Exhibition” for more details.

How to Submit

  1. Click “Submit Photo” at top left of this page.
  2. Create a (free) account under “Register“.
  3. Check your email for further registration info.
  4. Return to this page to log in.
  5. Upload your images. (Please read FAQ and entry guidelines below before uploading)
  6. Please note, there is no confirmation email for uploading images. If your photo appears under ‘Your Submitted Images,’ it has been uploaded successfully. The status ‘Your photo is not activated yet, you must wait for approval!’ simply means it is currently awaiting review by the judges.

Entry Guidelines

ENTRY PERIOD

August 1st, 2026 to October 31st, 2026 (23:00 CET)

ENTRY GUIDELINES
– Entries and the persons depicted therein are restricted to works for which the entrant holds the copyright or for which the entrant has received the prior usage permission of the right holder.
– The entrants are allowed to submit up to two photographs.
– The submitted images have to be in compliance with the requirements and conditions of the Theme Description.
– Photos that have previously won a competition at the time of submission to our competition are ineligible for entry.
– Before submitting a work, the entrant is responsible for taking all steps necessary to protect the right of publicity and other rights of persons depicted in the work, to avoid any problems related to the infringement of these rights.
– Entries including content as follows may be disqualified at the organiser’s discretion:
     > Content that infringes on any laws, or is defamatory or libelous
     > Content that constitutes or encourages criminal behavior, leads to civil liability, or that otherwise violates laws
     > Commercial content that promotes products or services
     > Content in which animals were harmed or manipulated in the making of said content
     > Content that infringes on the copyrights, trademarks, contract rights, or other intellectual property rights of a third person or entity (whether individuals or companies), or violates rights of privacy or publicity, including: – recognizable trademarks owned by third parties (examples: billboards or signs on a street) – materials protected by third-party copyrights – names, likenesses, or other characteristics identifying celebrities or other public figures – entries containing screen credits (no watermarks, logos etc.)
ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to all amateur photographers (i.e. non-professional photographers) of age 18+, regardless of age, gender, or nationality.

JUDGING PROCEDURE

After all entries for the competition have been received, they will undergo the independent judging of each judge of a judge team. The single rankings of each submission, given by the judges, will then each be totalled up. The 20 highest rated submissions will be proposed for the exhibition, with the maximum rating of all as the main winner (1st place).

NOTIFICATION OF THE WINNERS

After the judging procedure, each winner will then be contacted by the organiser until November 16th 2026 and be asked to confirm her/his participation in the exhibition.

In case a winner does not confirm his participation in the exhibition, the next winner submission in line will take its place in the exhibition.

PARTICIPATION IN THE EXHIBITION

– Winners, who agree on their photo(s) to be shown in the exhibition, must bear the participation fee for competition/exhibition expenses plus their own cost of printing and shipping of their work.

– The participation fee includes renting of passepartout(s), a share of general cost for materials (such as aluminium photo frames, passepartouts, anti-reflective acrylic glass panels, various wall-mounting parts), material shipping and other competition/exhibition-related costs (such as electronic equipments for the vernissage). The fee is expected to be approximately between 20-30 EUR.

– For images that adhere to the 3:2 aspect ratio, exhibiting participants will be provided with passepartout(s) for use in the exhibition. The fees for passepartout(s)’s rental is included in the participation fee (see bullet point above). All rented passepartouts must be returned to the organizers at the end of the exhibition period.

– For images that do not conform to the standard 3:2 aspect ratio, participants must cover the additional costs for their own custom-sized passepartouts. It is the participant’s responsibility to have these ready by the start of the exhibition. Custom-sized passepartouts will remain in the property of the participant after the exhibition.

– The organisation of printing of the images in sufficient quality in the given size has to be carried out solely by the winner. Costs of printing and shipping (if applicable) of the prints have to be paid on the winners’ own expenses and are not included in the exhibition participation fee.

– Exhibiting photographers wishing to offer their photographs for sale are invited to discuss pricing arrangements with the organizers, allowing for the display of an agreed-upon sale price during the exhibition.

END OF EXHIBITION & RETURNING OF PRINTS

The exhibition will officially end at April 30th, 2027 and the participants will be asked to take back their print(s) and passe partout(s) in the aftermath. Please note that participants are not permitted to remove their own prints from the exhibition space. Only Bavaria Unseen team members are authorized to handle and remove them. Pickup details (location, date, and time) will be shared in advance.

DISCLAIMERS
– The entrant must be the sole author and owner of the copyright of all images entered. It is the legal responsibility of the entrant, and not the organisers, to ensure that they comply with these ownership and copyright requirements, and own the rights to reproduction of their images. The motifs must not contradict the legal provisions of the country of origin, legal provisions of the European Union or the personal rights of persons depicted.
– Please note that the organiser may elect to suspend or postpone receipt of any or all entries if in its judgment the contest cannot be run smoothly, securely, or without affecting the fairness of the judging due to circumstances beyond its control, including but not limited to network failure, computer viruses, or unauthorised access to its servers.
– Entrants are required to obtain the prior permission of the persons who are portrayed in their works or who hold the copyright or other intellectual property rights to the works or the items portrayed therein. Entrants also agree to fully indemnify the organiser and bear all responsibility for any complaints or objections that arise in relation to the above.
– Entries that in the judgment of the organiser do not conform to the Entry Guidelines will be disqualified. Entrants will not be notified in this event.
PRIVACY NOTICE
The data sent in by entrants is only stored and used by the organisers for the administration of the competition. The entrant hereby expressly declares him or herself to be in agreement with this. Entrant has the right at any time to revoke their agreement to storage of the data at privacy(at)bavaria-unseen.net and thereby to withdraw their participation.
The personal data of entrants is necessary for the purposes of use below:
– Notification of results to the winners
– Informing matters related to the contest or exhibition
– Contacting entrants regarding their entry
– Announcement of winning works
The additional purposes of use that apply to the winners are as follows:
– Notifying winners that they have won or telling them about the award ceremony (venue opening)
– Announcing winning works
– Publishing winning works as a form of archive

The names of winners may be published on websites, printed materials, or other materials related to the contest when introducing winning works. In addition, personal data might be used for identity verification should entrants wish to change or update their contact details.

Sample Images for Inspiration

For any further questions, please feel free to write us at info@bavaria-unseen.net.

We look forward to your submissions!