We keep the entry fees as low as possible whilst still helping to cover the costs associated with organising and running the competition, the website, and the exhibition tour.

Main categories (Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year section):
£6.00 per category (£5.00 per category Early Bird until 30/09/2025). This automatically includes 1 image entry to that category. You can enter as many categories as you want. You only need to pay the fee for each category you are entering ONCE.

For the 2025 competition, each main category entrant will receive 1 complimentary category entry on payment of at least 1 main category entry fee. This will entitle the entrant to enter 1 image to 1 other main category of their choice and is limited to 1 complimentary category per person.

If you wish to enter more images, the additional fees are as follows:
5 extra images £5.00
10 extra images £10.00
15 extra images £15.00
20 extra images £20.00
25 extra images £25.00

You can submit all your extra images to one category, or spread them over any of the categories that you have entered. Therefore, if you enter all 8 categories and select the 25 extra images option, you can submit a total of 33 images to the competition.

Examples:

If you want to enter 1 image to the Scottish Wildlife Behaviour category, entry is £6. For 2025, when you enter at least 1 category, you will receive 1 complimentary category entry. So if, for example:

You want to enter 1 image to the Scottish Wildlife Behaviour category and 1 image to the Scottish Wildlife Portrait category, entry is £6 (1 x category fee + 1 complimentary) or:
If you want to enter 12 images which are a mix of Scottish Wildlife Behaviour and Scottish Wildlife Portrait, entry is £16 (1 x category fee + 1 complimentary + 10 extra images @ £10) or:
You want to enter 1 image to the Scottish Wildlife Behaviour category, 1 image to the Scottish Wildlife Portrait category and 1 image to the Natural Abstract category, entry is £12 (2 x category fees + 1 complimentary).

Student Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year section:
Entry for a portfolio of 3 images on the required nature theme for 2025 - "Change" - is £5.00. Extra images cannot be entered to this category and portfolios of less than 3 images are not eligible.

Junior Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year section:
Entry for up to 5 images on any Scottish nature subject is FREE OF CHARGE.

No. Each individual image can be entered into one category only.

You can pay for online entries by a credit or debit card via Paypal. You do not need to register with Paypal or have a Paypal account if you just want to pay with your debit or credit card. We regret that we cannot accept credit or debit cards for postal entries. These must be sent with a cheque.

Please make cheques for postal entries payable to “N & J Irvine”. Cheques can only be accepted from UK banks and postal entries will be accepted on clearance of the cheque.

Download postal entry forms here.

Yes. All online entries can be paid for via PayPal using your Paypal account.

 Junior entries can be placed via the

Junior category entry form here.

Entry to the Junior category must be with the permission of a Parent or Guardian and the Parent or Guardian must assume responsibility for the Junior entrant’s compliance with the rules.

As a backup in case we have a problem getting an email through to you.

After you have completed the online entry checkout, we'll process your entry and send you an email containing confirmation of your entry and the username and password you'll need to upload your images. This stage is completed by staff rather than automated, so, although we're usually much quicker, please allow us up to 2 working days to send you the confirmation and upload details.

Please note that we will send your receipt and upload details to the email address supplied on your Paypal payment or Junior entry form. To avoid delays, please make sure that the email address you supply is up to date and one you check regularly and check your junk folder - just in case! If you haven't received your confirmation and upload details after 2 working days, please contact us.

If you submit a postal entry, we always acknowledge receipt by email (or phone if you don't have an email address) so if you don't hear from us within 5 working days of posting your entry, please get in touch with us in case there is a problem.

Contact us

Entries open on 10th September 2025.

The competition closes on 30th November 2025 (24:00 hours GMT) for ALL entries. No entries will be accepted after this date. You have until 4pm (16:00 GMT) on 7th December 2025 to upload your images. However, in case of problems, we recommend you don't leave it until the last minute! The additional week is to allow time for entrants to upload their images. Submitted images must still have been taken before the 30th November 2025 midnight deadline.

All entrants will be informed of the outcome of their entry. We'll let you know if any of your images have been selected for final shortlist assessment in February 2026.

The winners will be announced at the end of March 2026.

The Scottish Nature Photography Awards aims to promote its Photographic Competition and to provide a platform for promoting the Photographers who take part. Therefore, we have made provision for license to use images submitted to the competition for that purpose as detailed in the competition rules. For any use that falls outside the scope of promotion of the competition, exhibition etc. (as detailed in the rules) royalties will be discussed & negotiated with the photographer concerned.

View the competition rules.

Online – Once you have selected your categories and any extra images and paid your entry fee online (or completed the free Junior entry form), you’ll be sent an email receipt along with a username and password to upload your images to the server via the "Upload Images" area. You should upload RGB JPEG (.jpg) image files that are 1000 pixels on their longest side, but keep safe your high-resolution files in case they are required for the shortlist (see below). If your image is in panoramic format, you may upload it at 1500 pixels on the longest side.

When you upload your images, please include the details of the category you are entering and image name for each image file e.g. "Scottish Wildlife Portrait_Red Deer Stag" in the file name. If you are entering HDR images, please add "hdr" to the end of the file name. If you are entering focus stacked images, please add 'fs' to the end of the filename.

Within the uploader, you can upload single or multiple images and view and manage your images (including deleting any you want to replace). You can view a short video giving a quick demonstration of basic uploader functions via the link below. Once you are happy with all the images that you have in your upload account, that's all you need to do. We'll transfer them to the judging system after the closing date. If there is anything you want to check, just get in touch. 

Post - All entries submitted by post must be clearly labelled. Your disc should have your name written on it along with your completed entry form and payment. You can provide high-resolution TIFF images on the disc, or provide RGB JPEG image files that are 1000 pixels on their longest side (1500 pixels for panoramic format images), as long as you have the high-resolution files if they are required for the shortlist (see below).

If you are shortlisted, you’ll be asked to provide high-resolution TIFF image files at:

Main categories and Student category – Minimum A3* 300dpi size (TIFF, Adobe RGB 1998, 8-bit) for final judging. Please ensure that any image you enter is available at that size, should it be required. For shortlisted images, we will also request your RAW file or original camera JPEG file or original scan from film. Please ensure that you keep those safe for any image that you enter as they will be required for final judging.

* See guidance for square, panoramic or cropped images further down the page.

Junior category – Minimum A4 300dpi size (TIFF or JPEG, Adobe RGB 1998, 8-bit) for final judging. Please ensure that any image you enter is available at that size, should it be required. For shortlisted images, we will also request your RAW file or original camera JPEG file or original scan from film. Please ensure that you keep those safe for any image that you enter as they will be required for final judging.

In the event that the high-resolution file submitted for a shortlisted image does not meet the technical standard required by the judges, the image may be eliminated from the shortlist.

Get in touch.
View uploader video here.

Either digital camera files or scans of slides (transparencies) and negatives are fine. In either case, images should ultimately be capable of meeting the A3 300dpi (A4 300dpi for Junior section) requirement for shortlisted images. Please ensure that all images are clean at 100%. Do not submit RAW files for the initial judging.

The aim is to achieve a true representation of the subject and therefore images should not be overmanipulated.

Digital adjustments including minor cleaning work (e.g. removal of dust), levels, curves, colour (including conversion to black and white), saturation and contrast work may be undertaken. This kind of work is comparable to what would be deemed as acceptable traditional photographic techniques.

Digital processing which changes the physical scene (e.g. removal or addition of objects) of the image is not acceptable.

Major retouching, alteration, montaging, stitching, etc. are not acceptable.

Please also see the section below on AI generated images.

Focus Stacking images from a single point of view are acceptable, but must be declared as such. If you are entering focus stacked images, please add 'FS' to the end of the filename when you upload your images.

HDR images from a single point of view are acceptable, but must be declared as such. If you are entering HDR images, please add 'HDR' to the end of the filename when you upload your images.

We will request your RAW file or original camera JPEG file or original scan from film if you are shortlisted in ALL categories (Main, Student and Junior).

No. Within our current rules, AI (artificial intelligence) generated images and image components are ineligible.

We recognise that some image processing and editing software packages have functions supported by AI, e.g noise reduction, and this is allowed provided it falls within the requirements for acceptable forms of digital processing detailed above.

Images should ideally be submitted in the Adobe 1998 RGB colour space but sRGB colour space is accepted.

Yes, cropping is allowed, but please bear in mind that cropping reduces the file size and therefore high levels of cropping could result in the deterioration of image quality. Remember that all images entered should be capable of meeting the A3 300dpi (A4 300dpi for Junior section) requirement for shortlisted images.

If the image is in square, panoramic or cropped format, then if you are shortlisted the image will be looked at in proportion within A3 (29.7cm x 42cm) size e.g. if you crop the top and bottom on a landscape orientated image, then the resulting image should be capable of a minimum of A3 width (42cm), but need not be A3 height (29.7). In a square format, it should be a minimum of 29.7cm square.

Please remember, that as per "What forms of digital processing are acceptable", panoramic images must be taken as one single image, not multiple images stitched together.

Examples

Yes. The judges will be looking for images that are representative of contemporary Scottish nature so images should have been taken within 5 years of the closing date of the competition i.e. from 1st December 2020 to 30 November 2025.

Entrants are responsible for ensuring that images complied with all Scottish Covid-19 restrictions in force at the time.

Yes. However, part of the judging criteria is originality and a widely published image may have a reduced chance of winning on these grounds. You must ensure that any image you enter is not subject to any exclusive rights and that the image is your own and you have full copyright.

The Scottish Nature Photography Awards is looking for originality in its entries. We hope to present fresh interpretations of nature photography to the public through the touring exhibition and Portfolio Yearbook.

Images that have won an award or have been shortlisted/commended in a nationally or internationally promoted competition are not eligible for entry.

Images that have been entered in a nationally or internationally promoted competition where the results are still pending are not eligible for entry. Entering the same image into more than one competition before you know the results puts you at risk of the image being disqualified from this or another competition.

You must ensure that any image you enter is not subject to any exclusive rights and that the image is your own and you have full copyright.

Yes. Camera Club competitions are generally open to members only rather than open to the wider public and are not promoted nationally or internationally in the context that we would consider ineligible for the purposes of this competition.

Yes, alternative photographic process images such as cyanotype, argyrotype, pinhole and other camera-less images are welcome in all categories. You need to submit a digital file of the image for judging and an original scan if you are shortlisted.

AI generated images are not eligible (see above).

Yes, in camera double or multiple exposure images are eligible.

Yes. Underwater images are welcome in all categories. With its rich and diverse coast and lochs, Scotland has much to offer the underwater photographer.

The server can get busy at times and unexpected glitches can occur. We hope it won't happen to you but if it does, please bear with us and let us help! If you are having any problems either with your username and password, or uploading your images, please contact us for help. We will assist you as soon as we can and, if necessary, will provide an alternative method for you to submit your images. Please be aware that the demand on the server will be high around the closing date for entries and the image upload deadline, so try to upload your images in good time!

Contact us

We will return postal entry discs if requested and on receipt of a stamped, self-addressed envelope of appropriate size and value. Otherwise these will be destroyed. All images uploaded online to the server will be deleted on completion of the judging process.

Shortlisting will take place in February 2026. If your image is selected for further assessment to confirm its inclusion in the final shortlist, we will contact you by email to request your high resolution TIFF file (minimum A3 300dpi or A4 300dpi for the Junior section). This can be done by post or by online file delivery services. Details will be given in the notification email. For ALL categories (Main, Student and Junior) we will also request your RAW file or original camera JPEG file or original scan from film. Please ensure that you keep those safe for any image that you enter as they will be required for final judging.

If your image features a subject which required a licence for photography (e.g. Schedule 1 species), you should also supply details with your shortlist submission.

If shortlisted, entrants to the Student Category will be asked to confirm the details of their course and where they are studying.

If you are contacted regarding shortlisting we understand that you may be excited to share the news on the web and social media but please don't include your image/s with reference to its/their status in the competition prior to the results being announced by the Scottish Nature Photography Awards.

If you have any more questions, you can contact us by completing the contact form.

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