Featured Photography Opportunities – September 2025
/September brings a wide range of opportunities for photographers at every stage of their practice. From landscape and monochrome showcases to grants supporting environmental and documentary work, this month offers chances to exhibit, publish, and fund your vision. Explore the open calls, awards, and grants currently accepting submissions.
Open Calls
Landscape Photography Open Call 2025 — Grid Photo Gallery
Deadline: September 15, 2025
Organizer: Grid Photo Gallery
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Landscape photography — from natural vistas to urban forms
Eligibility: Open worldwide
Opportunities & Prizes: Online exhibition, top 3 eligible for “Photography of the Year,” promotion on social media, printed catalog, digital certificate
Monochrome: Light, Shadow, Form, and Texture — PhotoPlace Gallery
Deadline: September 8, 2025
Organizer: PhotoPlace Gallery
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Black-and-white photography exploring light, shadow, form, and texture
Eligibility: Photographers 18+ worldwide
Opportunities & Prizes: 35 images exhibited in gallery, 40 in online show, catalog publication
2025 New York Photography Call — Art Jobs
Deadline: Varies (check page)
Organizer: Art Jobs / New York, USA
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Contemporary photography across genres
Eligibility: International photographers
Opportunities & Prizes: Exhibition in New York, international exposure
Chelsea International Photography Competition — Agora Gallery
Deadline: Early bird March 25, 2025 (later rounds ongoing)
Organizer: Chelsea International / Agora Gallery, New York
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Open subject
Eligibility: Professional & amateur photographers worldwide
Opportunities & Prizes: Exhibition in Chelsea (NYC), $500 cash prizes, media promotion, honorable mentions
NYS DEC — Conservationist Magazine Photography Contest
Deadline: Annually recurring (check page for updates)
Organizer: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC)
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Nature, wildlife, outdoor recreation in New York State
Eligibility: Open to all
Opportunities & Prizes: Publication in Conservationist magazine
PhotoEd Magazine — “Moviment” Issue #75
Deadline: September 8, 2025
Organizer: PhotoEd Magazine
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Movement — broad interpretations (motion, energy, rhythm)
Eligibility: International
Opportunities & Prizes: Publication in digital & print editions of PhotoEd
Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts — Landscapes: Real or Imagined
Organizer: Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Landscape photography, real or imaginary
Eligibility: Open worldwide
Opportunities & Prizes: $150 cash award + exhibition in Providence, RI
Decagon Gallery — Earth: The Planet We Call Home
Deadline: September 30, 2025 (11:30 PM)
Organizer: Decagon Gallery
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Planet Earth — life, landscapes, ecosystems
Eligibility: Global participation
Opportunities & Prizes: Free solo exhibition for winner, certificates & badges for top 3 + honorable mentions, social media promotion
Decagon Gallery — Forgotten Architecture
Deadline: October 31, 2025
Organizer: Decagon Gallery
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Abandoned, forgotten, or decayed architectural spaces
Eligibility: International
Opportunities & Prizes: $1,000 in cash prizes, online & gallery exhibition
Awards
International Boardgame Photography Award 2025
Deadline: September 22, 2025
Organizer: Asociación Cultural Jugamos Tod@s (Córdoba, Spain)
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Photography of board games, players, and gaming culture
Eligibility: Open worldwide
Opportunities & Prizes: Recognition, award feature, (details on prize amounts TBA)
SPIE International Day of Light Photo Contest 2025
Deadline: September 16, 2025
Organizer: SPIE (International Society for Optics and Photonics)
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Light — its uses in science, art, and technology
Eligibility: Open worldwide
Opportunities & Prizes: $2,500 top prize + additional runner-up awards, publication via SPIE
Grants
Bob and Diane Fund Grant 2025
Deadline: September 21, 2025
Organizer: Bob & Diane Fund
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Photography addressing Alzheimer’s and dementia stories
Eligibility: Open globally
Opportunities & Prizes: $5,000 grant for long-term project support
Vital Impacts Environmental Photography Grant 2025
Deadline: September 15, 2025
Organizer: Vital Impacts
Apply & Learn More: Link
Theme: Environmental photography — local, solutions-driven projects
Eligibility: International (focused on photographers embedded in local communities)
Opportunities & Prizes:
1 × $20,000 Jane Goodall grant
6 × $5,000 project grants
10 mentorships for emerging photographers
Additional mentorship program for applicants
That wraps up September’s highlights — a mix of calls, contests, and grants spanning everything from landscapes to social impact projects. Each one is a chance to push your practice further and share your perspective with new audiences.
We’ll return in October with more opportunities. If you come across a call we should include, let us know. And to stay in the loop, be sure to join our mailing list for monthly updates.