Wellcome Photography Prize 2027 — an international photography competition with three €12,000 prizes and no entry fee
Wellcome Photography Prize is an international photography prize about health, science and people, where a photographer can tell their story and show it to a global audience. It is open to authors of any level from anywhere in the world — from documentary photographers to scientists with a camera. And behind it stands Wellcome Trust, a major British foundation in health and science, which makes a line in your portfolio genuinely weighty.
About the organiser — Wellcome Trust
The prize is run by Wellcome Trust, founded in 1936 in London under the will of the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome. Today it is one of the world’s largest charitable foundations, with an endowment of about £37.6 billion (2025) — the UK’s largest non-governmental source of funding for health and science research. The photography prize itself is part of its public programme: through powerful images, the foundation connects a wide audience with health and science.
For the competition this means one simple thing: there is a serious institution behind the prize — which means real money and transparent terms. And the line “Wellcome Photography Prize finalist” in a portfolio is recognised well beyond the photography world, working for your international reputation.
Who can enter
There are no limits on nationality, age or professional status: both professionals and self-taught photographers are welcome — and not only photographers, but also scientists, medics and people drawing on lived experience; you can even shoot on a phone. The only technical limits: the photo must have been taken after 31 December 2021, and AI-generated images are not accepted.
Categories and theme
The competition looks for photographs about health and science in the broadest sense — from mental health and infectious disease to climate, caring for loved ones and scientific discovery. Work is accepted in three categories:
— Striking solo photography — a single frame that grabs you at first glance;
— A storytelling series — a set of 3–5 images that tells a story;
— The marvels of scientific and medical imaging — a single image using scientific or medical imaging (microscopy, macro, medical scans).
Prizes and exhibition
The prize fund is more than £52,000 (about €61,000): the winner of each category receives £10,000 (about €12,000), and 22 more finalists get £1,000 each.
But it is not only about the money: the 25 best works go into a final exhibition, and the winners’ images travel across international media. For a documentary photographer that is a real career lever — editors buy stories about health and society all the time, and a major foundation’s name behind you opens doors.
Why it’s worth your attention
This is not a contest for “pretty pictures” — the jury looks for stories about how health, science and society meet in real life. The theme is broader than it seems: migration and access to healthcare, the urban environment, caring for loved ones, living with a diagnosis — it’s a chance to tell a local story to a global audience.
An honest caveat: the competition won’t suit those who shoot only genre or landscape work with no social dimension. What matters here is not so much technique as the meaning and human story behind the frame — that is what the jury weighs first.
What you need to enter
Entries are submitted online through the competition’s official portal; entry is free, and there is no limit on how many works one author can send. Technical requirements: high-resolution TIFF or JPEG files (uncompressed, from 15 MB), Adobe RGB colour space.
It’s worth reading the ethics rules separately: photos featuring people require consent and respectful treatment of your subjects — this is part of the conditions, not a formality. Read them before submitting so your work isn’t rejected.
The deadline for entries is 21 October 2026.
