Eligibility

Our Edition XII Series Award is open to all types of photographer aged 18 years and over (or of the age of majority in jurisdictions in their respective country) from all over the world.

Images can be new or old and of any style or genre. The submitted work must be a ‘series’- i.e. have a cohesive theme (subject matter, narrative etc.) rather than being a broad portfolio of work.

Entrants must own their work, and have full freedom for it to be published and exhibited. Work may have been previously published or exhibited.

Entrants must not be an employee, officer or agent of Life Framer, nor an employee, officer or agent of any person or organisation involved in the running of the Award, nor a family relation of any such person.

Image specification

Entrant’s images should be sized under 8mb each and in .jpg format. There is no need to name images as they will be automatically renamed during upload. If images have individual titles, these can be included in the description / statement box during the upload process.

Judging process

The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2026, 23:59 PST timezone.

Following and online selection process led by Mia Dalglish and Lisa Woodward of Pictura Gallery, 3 finalists will be shortlisted and each have an online portfolio review session with Mia and Lisa before the 1st Prize is selected. The review can be used to present the work, get feedback, brainstorm, ask questions, etc.. To be eligible for the 1st Prize, shortlisted finalists must be available to schedule this online session on a weekday in February 2027.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prize photographers will be announced to the public in early March 2026.

Prizes

1st Prize:

• 3 month, funded solo show at Pictura Gallery, curated by Lisa and Mia, with budget provided by Life Framer and Pictura Gallery
• Portfolio review session with the Curators (before the winner is announced)

• Portfolio review session with the Curators (before the winner is announced)
• Write-up about the series on Life Framer’s Journal and Pictura Gallery’s Curious Photo Blog

• Portfolio review session with the Curators (before the winner is announced)
• Write-up about the series on Life Framer’s Journal and Pictura Gallery’s Curious Photo Blog

Exhibition

The 1st Prize series will be exhibited at Pictura Gallery, Bloomington IN, United States. The exhibition will be held in summer 2027 (subject to Pictura’s standard opening times), with an opening reception on the first evening.

Curators Mia Dalglish and Lisa Woodward will design an exhibition of photographic prints from the chosen series, working with the 1st Prize photographer. Full budget is provided by Life Framer and Pictura Gallery, and the photographer is not expected to make any contribution.

Budget covers printing, framing and other related curatorial and exhibition costs. It does not include accommodation or travel expenses to the gallery.

Further rules

Rules regarding usage and rights, right to cancel and refunds are per the main Life Framer rules which can be found here.