Deadline: February 1, 2021
Entry Fee: Free
Prizes: £150, £250, £500, £5,000, Photographic vouchers, Medals, Gift membership
The RHS Photographic Competition inspires young and old alike to get outdoors and record how enriching and inspiring gardens and plants can be.
The RHS Photographic Competition is owned and run by the charity Royal Horticultural Society.
The competition is a multi-category, free to enter annual competition aimed at garden lovers, horticulturists and photographers alike.
The aim of the competition is to promote high quality and beautiful photography; and the RHS wants to inspire everyone to grow by encouraging people to share their two passions of gardening and photography.
Eligibility
- The RHS Photographic Competition is open to all.
- Entrants for ‘Under 18s (11-17 years)’ must be between 11 and 17 years old on the day the competition closes.
- Entrants for ‘Under 11s’ must be under 11 years old on the day the competition closes.
Categories
There are 10 different categories in the competition, designed to have a broad appeal to aspiring entrants and cover different gardening-related topics.
- Gardens
Any garden, anywhere. Share your favourite view of your most special outdoor space, whether small-town city garden or world-class stately home, village back gardens to rooftop or communal garden. If there’s a space you call a garden, then we want to see it. - Welcoming wildlife
Beautiful photographs of insects, birds and creatures found wild in your garden or garden surroundings. Images can be close-up details or wider views of wildlife enjoying the outdoor environment. - Plants
Celebrate the essence and sheer delight of plants, flowers and produce growing happily – but avoid macro photography. We want to see single or multiple specimens and understand the character and habit of these beautiful plants. - Macro
Celebrate and excite the senses through close-up photography of plants, flowers, stems, leaves, roots or any part of a plant. These photographs should be about the detail and intimate nature of the subject in question. - Creative
Let your imagination, originality and creativity go wild. Image manipulation and graphic approaches are also welcomed. We want to be wowed by amazing, unusual and never-been-seen-before images that challenge and make us think. - Indoor gardening
Show us everything that sums up the fun, beauty and interest of growing plants indoors. From windowsills to conservatories, terrariums to glasshouses, house plants to indoor edibles, there’s never been a better time to photograph plants that thrive indoors. - Social media
Any image can be entered into this category that is related to anything horticultural, gardening or wildlife. Images should be submitted via RHS Twitter, Instagram or Facebook accounts using the hashtag #RHSphotocomp. The monthly shortlists (May 2020 to January 2021 inclusive) will be selected by the RHS social media team and an RHS judge, and the winner will be voted for by our social media followers. Each monthly winner will then be fed into the competition judging for overall category winner. - Under 18s (age 11-17)
Any photographs depicting something plant, garden or wildlife related that interests you. - Under 11s
Any photographs depicting something plant, garden or wildlife related that interests you. - Portfolio
This unique category is judged for RHS medals and entrants must supply six images in a series, or based on a common theme or style. This category is open to both amateur and professional photographers.
Prizes
- Winner of the RHS Photographic Competition
£5,000 - Young Winner of the RHS Photographic Competition
£750 Wex Photographic vouchers - Adult categories
First Place £500 + RHS Gift membership
Second Place £250
Third Place £150 - Portfolio category
Best in Show £500 + RHS Gift membership
RHS Medals are awarded - Under 18s
First place £150 Wex Photographic vouchers
Second place £75 Wex Photographic vouchers
Third place £50 Wex Photographic vouchers - Under 11s
First place £150 Wex Photographic vouchers
Second place £75 Wex Photographic vouchers
Third place £50 Wex Photographic vouchers
Dates
- Competition opens for entries at 10am Saturday 18 April 2020.
- The deadline for the entries is 10am, Monday 1 February 2021.
- Winners of categories 1-9 will be announced and exhibited at an RHS Show in 2021.
- Medals for category 10 (Portfolio) will be judged and awarded at an RHS Show in 2021, and a ‘Best portfolio photography exhibit’ will be awarded.
- After the RHS Show exhibition, a selection of images from across all 10 categories will be on display at RHS Gardens in summer 2021 – dates to be confirmed.
Get involved
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.
