June 2, 2011 /Photography News/  The Sony World Photography Awards is comprised of two competitions: the Open Competition, geared towards amateurs and keen photography enthusiasts, and the Professional Competition for the serious professional photographer, both of which are open for entries annually from 1st June – 4th January.

• Nature & Wildlife

• People

• Travel

• Low-light (new category)

• Architecture

• Panoramic

• Arts & Culture

• Smile

• Split second (new category)

• Enhanced (new category)

Youth competition (new competition for 2012):

• Environment

• Portrait

• Culture

Moving Image Awards:

• Nature & Wildlife (new category)

• People (new category)

• Extraordinary / Ordinary (new category)

• Commercial (new category)

• Fine Art (new category)

• Documentary (new category)

The vast majority of winners will be presented with their trophies at a ceremony in London in late April 2012. The winner of the L’Iris D’Or Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year Award will also be revealed and presented with $25,000 (USD) plus Sony digital SLR camera equipment. The overall Open competition winner will receive $5,000 plus Sony digital SLR camera equipment.

A display of entries and winning work – the Sony World Photography Awards Winners’ Showcase – will be exhibited at Somerset House in April and May 2012 as part of the World Photography Festival 2012.

Eligibility: Photographers of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels

All entrants understand that any image submitted to the competition may be used by WPO, and its Event Partners, for marketing and promotional purposes of the event only, for a maximum of three years after the awards ceremony. You hereby grant WPO a non-exclusive, irrevocable licence in each Entry throughout the world for three years in all media for any use connected to the promotion of the SWPA event and/or competition, including, but not limited too:

(a) judging the Competition

(b) displaying the winning entries and runners up at public exhibitions promoting WPO and organised by WPO

(c) inclusion within the Website, a World Photography Awards book, magazine or similar

(d) inclusion within any materials promoting of the Competition and / or any exhibition organised by WPO, in the promotion of the WPO

(e) inclusion on Competition- and exhibition-related products to be sold by the WPO or any third party following the individual agreement by the author

(f) sub-licencing the Entries to the press for reproduction in connection with the Competition and any exhibition

(g) allowing viewers of the Website to view images on a computer screen, PDA or mobile telephone and store such pages in electronic form on disk or on a PDA or mobile telephone (but not on any server or other storage device connected to a network) for their personal, non-commercial use only.

Any photograph used by WPO shall carry a credit line.

Deadline: January 4, 2012

Website: Sony World Photography Awards