Your Image Could Be Up Next: Get Excited for IPC 2027
Are you ready to watch what happens when your strongest image goes head-to-head with some of the best photography in the industry? When you enter PPA’s 2027 International Photographic Competition (IPC), you have the chance to share in $26,000 cash prizes and the guarantee of this rewarding experience–competing amongst your peers’ best work.
It’s time to test your creativity, challenge your skills and see how far your work can go! Watch the new International Photographic Competition Trailer for a glimpse of the excitement—and start imagining your own image advancing through the bracket.
Put Your Best Work to the Test
IPC is an opportunity to look at your portfolio with a more critical eye, refine the choices behind it and discover what makes your images stand out.
Photographers can enter work across 16 categories, including:
- Portraits
- Weddings
- Commercial
- Illustrative
- Wildlife
- Sports
- Pets
- Landscape
- Digital art
Entries are evaluated for composition, impact, style and technical excellence before the highest-scoring images advance to the bracket-style rounds of competition.
Whether you are entering for the first time or returning with new work, the IPC process can help you identify your strengths, sharpen your visual voice and push your photography further.
Follow the Journey to Imaging USA 2027
The top 32 images in each category will advance to a live judging round at Imaging USA 2027 in Charlotte, North Carolina. There, category winners will earn the Diamond Photographer of the Year Award and a $1,000 prize before competing for the coveted Grand Imaging Award and its $10,000 grand prize. Altogether, IPC offers $26,000 in winnings.
The competition may begin with one image, but that image could lead to industry recognition, a place on the Imaging USA stage and a defining moment in your professional and creative journey.
Ready to Compete? Enter IPC 2027
Registration is now open for PPA members! Early registration is available for $49 through September 10, 2026, at 5 PM EDT. Late registration will remain open for $59 through September 17 at 5 PM EDT.
The trailer is only a first look at the excitement, because he next image in the spotlight could be yours.