The National Wildlife Photo Contest (NWPC) is open to all photographers worldwide who are at least 18 years of age, except employees and Board Members of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), their immediate families and individuals living in the same household as such employees and Board Members. NWF reserves the right to verify, in its sole judgment, entrant eligibility.

No, we invite entrants from all over the world to enter.

Opens: January 9, 2017

Closes: March 31, 2017

NWF anticipates notifying winners by early October 2017.  A selection of the winning photographs and honorable mentions will be published in the December-January 2018 issue of National Wildlife magazine, which comes out in mid-November 2017. All winning images will be published on the magazine's website.

Your $20.00 fee helps support NWF's work to protect wildlife and wild places.

The National Wildlife Federation greatly appreciates when photographers choose to donate some of their images. These donations help support our mission to protect wildlife and habitats. If you wish to donate image(s) to the National Wildlife Federation for use in furthering its mission, please check the appropriate box for each image during the uploading process. By donating the image(s) to NWF, donor assigns NWF a joint ownership interest in image(s) under Copyright laws. You retain all right and title to the image(s) as a joint owner. By checking the box and agreeing to donate the image(s) to NWF, you agree all writing and signature requirements under the law are satisfied. NWF greatly appreciates all image donations, which will be used to support NWF’s charitable mission. Click here for further explanation.

Grand Prize: $5,000.00. Plus, a camera bag made possible by Lowepro, Inc.

First Place: $500.00 for the winner in each category. Plus, a camera bag made possible by Lowepro, Inc.

Second Place: $250.00 for the second place in each category. 

Honorable Mentions: Each will receive a National Wildlife Federation calendar.

All winning images will be published on our web sites and promoted throughout NWF's social media channels.

This is a new contest and everyone must create an account to enter.

CATEGORIES: Photographers must enter each image in one of the following categories. The same photo cannot be entered in more than one category. Judges reserve the right to switch images to other categories.

i. Baby Animals: Portraits and behavior of young animals of any species.
ii. Backyard Habitats: Wild creatures, native plants and natural settings in backyards.
iii. Birds: Portraits and Behavior.
iv. Landscapes and Plants: Scenic views and native plants in wild settings.
v. Mammals: Portraits and behavior.
vi. Other Wildlife: Portraits and behavior (includes underwater life, reptiles, amphibians, insects, spiders and more).
vii. People in Nature: People enjoying the outdoors or connecting with nature and wildlife.

 

Click here to download.
(After the download, the PDF entry guide may be in your "Downloads" or "My Dowloads" folder in your computer.)

Technical requirements: Camera-made digital images or scans of slides or prints must be uploaded as jpg, gif or png files. There is a maximum file size of 50 megabytes per image. Images should be in either sRGB or RGB format.

What photos qualify: We are looking for striking color and black and white images of nature—on land, in the air and beneath the water’s surface—from anywhere in the world. These images may show animal behavior, portraits of wildlife in natural habitat, plant life, natural landscapes, or people interacting with nature.

"Upload" is to select an image from your computer and send it to the photo application/entry page and complete relevant information about the photo. "Submit" is the final stage to send the image to be judged. Please note that photos are not actually entered into the contest or made viewable by others or sharable until the contest fee is paid.

Do not include photographs of pets or domestic animals. Images of captive animals photographed in game farms or roadside zoos, or animals from these facilities photographed elsewhere with handler’s control, will be disqualified.

Captive animals photographed in major zoos, wildlife research facilities or rehabilitation centers are acceptable. Clearly label these animals as captive in the Subject box when uploading and provide details in the Story box.

If you forget your user ID or password, you can retrieve it from the login page.