Help celebrate the beauty and diversity of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in this unique Special Award photography competition - 'Captured at Kew'. Returning for IGPOTY 18, this is a well-established competition partnership and winning is highly coveted by entrants.

Did you know? – The very first IGPOTY exhibition launch was held at Kew Gardens, and a curated selection of the latest awarded photos are normally displayed there in February each year. Select awarded photos from this 'Captured at Kew' competition, will form an exclusive exhibition, alongside the IGPOTY 18 exhibition launch at Kew Gardens in February 2025.

Entries to 'Captured at Kew' this year are free-to-enter (maximum of 8x free image slots per adult), in order to encourage more people to take part and to celebrate the beauty of Kew Gardens. Please note: entering this competition does not in itself allow free entry to Kew Gardens.

Prizes

First prize:

IGPOTY award certificate,
Your image goes on display at the IGPOTY 18 – exhibition launch at Kew Gardens,
Gift bag supplied by RBG Kew (exact contents TBC).

Second prize:

IGPOTY award certificate,
Your image goes on display at the IGPOTY 18 – exhibition launch at Kew Gardens,
Gift bag supplied by RBG Kew (exact contents TBC).

Third prize:

IGPOTY award certificate,
Your image goes on display at the IGPOTY 18 – exhibition launch at Kew Gardens,
Gift bag supplied by RBG Kew (exact contents TBC).

General rules:

• You may not submit watermarked images with your name or website visible on the photo. Please do not frame your images with borders.
• Entrants may submit a maximum of 4 images per single entry token and a maximum of 6 images per portfolio entry token.
• For free-to-enter competitions you should enter 1 image per token given, up to a maximum of 8 images (8 tokens).
• Entrants' images must be .jpg or .jpeg format and of high enough quality.
• We recommend all images are output to 1920px on their longest side at 72 ppi (ideally with an sRGB colour profile). Any larger than this and you are supplying images bigger than they will be seen or used by IGPOTY judges; your files will take longer to upload and/or download to judges and viewers’ screens.
• The absolute maximum for each image must not be more than 7MB in file size and no more than 3000px on their longest side.
• All entrants must be able to supply a high-res image (300 ppi) suitable for printing/exhibiting should the image be shortlisted. You may be asked for this when the time comes.

N.B.

• High-res source file/s need to be at least 3780 pixels (longest side) @ 300 ppi, ideally larger (and ideally with an Adobe RGB (1998) colour profile).

Full competition rules:

Please see the IGPOTY competition rules, which always prevail:
https://igpoty.com/igpoty-rules/

Category rules:

IGPOTY runs juried competitions based on skill, judging will be done jointly by IGPOTY and representatives from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Entries into this free-to-enter Special Award are not eligible for the Overall IGPOTY prize (nor any other IGPOTY competition prize) and cannot be awarded with more than one award using the same image(s). Special Award competitions are stand-alone.

Only images taken at Kew Gardens are valid for entry. Employees/volunteers of RBG Kew are excluded from entry.

RBG Kew standard admission fees/rules apply. Captured at Kew entries cannot win the overall IGPOTY prize. Adults aged 18 years and older may enter only. This competition is free-to-enter, however each adult entrant is allowed to upload a maximum of 8 images only, and for the avoidance of doubt – entry to Kew Gardens is not included with entry to this competition. Any images captured for this competition may not be sold and are only for your personal use. Prizes must be collected in person at Kew Gardens, no cash alternatives.

Entry fees/terms/booking and any current COVID-19 rules may apply to gain admittance to Kew Gardens.

IGPOTY is supported by RBG Kew but is not part of its organisation.

Online submissions

For help please visit our Frequently-Asked-Questions page.