Help celebrate the beauty and diversity of the flora, fauna and fungi at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in this unique Special Award photography competition - 'Captured at Kew'. Returning for IGPOTY Competition 19, 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 19 exhibition launch at Kew Gardens in February 2026.

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 19 – exhibition launch at Kew Gardens.
Prize/s supplied by RBG Kew: TBC.

Second prize:

IGPOTY award certificate,
Your image goes on display at the IGPOTY 19 – exhibition launch at Kew Gardens.
Prize/s supplied by RBG Kew: TBC.

Third prize:

IGPOTY award certificate,
Your image goes on display at the IGPOTY 19 – exhibition launch at Kew Gardens.
Prize/s supplied by RBG Kew: 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.
• All entries (low-res) images should be a maximum of 1920px on their longest side at 72 ppi (ideally with an sRGB colour profile).
• The maximum file size for each initial entry (low-res) image file must not be more than 6MB.
• All entrants must be able to supply a full size high-res image (300 ppi) for each entry, suitable for printing/exhibiting should an entry 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 (RBG Kew).

Entries into this (pay-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 captured of flora, fauna, and fungi at Kew Gardens are valid for entry, please do not include photos of people or sculptures. Inclusion of buildings with flora, fauna, and fungi elements is acceptable. Employees/volunteers of RBG Kew are excluded from entry.

Images captured during any year at Kew Gardens are valid for entry, however the minimum IGPOTY entry/size requirements above must still be adhered to.

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 a 'pay-to-enter' Special Award. 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/used in person at Kew Gardens, and cannot be posted, no cash alternatives.
For any prizes awarded by RBG Kew, the winner/s must be available to attend Kew Gardens premises and will asked to opt-in to be contacted by Kew Gardens in order to facilitate this (and any associated launch events). No alternative prizes will be given.

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

IGPOTY is supported by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew but is not part of its organisation.

Please see IGPOTY Competition Rules for full terms, which always prevail.

Online submissions

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