Now in its 4th year competition year!

Welcome to the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen. This internationally famous ensemble of garden arts and culture ranks among the most important historic gardens in Europe, a place where visitors can sense the courtly splendours of the Royal House of Hannover.

Here, various styles of garden art, antique sculpture and impressive water features bear witness to the imagination and skill of many artists and gardeners. Over three centuries the Herrenhausen Gardens have developed into a fascinating place to visit and this special award seeks to celebrate its beauty through garden photography.

Capture the beauty of Herrenhausen Gardens in this free-to-enter special award. Explore the various parts and features of the gardens and immerse yourself in the history and splendour of the landscape.

The competition theme this time is 'Lieblingsplatz' (Favourite place).

Selected winners will form part of an exclusive exhibition at the IGPOTY exhibition at Herrenhausen Gardens in the autumn of 2023. Selected winners may also feature at the IGPOTY launch at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (All exhibitions are TBC, COVID-19 depending). There will also be special prizes on offer as listed below.

Prizes

First prize:

Herrenhausen Gardens gift voucher - €100 EUR

2 x annual passes for entry to Herrenhausen Gardens

Your own competition photo as a poster

Signed individual certificate

Your image exhibited at the IGPOTY Herrenhausen exhibition

Second prize:

Herrenhausen Gardens gift voucher - €75 EUR

2 x annual passes for entry to Herrenhausen Gardens

Your own competition photo as a poster

Signed individual certificate

Your image exhibited at the IGPOTY Herrenhausen exhibition

Third prize:

Herrenhausen Gardens gift voucher - €50 EUR

2 x annual passes for entry to Herrenhausen Gardens

Your own competition photo as a poster

Signed individual certificate

Your image exhibited at the IGPOTY Herrenhausen exhibition

Runner(s) up:

Places 4-10 (if awarded):

2 x annual passes for entry to Herrenhausen Gardens

Your own competition photo as a poster

Your image exhibited at Herrenhausen Gardens.

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 is a juried competition based on skill, judging will be done jointly by IGPOTY and a Herrenhausen Gardens representative.

Free-to-enter Special Award entries are not eligible for the Overall IGPOTY prize and cannot win more than one award using the same image(s).

Only images captured during the last three years at Herrenhausen Gardens are valid. Entrants cannot win the overall IGPOTY prize.

The award is free to enter. Adults only (18+) may enter. Normal admission fees apply. Herrenhausen Gardens employees are excluded from entry; volunteers are permitted to enter. Each entrant may upload a maximum of 8 images. For special prizes awarded by Herrenhausen Gardens the winner must be available/consent to contact using provided contact information. No alternative prizes may be given. Standard IGPOTY rules apply. Closing time for entries on the deadline date is midday (noon) GMT.

Entry fees and any current COVID-19 rules may apply to gain admittance to Herrenhausen Gardens.

Online submissions

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