WildArt Bird Photography Awards
Categories
Image ©Rob Read
The WildArt Bird Photography Awards features the following categories.
You may enter as many or as few categories as you wish.
Please note that the Portfolio Award entries must consist of six images.
Abstracts
Celebrate birds through shape, colour, movement, light, and form.
Suggestion, ambiguity, and visual intrigue are encouraged. Intentional blur, motion, extreme crops, reflections, and unconventional compositions are welcome, as long as they feel purposeful and creatively controlled. If your image invites curiosity and challenges expectations, it belongs here.
Behaviour
Explore what birds do and how you interpret it.
Show interaction, ritual, tension, play, feeding, or quiet moments — but focus on expression over documentation. Successful images reveal character, mood, or story, using composition, timing, and creativity to transform behaviour into something more than observation.
Black and White
This category celebrates the creative power of monochrome bird photography.
We are looking for images that use light, shadow, contrast, texture, and form to create atmosphere, emotion, and visual impact. From dramatic silhouettes and abstract studies to soft tonal minimalism, this category encourages artistic interpretation and originality, using black and white as an expressive creative medium rather than simply the removal of colour.
Misfits
For images that don’t fit anywhere else.
The unexpected, quirky, or rule-breaking belong here. Surprising perspectives, unusual subjects, or experimental techniques are all welcome. If your photograph challenges conventions, sparks curiosity, or simply can’t be classified, it’s a perfect misfit.
Portraits
Celebrate personality, presence, and character.
Forget purely literal or “perfect” record shots — portraits should convey mood, emotion, or individuality. Strong composition, lighting, and intimacy make a bird come alive, whether through a piercing gaze, subtle charm, or striking feather detail.
Small in Frame
Show birds as part of their wider world.
The subject is small, yet integral to a story of habitat, scale, or interaction with surroundings. Composition, light, and mood matter as much as the bird itself. Images should evoke place, atmosphere, and the delicate balance between birds and their environment.
Urban
Explore birds in human environments.
Entries can feature streets, rooftops, parks, or unexpected encounters with urban life. Judges look for images that highlight contrast, adaptation, and the surprising beauty of birds thriving or simply existing in the man-made world. Creative perspective and mood elevate these images.
Portfolio Award
A curated set of six images that demonstrates skill, vision, and creative consistency.
The images don’t need to be connected by theme, location, or species — judges look for how they work together as a strong, unified body of work that showcases your style and artistic approach.
Youth Award
For photographers under 18, anything goes!
This is a space to experiment, explore, and have fun. Images can be literal, abstract, playful, or bold. Judges want to see imagination, curiosity, and personality shine through.
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