FotoDoc Photo Contest 2026 – Guidelines
To better guide participants of the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2026 in preparing and submitting their entries, the festival’s curatorial team has compiled a series of questions and answers that serve as general guidelines.
We recommend reading these carefully to optimize your participation in the contest and increase your chances of success.
1 – What is the purpose of the Contest?
The FotoDoc Photo Contest aims to give visibility to authorial work within the expanded field of documentary photography. We consider documentary photography to be any type of work that contributes to a deeper understanding of relevant issues faced by contemporary societies. For this reason, documentary photography is both a critical instrument and an authorial expression that carries the marks of the photographer’s subjectivity.
2 – Who can participate?
Anyone who uses photography as an expressive medium to address relevant contemporary themes.
3 – Can amateurs participate?
Yes. Both professional and amateur photographers may participate without restrictions. What matters is the strength of the authorial expression, the originality of the work, and the relevance of the theme.
4 – What type of photography can I submit?
The contest has no theme restrictions and does not impose limits regarding the capture date or whether the images have been published or awarded previously. Participants may submit images already recognized in other competitions.
There are no restrictions on image editing or manipulation, as long as the images were originally captured using photographic methods—either analog or digital.
The contest accepts photomontages, collage-based photography, diptychs, triptychs, polyptychs, and images made with non-conventional devices, such as pinhole cameras, scanners, or photograms created directly in the darkroom with an enlarger and photosensitive paper, without the use of a camera.
5 – Can I submit images captured with a smartphone?
Yes. Smartphone photographs are accepted.
6 – Are AI-generated images allowed?
No. As stated in Question 4, all images must originate from photographic capture. Artificial intelligence tools may be used during post-production, but this must be indicated on the submission form.
7 – Can I submit works previously selected in earlier editions of the Contest?
Yes. There are no restrictions, except for works that were previously among the winners.
8 – How many submissions can I send?
Participants may submit as many entries as they wish, in any of the three categories.
9 – When should I submit my entry?
Submissions remain open until June 30. Since submissions are reviewed and published on a rolling basis, sending your entry earlier increases the amount of time it may remain published on the Selected Entries page, if approved.
10 – What are the categories and their characteristics?
There are three categories: Single Image, Photo Essay, and Portfolio.
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Single Image: Up to 3 images may be submitted per entry, but only one may be selected. Images are evaluated individually based on visual impact and their ability to synthesize an event, story, or idea.
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Photo Essay: Entries must include a cohesive set of 6 to 8 images evaluated as a single narrative sequence.
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Portfolio: Intended for long-term bodies of work, with 10 to 15 images. Portfolios should preferably consist of images from a single project. If images from multiple series are included, they must maintain coherence and dialogue with one another.
Image order matters: the submitted sequence is considered part of the narrative. When publishing an approved Essay or Portfolio, the curatorial team may choose a different opening image, but the remaining sequence follows the order submitted.
Diptychs, triptychs, or polyptychs must be submitted as a single file and count as one image.
11 – How do I submit my entry and how are selected works published?
Submission links for all three categories are available at the bottom of the Contest page.
Each category has its own submission form, which must be fully completed via the FotoDoc website. Images must be in JPEG format with the longest side measuring 1920 pixels.
We strongly recommend reading the Contest Rules and filling out the form carefully to increase your chances of being selected.
A publication fee of R$ 98 is charged for each approved entry. Once the fee is paid, the work is published on the FotoDoc website along with a photographer profile page, and also shared on the FotoDoc Instagram. All published entries are re-evaluated after submissions close, competing for a place among the 60 finalists.
12 – If my work is not selected, will I receive feedback?
No. The curators do not provide individual feedback due to the high volume of submissions and the fact that submission and evaluation are free of charge. We encourage participants to refer to already-published selected works to understand the contest’s curatorial profile.
The non-selection of a work does not imply a lack of quality—only that it may not fit the curatorial proposal of the contest.
13 – What are the curatorial selection criteria?
The curatorial team evaluates submissions based on three key aspects:
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Quality – The execution of the images, assessed subjectively according to each project’s proposal.
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Relevance – The importance and contemporary significance of the theme.
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Originality – In both form and content.
