The International Photography Festival, Xposure, has announced the opening of competition for the World Photography Awards in its ninth edition for the year 2025, which includes seven existing categories in addition to two new categories – Sports Photography and the Altered Images and Artificial Intelligence.
The Xposure World Photography Awards categories span all genres of photography, including Architectural Photography, Mobile (Smartphone) Photography, Landscape Photography, Night Photography, Portraiture Photography, and Street Life Photography, in addition to the category designated for young people under the age of 18 living in the United Arab Emirates.
Sports Photography
The newly introduced Sports Photography category celebrates the creativity of the dynamic world of movement, by professional, experienced and amateur photographers. The category includes various sporting trends, including motor sports and sailing, to encourage the documentation of exceptional moments and unique artistic visions of photographers, whether in sports or behind the scenes.
Altered Images and Artificial Intelligence
The introduction of the Altered Images and Artificial Intelligence category is in line with the digital and technological developments that have become part of the world of artistic creativity, opening new horizons of expression and innovation. The category encourages participants to go beyond the limits of traditional photography by integrating innovative technologies and taking advantage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creating innovative and inspiring visual stories.
The category includes photographic elements mixed with digital processing, and imaginative scenes based on AI to reflect creative sensory perception.
Celebrating artistic creativity
Since their launch, the Xposure Photography Awards have established and celebrated the best of artistic creativity in various fields of photography, as the creation of the Architectural Photography category documented the value of beauty and innovation, the cultural and artistic importance of engineering designs, and their reflections on the spirit of cities through artistic shots of historical landmarks, or the distinctive designs of skyscrapers, and other structures.
Targeting various architectural and environmental styles, photographers have been encouraged to reflect their artistic vision of buildings as a form of expression of beauty and creative details.
In an era in which smartphones have become a tool for telling stories, the Mobile Photography category celebrates the art of documenting moments of inspiration and creativity. Every year, Xposure receives myriad of images captured by mobile phones, celebrating human emotions, interactions, spontaneous moments, and various elements of natural beauty.
Xposure’s Landscape Photography category also comes from its belief in the importance of exploring the wonders of nature and wildlife, as it encourages participants to explore the beauty and majesty of nature, including mountains, deserts, forests and seas, to reflect their rich diversity and the complexities of their charming details.
The Night Photography category encourages photographers to capture beautiful moments of harmony blending light and shadows, inspiring night scenes of bustling cities, the tranquility of landscapes and the beauty of the universe under the moonlight.
The Portraiture category is dedicated to expressing the power of photography in capturing human emotions and humanity and documenting memories and everyday features of life by combining artistic capabilities in the world of photography and expressing identity.
The Street Life Photography category, which gives photographers a window to showcase their creativity and vitality of life on the streets of cities around the world. Their artistic creativity can celebrate bustling neighbourhoods and quiet alleyways to spontaneous shots and global cultures.
The category dedicated to children under 18 in the UAE allows young people to express their passion, share their vision in the various fields of photography, and encourage them to showcase their artistic and creative sense.
Organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, the Xposure International Photography Festival starts receiving entries from both professional photographers and amateurs from today until October 30 this year. Those wishing to take part in the World Photography Awards may visit the website, https://awards.xposure.net to know more about the awards and register themselves
Xposure allows photographers to submit their creative works with a maximum of 10 photos. The winners in first and second place in each category receive attractive financial prizes. The top five entries in each category also have the opportunity to display their work in the next edition of the festival.