The RPS offers many opportunities to develop as a photographer and interact with others. Most of these opportunities are open to all and range from the chance to have your work considered for major exhibitions to applying to receive funding for your next photographic project.
Bursaries | Exhibitions | Competitions | Awards | Volunteer opportunities
In partnership with The Guardian
A £3,000 bursary to support a photography project, plus mentoring. This new bursary is open to photographers aged 25 years and under.
Applications are currently closed.
The Royal Photographic Society in partnership with The Photographic Angle is offering a 1-year bursary to support a photographic project that will promote environmental awareness. The £4000 funding must be used to assist with travel expenses, photographic equipment and other project-related costs.
Applications are currently closed.
In partnership with The Guardian
The Bursary was established in 2005 in memory of distinguished documentary photographer and Honorary Fellow of The Society, Joan Wakelin. The Bursary is administered by The Society in partnership with The Guardian and offers £2000 for the production of a photographic essay on a social documentary issue.
Applications are currently closed.
Supported by MPB.
As part of The RPS remit as an educational charity we offer an annual bursary of £3,500 to support a postgraduate student (students on courses in photography or undertaking research in photography). This bursary is open to UK and International students.
Applications are currently closed.
Realms of Memory by Billy H.C. Kwok, Jay Lau & Lau Wai is part of the second edition of the Bristol Photo Festival.
The archiving impulse is one that attempts to trace, document, and make sense of the world. In response to the photographic archives of Hong Kong held by the University of Bristol and the University of Hong Kong, artists Billy H.C. Kwok, Jay Lau, and Lau Wai have developed new projects that interpret the archival stories of their home city, while revealing the gaps that exist.
The works created explore how Hong Kong has always been a place of duality: real and imagined, public and private, fact and fiction, public and private. This exhibition is produced by WMA, in collaboration with the Royal Photographic Society and the Hong Kong History Centre at the University of Bristol.
Photographers and image-makers, of all ages, can submit their work to the RPS International Photography Exhibition. Submissions are encouraged from new, emerging and established photographers worldwide.
The IPE presents a unique opportunity to exhibit in a group exhibition at The Royal Photographic Society in Bristol, UK, and other nationwide venues, alongside a prize fund to support future photographic projects.
Exhibition selection is anonymous throughout, including the award winners, with a changing guest selection panel for each edition. The process is both rigorous and fair, where digital image and print work form part of the selection process. Each IPE edition is a unique celebration of photography today.
The information on this page includes all you need to know to submit your work to the International Photography Exhibition, including details of our Awards, key dates and an extensive FAQs. If you have an enquiry, or would like to hire and exhibit the IPE at your venue, email the Exhibitions Team. We thank you for your support of the RPS.
Call for Entry is Now Closed
Volunteers are intrinsic to many of our departments and we have a great variety of roles to offer across them. Opportunities range from helping with activities on a local level (e.g. in your Region, Chapter or Group), to applying for election as a Trustee and working to set strategy. The roles encourage you to use your existing skills and develop new ones.
For 145 years the RPS Awards have recognised significant individuals working across both the still and moving image, as well as those using photography.
The Awards celebrate significant achievements, showcase new and emerging talent, and highlight notable contributions; they also recognise the work of RPS volunteers who help deliver its programmes. The 2023 recipients’ work is a testament to the power of photography to inspire, uplift, incite change and bring about personal, social, and cultural wellbeing.