/The World Bodypainting Photo Award 2026
Join as a photographer
with your best photos of the year
Photography plays a central role at bodypainting events. It captures the creativity, details, and atmosphere of the artworks and preserves them as lasting visual masterpieces. Through professional photography, bodypainting art reaches a global audience and continues to inspire long after the event.
Starting in 2026, the World Bodypainting Photo Award will introduce a new format that allows photographers to submit images taken at bodypainting events around the world during the current year. This gives them the opportunity to present their best work internationally and compete on a global level.
Photo: Patrick Scherling
Awards & Announcement
The winners will be announced during the official WBF Online Awards at the end of the year. The award recognizes excellence in bodypainting photography on an international level. The jury may also grant special mentions for outstanding works.
We look forward to receiving your best bodypainting moments captured through your lens and to celebrating the art of bodypainting photography together.
The Prizes
1 Place: World Award Trophy + Framed certificate
2 Place: Framed certificate + products prizes may be added later
3 Place: Framed certificate + products prizes may be added later
Competition Guidelines
The competition is open to both professional and amateur photographers. Submitted photographs may be taken at any bodypainting event worldwide. The event must have taken place within the same calendar year as the submission.
Copyright & Usage Rights
The photographer retains full copyright of all submitted images.
By entering the competition, the photographer grants WBA/WBF a non-exclusive right to:
- Publish the images on official websites and social media channels
- Use the images for promotion of the award and future events
- Include the images in press releases, exhibitions, and award presentations
Proper credit will always be given to the photographer. Please submit only images for which you hold the full rights. By submitting images, you confirm as the photographer that the depicted artist and model are aware that the photograph is being used for competition purposes.
Editing Guidelines
Basic editing is permitted, including color correction, contrast adjustments, cropping, and exposure adjustments.
Beauty and skin retouching (including armpit retouching) is also allowed.
However, heavy digital manipulation is not permitted. This includes altering the original artwork, adding or removing painted elements, AI-generated modifications, or digital compositing.
Image Format
Images must be submitted in high-resolution digital format. Detailed technical specifications will be provided in the technical section of the application form.
Registration
Submission Rules:
- 1 event = 1 submission.
- Each submission may include up to 6 photos.
- All photos within one submission must be taken at the same event.
- Photos must show bodypainting artwork created live during the event.
Entry Fee: The entry fee is €20 per submission. Each submission represents one event and may include up to 6 images. The entry fee is non-refundable.
Please note that submissions will only be considered valid after payment has been confirmed.
Photographers can register throughout the year until October 2026.
After the payment in our Shop you can submit your images through our registration form,
1. Pay your fee via our online shop first.
2. After your payment, you can upload and register through our submission form, which we will send to you via email with the payment confirmation.
