In each category, the jury will choose a maximum of four nominees from among singles, series, and short videos and will appoint the winners. The jury has the right not to nominate any of the works in a category and not to appoint the winner. The organiser will announce the nominees after the jury meeting, at the latest one week before the awards ceremony. All nominated works will be presented at the SLOVAK PRESS PHOTO awarded pictures exhibition. The prizes for winning photographs are provided by the contest partners.

Thanks to partners who donated prizes to the competition!

MAIN PRIZE - GRAND PRIX SLOVAK PRESS PHOTO for the best picture or story of the year

The main prize of the contest is awarded for the best single or series or a photograph chosen from a series in any of the contest categories, which complies with the contest rules, depicts a contemporary event of social importance that took place in the course of the previous year and was published in the media or created in the framework of a project on a published topic or event, even in case the publisher did not use the picture. The author is required to specify in the registration system the date and the medium in which the work was published.

YOUNG TALENT OF THE YEAR

The jury will award this prize to a Slovak photographer – student up to 26 years – who applies for this prize through the registration system and whose work (single or series) has attracted the jury's attention, while taking into account the student's previous works and the potential to set up a solo presentation. The SLOVAK PRESS PHOTO Foundation will organise a solo exhibition for the winner of this prize.

BRATISLAVA GRANT - Inclusion in education

The yearly grant by the Municipality of the Capital City for photographing the changes in Bratislava is awarded by the Mayor of Bratislava upon recommendation of the international jury. The prize is provided to the applicant who applied for the grant by means of the registration system by presenting a project sample that consists of a series of minimum 9 photographs and demonstrates the biggest potential of a professional and creative approach to the given subject. After year-long shooting, the winner will submit to the Municipality a collection of 30 photographs.

VISITORS'  PRIZE

During the exhibition of winning photographs, visitors will have possibility to vote for the best single or series. They will also be able to vote through the SLOVAK PRESS PHOTO website. The Visitors' Prize will be awarded on the basis of the votes count once the exhibition is closed. There is also a prize for one of the voting visitors.

NEWS

In this category, single photos or series of photos are being judged. The images in this category should cover contemporary, unexpected events of considerable importance that took place in the course of the previous year, whereas it must be obvious that the photographer did not prepare in advance for capturing the event and that the work meets all the attributes of a press photograph. The pictures must not be staged.
The captions must clearly describe the circumstances under which the picture(s) was (were) shot – where, when and why the events took place (see section Author's identification and captions in the Contest Rules).

REPORTAGE

This category evaluates images (within a series of photographs) report about an event, an occurrence, or a socially significant event and depict its course. Singles cannot be entered in this category.
The captions must clearly describe the circumstances under which the picture(s) was (were) shot – where, when and why the events took place (see section Author's identification and captions in the Contest Rules).

DAILY LIFE - INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY

The category is open to photojournalists and documentary photographers from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. This category covers images depicting daily life in its visual diversity and from all areas of social life. Single photos or series of photos can be submitted to this category.

The captions must clearly describe the circumstances under which the picture(s) was (were) shot – where, when and why the events took place (see section Author's identification and captions in the Contest Rules).

SPORTS

The images in this category should depict sports events, sports activities and particular kinds of sports, capturing their characteristic features and dynamics. Single photos or series of photos can be submitted to this category.

The captions must clearly describe the circumstances under which the picture(s) was (were) shot – where, when and why the events took place (see section Author's identification and captions in the Contest Rules).

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURE – INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY

This category is meant for authentic and original images of animate and inanimate nature, highlighting also acute, contemporary environmental issues affected by human actions and the consequences of climate change. This category is open to individual photographs or series of photographs from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine.

The captions must clearly describe the circumstances under which the picture(s) was (were) shot – where, when and why the events took place (see section Author's identification and captions in the Contest Rules).

THE WORLD OF ART AND CULTURE

This category covers images documenting art events, exhibitions, festivals, concerts, architecture, design, film art, visual art, and other results of human artistic creativity. Single photos or series of photos can be submitted to this category.

The captions must clearly describe the circumstances under which the picture(s) was (were) shot – where, when and why the events took place (see section Author's identification and captions in the Contest Rules).

STUDENTS AND YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHERS UP TO 26 YEARS – INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY

The category is intended for young photographers up to 26 years and students from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. It is expected to introduce an unconventional elaboration on different genres and subjects, applying a young, daring and unburdened approach to the chosen topic. Young publishing authors are invited to apply for other categories as well. Single photos or series of photos can be submitted to this category.

The captions must clearly describe the circumstances under which the picture(s) was (were) shot – where, when and why the events took place (see section Author's identification and captions in the Contest Rules).

LONG-TERM DOCUMENT – INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY

This category is intended for photojournalists and documentary photographers from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. The images entered in this category can be of any photojournalistic genre, documenting the different areas of life of people and society during a minimum of 3 years, whereas at least one picture from the series was shot in the course of the previous year. In this category, only series of photographs consisting of a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 18 images will be judged.

The captions must clearly describe the circumstances under which the picture(s) was (were) shot – where, when and why the events took place (see section Author's identification and captions in the Contest Rules).

SHORT VIDEO – INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY

The competition is open to creators of short audiovisual works that are primarily intended for publication in audiovisual media or on the internet. We have adjusted the category with regard to quality so that videos can be older than a year. The video should depict current events in the world or events that have significantly affected or influenced the authors. Videos can be a maximum of 15 minutes in length. The category is international and is open to creators from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Ukraine.

Each video must be labelled with the name and address of the author, mobile phone number and e-mail address, the exact title and the number of the electronic entry form. As the category is international and the entries are judged by an international jury, it is required that films with audio commentary or narration have English subtitles.

This category is targeted for short visual reports, video reports and short documentaries. Submissions longer than 15 minutes cannot be considered.
Participants must indicate the type of project and a description of the processes and methods used in the production of the video, as well as provide information on the project's intent and chosen approach.