Film Photo Award - 2026

Film Photo Award

The Film Photo Award is open to all emerging, established, and student photographers based in the United States. Each award period provides three distinct grants of professional photographic film and complimentary film processing by Praus Productions to photographers who demonstrate a serious commitment to the field and are motivated to continue the development of still, film-based photography in the 21st century.

The Film Photo Award is open to all emerging, established, and student photographers based in the United States, 18 years old or older. 

During each award period, 3 film grants will be awarded: 
2 Visionary Project Awards and 1 Student Project Award. 

Each film grant award includes your choice of 

Black and white:

100 rolls of 35mm or

100 rolls of 120 or

200 sheets of 4x5 film

or

Color:

75 rolls of 35mm or

75 rolls of 120 or

150 sheets of 4x5 film

*Student Project Award recipients also receive a new 4x5 camera from Standard Cameras!

Film Photo Award

The Film Photo Award is open to all emerging, established, and student photographers based in the United States. Each award period provides three distinct grants of professional photographic film and complimentary film processing by Praus Productions to photographers who demonstrate a serious commitment to the field and are motivated to continue the development of still, film-based photography in the 21st century.

The Film Photo Award is open to all emerging, established, and student photographers based in the United States, 18 years old or older. 

During each award period, 3 film grants will be awarded: 
2 Visionary Project Awards and 1 Student Project Award. 

Each film grant award includes your choice of 

Black and white:
100 rolls of 35mm or
100 rolls of 120 or
200 sheets of 4x5 film
or
Color:
75 rolls of 35mm or
75 rolls of 120 or
150 sheets of 4x5 film

*Student Project Award recipients also receive a new 4x5 camera from Standard Cameras!

When completing the online application, applicants will be asked to indicate their preference of film format (35mm, 120, or 4x5) from one of the five available emulsion types.

Available Professional Film Emulsions:

• Ilford FP4
• Ilford HP5
• Kodak Ektar 100
• Kodak Portra 160
• Kodak Portra 400
   

The Film Photo Award is generously supported by Praus Productions, Cassilhaus, and Standard Cameras.  Make sure to show them some love in return for their support of our creative pursuits. 
 

Why Film?

Film photography is a unique artistic medium in and of itself, deserving of support and celebration. 

Film photography continues to express its undeniable importance, purpose, and resilience in the image-making world despite, and in tandem with, newer omnipresent technologies.

Film photographers embrace the unexpected and the unknown, and their work often yields surprising and enriching results. In film photography there exists a beauty that has nothing to do with nostalgia and everything to do with process, materiality, and personal growth. 

Film photographers make great sacrifice to acquire the material for their artistic expression, and this access is something we at the Film Photo Award strive to democratize.

With six awards per year of professional photographic film to emerging, established, and student photographers alike, we seek to provide talented and dedicated photographers with access to all that film photography has to offer, and to help facilitate both new and ongoing film projects.

Award Details

During each award period, three Film Photo Awards will be granted in the following categories:

→ 2 Visionary Project Awards
→ 1 Student Project Award

Each Film Photo Award includes:

• 100 rolls or 200 sheets of black & white film OR 75 rolls or 150 sheets of color film
• Film processing for awarded film with Praus Productions
• An exclusive feature of your work published in Lenscratch
• Interview published on the Film Photo Award website and social media

*In addition, the Student Project Award includes a 4x5 view camera by Standard Cameras

Finalists will also be selected in each award category and receive acknowledgment on Film Photo Award’s website and social media.

→ Visionary Project Award

The Visionary Award is designed to support photographers in their continued use of film within their photographic practice. The proposed project can be a new or ongoing project. Open to all emerging or established photographers based in the United States, 18 years old or older.

Two Visionary Project Award winners will be selected during each submission period.

SUBMIT TODAY!

Applicants to the Visionary Project Award can choose to receive one of the following options:

Black and white:
100 rolls of 35mm or
100 rolls of 120 or
200 sheets of 4x5 film
or
Color:
75 rolls of 35mm or
75 rolls of 120 or
150 sheets of 4x5 film

→ Student Project Award

The Student Project Award is designed to help student photographers begin or continue a film photography project using professional film stock. Open to students based in the United States, 18 years old or older.

You must be currently enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of submission. You do not need to be studying photography specifically to be considered. A scanned image of your student ID is required to verify current enrollment status.

SUBMIT TODAY!
 

Applicants to the Student Project Award can choose to receive one of the following options:

Black and white:
100 rolls of 35mm or
100 rolls of 120 or
200 sheets of 4x5 film
or
Color:
75 rolls of 35mm or
75 rolls of 120 or
150 sheets of 4x5 film

*The winner of the Student Project Award will also receive a 4x5 view camera from Standard Cameras.
 

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2026 -- Important Dates: 

Proposal Submissions Open:  March 1, 2026

Proposal Submission Deadline:  April 26, 2026  11:59pm EST (New York, NY) 
*mark your calendar in advance of this date!

Awards Announced and Film Shipped: late May 2026

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Guidelines  

• The Film Photo Award is open to all emerging, established, and student photographers based in the United States, 18 years of age or older.
   
• All applications to the Film Photo Award must be completed through the online submission portal. Submissions by any other means will not be accepted or reviewed. All application materials must be written in English.
   
• Applications are accepted at any time between the opening and closing of the award cycle. It is recommended to apply well in advance of the deadline to avoid any technical problems. The submission platform closes at 11:59pm EST (New York, NY) on the final day of the submission period. All applications must be successfully submitted before that time. The submission platform will not be reopened for any reason.
   
• Each proposal is reviewed and juried by Film Photo Award staff. Industry leaders and previous Film Photo Award recipients are periodically invited to participate in the jurying. Results of the Film Photo Award are final. Feedback on submitted proposals is not possible at this time.
   
• Applicants will be considered on the basis of artistic excellence and the promise of future achievement.
   
• Past recipients are ineligible to receive the Film Photo Award again for three years.
   
• Recipients receive complimentary film processing from Praus Productions in Rochester, New York for film awarded through the Film Photo Award during their 1-year award period only. Other Praus Productions services such as scanning and printing, as well as shipping to and from the lab are not included in the award. Recipients are of course welcome to process their awarded film themselves or at any lab of their choosing if they wish. 
   
• Each recipient will be asked to donate one print to the Film Photo Award Archive at the conclusion of their one-year grant period. The print/s should be representational of the work made with the award. The goal is to create and document important work being made with film in the 21st century, and to ultimately place the Film Photo Award Archive in a permanent institutional collection some time in the future.
   
• Recipients of the Film Photo Award agree to commence or continue the work proposed in their submission during the year following receipt.
   
• Recipients will participate in an interview to be published on the Film Photo Award website approximately 8 months after receiving the award including a feature of select photographic work made with the awarded film.
   

For any questions, please visit the Film Photo Award website, and please first review the FAQ.
If an answer is not found, email us at shoot@filmphotoaward.com or by using the online form.

Requirements 
The online submission form will require the materials listed below. Use this as a checklist to make sure you have everything you need. Specific material requirements are explained below, please read carefully so that your work can be properly considered.  Thanks!

1. Project Proposal
2. CV, Resume, or Bio
3. Images (up to 15)
4. Submission Fee (Visionary Project Award: $35, Student Project Award: $25)
*Students must upload a current scan of their student ID

1. Project Proposal
The Project Proposal should be a clear and concise explanation of a film-based project that the award will be used to create or continue.  

The proposal should:

• Not exceed 4000 characters.
  (4000 characters is approximately 1 single-spaced Microsoft Word page)
• Provide an overview of the project idea.
• Include any relevant background research the applicant has conducted.
• Provide a thoughtful plan for completing the proposed project or portion of the project with awarded film (to be completed within the award year).
• Explain the significance of the project.
  Why should this work be made now?

2. CV, Resume, or Bio (PDF)

• You are welcome to provide either a standard CV/Resume in list format or a narrative biography.
• Clear and concise is most important.

Filename: LastName_FirstName_CV.pdf
Example: Doe_Jane_CV.pdf

3. Images (JPEG)
Applicants can submit 1-15 images that are representative of either recent past projects (within the last 5 years) or a current project you are continuing.

Image file specifications:

• 1-15 JPEG files sized at 1500 pixels on the longest dimension and saved at 72 ppi.
• Past work examples can be any variety of visual imagery.  Image examples do not need to be film-based images to be considered, however your proposal should explain why photographic film is the right material for you now.

Filenames: LastName_FirstName_Number.jpg
Example: Doe_Jane_01.jpg, Doe_Jane_02.jpg, Doe_Jane_03.jpg, etc.
This file naming system is important, make sure you follow it carefully. 

4. Submissions Fee
A small submission fee is required to complete an application. Submission fees help keep the Film Photo Award program sustainable. If you are a student, please have a jpeg image file of your student ID ready to upload for proof of enrollment.

• Visionary Project Award (Non-Students): $35
• Student Project Award: $25

For any questions, please visit the Film Photo Award website, and please first review the FAQ.
If an answer is not found, email us at shoot@filmphotoaward.com or by using the online form.


The Film Photo Award is generously supported by Praus Productions, Cassilhaus, and Standard Cameras.  Make sure to show them some love in return for their support of our creative pursuits. 

Open to any photographer based in the United States, 18 years old or older.