Competitions
SELF — self portraits that go beyond likeness
Brooklyn, New York
Entry Fee: $25
Additional Entries: $5
Contact Information
Requirement Overview
- Location Eligibility Type: International
- Eligible Applicant Types: Artist
- Submission Limit: 1
Media Requirements
- Images | Min: 4, Max: 10
- Audio | Min: 0, Max: 0
- Video | Min: 0, Max: 0
- Total | Min: 4, Max: 10
Opportunity Summary
SELF
Self portraits that go beyond likeness
Juror: Douglas Beasley
SELF is a call for self portraits that go beyond likeness — images made in the act of looking at oneself honestly, uncomfortably, tenderly, or strangely. We're not looking for vanity or performance. We're looking for the photographs that came out of a real reckoning: with a body, a memory, a loss, a transformation, a question you couldn't answer any other way.
The self portrait is one of photography's oldest and most exposed forms. The camera becomes both mirror and confessional — there is no subject to direct, no one else to blame for what appears. What's left is just you, deciding what to reveal and what to withhold.
$1,000 Cash Awards
General Information
SELF
Self portraits that go beyond likeness
Juror: Douglas Beasley
Call Type: Photography
Eligibility: International
Exhibition Type: Online
Entry Fee: $25 up to 4 entries, $5 each additional entry
Deadline: NOVEMBER 17
Notification Date: November 30
Exhibition Dates: December 6, 2026 — February 6, 202
Some photographs are made to show the world something. Others are made to find something out about yourself. This exhibition is for the second kind.
SELF is a call for self portraits that go beyond likeness — images made in the act of looking at oneself honestly, uncomfortably, tenderly, or strangely. We're not looking for vanity or performance. We're looking for the photographs that came out of a real reckoning: with a body, a memory, a loss, a transformation, a question you couldn't answer any other way.
The self portrait is one of photography's oldest and most exposed forms. The camera becomes both mirror and confessional — there is no subject to direct, no one else to blame for what appears. What's left is just you, deciding what to reveal and what to withhold.
We welcome work that engages with identity, aging, illness, grief, joy, gender, memory, solitude, family, transformation, and the body — staged or unstaged, constructed or straightforward, single images or series. What matters most is that the work carries real emotional stakes, and that the artist was willing to be seen.
What We're Looking For
Photographic self portraits in any style — documentary, constructed, conceptual, or experimental
Work with a clear, felt point of view — not simply "photos of the artist," but images that use the self as a way of asking something larger
Series or single images accepted
Work that risks vulnerability over polish
Juror: Douglas Beasley
Douglas Beasley’s personal vision explores the spiritual and emotional aspects of people and place and is concerned with how the sacred is recognized and expressed in everyday life.
Awards
First Place: $500
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $150
Two Honorable Mentions: $50
Human Presence award: Free entry to a future exhibition
All selected photographers receive inclusion in the curated exhibition on a dedicated exhibition page, Instagram feature, and inclusion in the printed catalog. The exhibition will be promoted through Press Releases in appropriate channels.
How to Submit
$25 entry fee for 4 photographs. $5 each additional photograph. Open to photographers worldwide. All photographic processes and styles welcome.
Submission Details:
Submit jpg files at least2100 pixels on the long side without any text, watermarks, borders, or frames. We want the work to be seen as it is, without any added elements that might distract from the image itself.
What Selected Photographers Receive
- Inclusion in the curated online exhibition
- Permanent exhibition page on Decagon Gallery
- Feature on Decagon’s Instagram
- Inclusion in the exhibition catalog
Photographers retain all rights, including copyright, to their photographs.
Application Requirements
- Work: Submit up to images that you believe capture the essence of the "SELF" theme.
- Format: JPEG or JPG, size at least 2100 px on the longest side.
- Entry Fee: $25 for 4 images, $5 for each additional image.
- Deadline: All entries must be received by November 17
- Online Exhibition Dates: December 6, 2026 through February 6, 2027 then archived on our gallery
About the Gallery
Decagon Gallery is an online photography gallery dedicated to thoughtful, contemporary photographic work by artists worldwide. The gallery emphasizes strong curatorial vision, professional presentation, and meaningful engagement with photographers at all stages of their careers.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to photographers worldwide, 18 years and older.