World Photography Day is celebrated every year on 19 August, bringing together photographers from around the world to capture and share a moment in time.
Opportunity 1
All RPS Members will have seen an email from the RPS with their World Photography Day photo competition. The idea is to "submit the photo you keep returning to" - and say what compels you to make photographs.
To enter that use the main RPS website - find the "Enter Now" button on https://rps.org/opportunities/world-photography-day/
Entries close for this on 3rd August.
The winner and highly commended entries will be announced on World Photography Day, 19 August, and showcased in a gallery on our website and across our social channels.
Opportunity 2
Our friends over in the Digital Imaging Special Interest Group have invited everyone to take part in their themed photo making activity on WPD itself, 19th August
This year's theme is: "People at Work"
DIG said "Whether you're at home or travelling, we'd love to see your interpretation of the theme. The only requirement is that your photograph must be taken on 19 August 2026."
There's a restriction that it's one image per person.
As we're the Contemporary SIG it would be wonderful to fill the gallery with images "about" work - perhaps how you feel about work, or about work tasks people do for you that help your daily life, or work people do in communities for everyone's benefit? To be clear, if you're making pictures in your workplace take care to abide by company rules about what you can photograph and what you can share!
How to take part
- Take one photograph on Wednesday 19 August 2026.
- The image should reflect the theme People at Work.
- Upload your image between 18 August (to accommodate members for whom 19 August begins earlier than in the UK) and 25 August 2026 using this PollUnit link.
- Images should be less than 5 MB.
- Please title your image and include your name (and RPS Distinctions if you wish them to appear in the gallery).
- Please provide your email address when uploading.
Feel free to 'like' photographs you enjoy. Likes are simply a way of appreciating fellow members' work - this is not a competition, and there are no winners or awards. Instead, it is a celebration of World Photography Day and an opportunity to create a worldwide gallery showing how RPS members interpret the same theme on the same day.
The gallery will remain open throughout the upload period, so you'll be able to enjoy photographs as they are added.
Please note that the system being used by the DI SIG takes you over to an external website.
Opportunity 3
There is an organisation who own the https://www.worldphotographyday.com/ address. Their suggested topic for the day is "Home", see https://www.worldphotographyday.com/world-photography-day-theme.html
They simply suggest posting your images on the day, or through the period 12-26 August, on social media using the hashtags #WorldPhotographyDay and #WorldPhotographyDay2026 and to search the same tags and like/share those images on your social media.