NPPA Best of Photojournalism 2026
The NPPA Best of Photojournalism contest treats authenticity as a professional-ethics matter, not just a technical guideline. Every entrant certifies compliance with the NPPA Code of Ethics at submission. The 2026 rules prohibit AI generative tools in any role: creating, adding, removing, expanding, or altering images. The framing — content is 'locked at the moment it is recorded' — is the clearest statement of the indexical theory of photographic truth in any contest's rulebook. Free entry for members; $90 for non-members.
- Deadline
- January 19, 2026
- Entry fee
- Free for NPPA members in good standing; US$90 for non-members
- Opens
- December 22, 2025
Authenticity policy
AI policy
The use of AI generative tools to create, add, remove, expand or alter images or videos in any way is expressly prohibited. The content of a photograph or video clip – what is seen and what is not seen, what is heard and what is not heard – is locked at the moment it is recorded.
RAW files
Not specified
Editing rules
All entrants certify compliance with the NPPA Code of Ethics. No multiple exposures, panoramas or stitched photos — produced in-camera or in software — are accepted. The 'locked at the moment it is recorded' framing is an unusually direct statement of the indexical view of photographic truth.
Verified on June 8, 2026