Unsplash Awards

Celebrating the best of open photography.

Open October 8th — October 31th, 2019
Finalists announced November 27th, 2019

About

The Unsplash Awards is a month-long celebration recognizing the powerful impact that Unsplash contributors have made through their generosity and artistry. Unsplash wouldn’t exist without the thousands of photographers who freely gift their work and push creativity forward every day.

Photo by Samuel Scrimshaw
2017 Finalist—Nature & Landscapes

Photo by Vince Fleming
2018 Finalist—People & Relationships

10 Categories

This year, enter your photography into 10 categories designed to showcase the best of Unsplash.

From the very best of Street Photography, to the all-new Minimalism category—we’ve also invited amazing guest judges to help select the featured photos for each category.

Stephanie Zou — Figma

Abstract

This category challenges us to incorporate unlikely textures, experiment with new formats, and reevaluate how we look at the world around us.

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Joel Tellier — Vice

Current Events

This category covers the latest important events and movements from around the world—from political protests to pride celebrations.

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Naoufal Kadhom — Netflix

Earth & Space

From stunning seascapes, wildlife captures and the tiny details of nature to key issues such as climate change, this category celebrates our planet, and beyond.

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Alexandra Nikolajev — Pinterest

Food & Wellness

A celebration of the mind, body and soul. This category showcases everything from decadent baked goods and exercise shots to healing practices such as meditation and yoga.

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Sebastian Speier — Airbnb

Interiors & Architecture

Photography of human-made spaces both inside and out, this category encompasses everything from sweeping perspectives to slick workspace shots.

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Max Kaplun — SSENSE

Minimalism

Keeping it simple is often easier said than done. This category challenges you to craft a visual narrative with minimalism in mind, and watch as a new perspective unfolds.

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Nina Mehta — Mailchimp

Mobile Photography

Ditch your cameras, your lenses, your editing software and focus on the creativity you can harness with your smartphone. Submit photos shot on iPhone, Android, Flip, you name it.

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Amber Venerable — Condé Nast

People & Diversity

People, captured. We welcome submissions with subjects of all ages and ethnicities, from candid portraits to styled wedding shoots.

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Melissa Chai — Etsy

Product & Brands

From commercial shots to editorial images, this category celebrates the very best of product photography.

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Viviane Labelle — Nike

Street Photography

From early morning commutes, neon-tinted nights and everything in-between, this category encompasses street photography in every form.

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Unsplash

Unsplash Community

This special category recognizes key Unsplash contributors for their involvement in the community throughout the year—from creating inspiring collections to giving others feedback on their photography.

Judges

Melissa sits on the PR + Marketing team managing social media and press events at Etsy Canada. Based in Toronto, she oversees international influencer strategy. With 8 years of marketing under her belt, Melissa specializes in creative experiences. Outside of her role at Etsy, she freelances as an art director, stylist and content producer while on a strict coffee and ice cream diet. Melissa's creativity is fueled by her love for travel, architecture, design and photography.

Naoufal is a cross-platform UI Engineer based in Oakland, California. At Netflix, he works at the intersection of product design and software engineering, where he helps drive product innovation and growth. When he isn’t working—or traveling—you’ll likely find him barbecuing at Lake Merritt.

Max is an art director hailing from NYC currently residing in lovely Montréal where he leads the UX team at SSENSE. Prior to that, he worked on digital products at Glossier and branding e-commerce at Dynamo.

Viviane Labelle is a French-Canadian designer & maker based in Portland, Oregon. She is currently working as a concept creator in the Innovation Kitchen at Nike where she creates original footwear concepts and dreams up the future of sports.

In 2016 she obtained an ISPO award for a ski glove she created during her previous role as a soft goods designer. She graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor's degree in Apparel Design from Université of Québec in Montréal.

Nina is a Product Design Manager at Mailchimp in Brooklyn as the first design leader outside it’s Atlanta HQ. She looks for projects where she can absorb complexity and put screens in the background. Nina brings her design, strategy, and research experiences from San Francisco, Berlin, Tokyo, London, and now Atlanta to her work every day. For fun, Nina writes, listens to techno, and coaches friends on the Konmari Method.

As the Canadian Creator Manager at Pinterest, the visual discovery engine — I spend my days contributing to our joint mission to give everyone the inspiration to create a life they love. With a background in digital advertising and content development, I am passionate about all things online and am inspired to discover new trends and viral moments that impact our everyday culture.

Sebastian Chen Speier is a Creative Director and Product Designer in New York. He is currently an Experience Design Lead at Airbnb, focusing on Airbnb Luxe. Formerly, he was a Design Lead at Instagram and a Design Director at Nike.

Joel is a multi-talented Artist with nearly 20 years of experience in multimedia, marketing, digital, motion, and print design with a passion for story.

Currently as the Design Director at VICE, he provides leadership in creative conception, strategy and creative direction of multichannel brand experiences, leading a visual team as well as video production companies, photographers and copywriters in collaborations globally.

Texas native and Howard University educated, Amber Venerable is a Visuals Director at Conde Nast doing everything from concepting to casting and art directing.

Stephanie is a SF-based product marketer at Figma. Previously, she led product marketing at Zendesk and Intercom. She loves uncovering stories about people and companies creating amazing things with technology.