Czech Press Photo

The Czech Press Photo contest has been organised every year since its inception in 1995. In order the ensure impartiality, the photographs are judged by an independent, professional and international jury, whose members change every year. The contest always includes photo conferences discussing current journalistic topics. Czech and Slovak photographers with a permanent residence in the Czech Republic or Slovakia are eligible for participation, submitting works created for publishing in the media. The concept of submitting shots and the entire visual appearance of the contest have changed over the years; e.g. the authors can now submit their works electronically. There are several categories: Current News, Reports, Sport, as well as Everyday Life, Portrait, etc. The contest’s main prize is the title Photo of the Year and 120 thousand crowns. Winners in other categories also receive financial awards. While the jury is not required to present the main prize in all the categories, the Photo of the Year prize is given every year. The title is given to a photograph that the international jury judges the best from the perspective of journalistic qualities (relevance, informativeness, expressiveness, promptness) and aesthetics, and which deals with an important theme in the given year.

The Prague Grant, an annual grant given by the Prague City Council for photographing the changes in the capital, is also a part of the contest. It is present by the mayor of Prague, on the recommendation of the jury. Owing to the grant, a large collection of photographs that witness the changes in the city from different points of view is created. The contest is organised under the auspices of the mayor of Prague and the minister of culture of the Czech Republic.