Türkiye Mobile Photo Awards 2025 // Türkiye Mobil Fotoğraf Ödülleri 2025

Türkiye Mobile Photo Awards (TMPA) is an international competition dedicated to celebrating the art of mobile photography and encouraging creative expression through smartphone lenses. Entering its second year, and supported by the main sponsorship of Türk Telekom, TMPA invites photographers of all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds—whether emerging or established—who create compelling works using mobile devices.

In 2025, TMPA is honored to present a distinguished jury panel comprising some of the most celebrated voices in contemporary photography. These jurors, whose work has been featured in and commissioned by institutions such as National Geographic, VIIPhoto, TIME, The New York Times, and VOGUE, include Ed Kashi, Michael Christopher Brown, Laura El-Tantawy, Ahmet Sel, Mustafa Seven, Dina Litovsky, and Ismail Zaidy. Their collective expertise and global perspective bring unparalleled prestige to this year’s competition.

TMPA is committed to fostering a platform where photographers and visual storytellers at all levels—professional, amateur, or hobbyist—can showcase their distinct artistic visions. This competition seeks to inspire innovation and excellence in mobile photography, providing a space where creative minds can push the boundaries of visual storytelling while connecting with a global audience. With $5000 in prizes, TMPA calls on photography enthusiasts worldwide to participate and share their finest works, celebrating the limitless potential of mobile photography as a transformative art form.

Categories

• Portrait & Human x tivibu / Portre & İnsan x tivibu

The Portrait and Human category aims to capture the essence of human figures, emotions, characters, and the diversity of human life. This category includes portraits, emotional expressions, life stories, cultural diversity, and the various roles people play in the world, even extending to selfies. Participants are invited to showcase compelling portraits, emotional moments, or images representing the myriad experiences of human life, reflecting the beauty and complexity of humanity in all its forms.

• Documentary & Photojournalism / Belgesel & Haber Fotoğrafı

This category focuses on storytelling through impactful, real-life imagery. It invites participants to capture moments that document events, social issues, cultures, or everyday life, offering a truthful and compelling narrative. Examples include war and conflict, natural disasters, protests, cultural traditions, migration, or everyday moments that reveal profound meaning. From fleeting newsworthy moments to long-term projects exploring deeper stories, entries should reflect authenticity, humanity, and the power of visual storytelling to inform, inspire, and evoke emotion.

• Travel & Street x IGA Istanbul Airport / Seyahat & Sokak x IGA Istanbul Airport

Sponsored by IGA Istanbul Airport, the Street and Travel category invites captivating photographs that showcase the essence of places discovered worldwide, including landscapes, cultural elements, travel experiences, and the vibrant dynamics of street life. Participants can capture natural beauty, cultural details, the energy of city streets, and the boundless reflections of local life. This category encourages striking imagery that blends the spontaneity of street photography with the storytelling of travel, encompassing themes such as bustling markets, architectural street views, human interactions, urban contrasts, and cultural diversity. Whether it’s the raw authenticity of a street scene or the breathtaking uniqueness of a travel destination, this category provides a broad platform to highlight the distinctive moments and geographic variety encountered on the journey.

• Environment and Ecology x EasyCep / Çevre ve Ekoloji x EasyCep

Sponsored by EasyCep, the Environment and Ecology category has been created to emphasize the preservation of natural life, highlight environmental interactions, and draw attention to ecological balance. Under the theme of “Sustainability,” this category focuses on environmental issues, showcasing works that reflect humanity’s interaction with nature, the beauty of natural life, and efforts for environmental protection. Participants can enter the competition with striking images that highlight natural habitats, biodiversity, the relationship between humans and nature, or changes in environmental issues.

• Architecture and Design x Espressolab / Mimari ve Tasarım x Espressolab

Sponsored by Espressolab, the Architecture and Design category showcases photographs of architectural structures, interiors, bridges, designs of various scales, and aesthetically striking elements. This category includes architectural details, the overall appearance of buildings, modern or traditional designs, the harmony of structures with their surroundings, and the aesthetic features of the design. Photographers are encouraged to capture the linear qualities, compositions, and aesthetic values of structures, presenting them through a creative perspective. This year, with a special emphasis on the theme of Connections, participants are invited to explore how architectural elements connect with their surroundings, how bridges link spaces, or how design creates harmony between people and places. While there are no restrictions within the category, photographers are encouraged to creatively interpret this theme, blending it seamlessly with their chosen subjects.

• Lifestyle x Yaay / Yaşam Stili x Yaay

Sponsored by Tivibu, the Lifestyle category aims to reflect the diversity of daily life, personal preferences, and various lifestyles. This category encompasses photographs that highlight personal styles, the rhythm of life, cultural interactions, and different aspects of everyday life. Participants are invited to submit striking images that emphasize unique styles, traces of different cultures, the diversity of daily life, or individual choices, showcasing the rich tapestry of lifestyles around the world.

Submission Fee

• 1 submission: $2.5
• 2-4 submissions: $4
• 5-9 submissions: $5
• 10-14 submissions: $7
• 15-25 submissions: $9
• Fees will remain the same throughout the entire competition period

Türkiye Mobile Photo Awards (TMPA), established in 2023, proudly holds the distinction of being Türkiye’s first international photography competition dedicated to mobile photography. In its inaugural year, TMPA set out to create a platform for photographers and art enthusiasts to showcase their unique and artistic perspectives while honing their skills. As part of the 2024 open call, TMPA attracted over 4,500 submissions from 54 different countries and achieved more than 750,000 digital engagements. Additionally, exhibitions held at prestigious venues such as Galataport, Istanbul Airport (IGA), and Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) drew over 600,000 physical visitors. The competition also gained significant international recognition, with features in global media outlets such as The Guardian and TRT. Bringing together a network of curators, editors, art and culture directors, renowned photographers, and dedicated volunteers, TMPA continues to provide an inspiring space for individuals to express their creative visions and develop their talents through photography.

Judging criteria

Applications submitted to TMPA are evaluated by a panel of expert judges. Each independent jury member assesses all applications based on their originality and artistic merit, categorically, and assigns a rating to each submission. The applications are evaluated on a category-by-category basis. Category winners are determined based on the highest viewability score. The participant with the highest score within a category is named the ‘Category Winner.’ Among all applications, the participant with the highest score is awarded the ‘Grand Prize’ and ‘Mobile Photographer of the Year.’ The competition’s jury also recognizes and commends emerging talents by awarding ‘Honorable Mentions’ to deserving participants.