The Photo Mode Awards is open worldwide to virtual photographers aged 18 and above. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned professional, we welcome photographers of all skill levels and experiences. We encourage diversity and creativity in every submission. Each participant must submit their own original photos. Best of all, entry is completely free!

Please refer to our T&Cs and Privacy Policy for full details.

Note: Judges and members of The Photo Mode Awards are not eligible to participate.

The 2024 entries are open from 17th June and close on 28th June 23:59 AEST. Entries post the deadline will not be accepted.

Each participant is allowed to submit a maximum of one (1) photo per category. Each participant will submit their photos via the Photo Mode Awards website.

We acknowledge the difficulty of selecting a single photo to represent your entry, and we encourage participants to carefully consider their choice before submission. Take the time to review and finalize your decision, ensuring that the submitted photo truly reflects your creativity and meets the criteria of the competition.

The 2024 Photo Mode Awards categories are:

1. People: This style of photography is all about trying to capture the personality, expressions, and emotions/connections of an individual (person or fantasy) or group individuals by utilizing the background atmosphere, poses, and lighting.

2. Architecture: Architecture photography generally means photography that focuses on buildings, structures, and urban/fantasy environments, showcasing creativity in composition and design. It can include shooting building exteriors and interiors, as well as bridges, other structures, and cityscapes.

3. Action: Captures will contain a high intensity scene with dynamic moments, showcasing movement, energy, and vitality in various contexts, from sports to a fight scene.

4. Close Up: The Close Up category focuses on capturing detailed and intimate shots of a subject. This type of photography allows for a deeper exploration of texture, and fine details.

5. Indie: This category focuses on the unique and visually stunning worlds crafted by independent game developers

6. Nature: Nature photography is focused on elements of the outdoors. Specific subjects may include landscapes, wildlife, flora, and other elements of the environment.

More details about the categories can be found at www.photomodeawards.com.

An indie game, short for “independent video game,” is typically developed by individuals or small teams without significant financial or technical support from a large game publisher. Here are some examples of Indie titles (📷 = includes photo mode):

1. Abzû 📷 by Giant Squid
2. Ark Survival Ascended 📷 by Studio Wildcard 
3. Atomic Heart 📷 by Mundfish
4. AWAY: The Survival Series 📷 by Breaking Walls
5. Beyond Blue 📷 by E-Line Media
6. Biomutant 📷 by THQ Nordic
7. Bulwark : Falconeer Chronicles 📷 by Tomas Sala
8. Chernobylite 📷 by The Farm 51
9. Chorus 📷 by FishLabs / Deep Silver / Dambuster Studios
10. Deliver Us Mars 📷 by KeokeN Interactive
11. Dredge 📷 by Black Salt Games
12. EverSpace I & II 📷 by RockFish Games
13. Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn 📷 by A44 Games
14. Fort Solis 📷 by Fallen Leaf Studio
15. GigaBash Game 📷 by Passion Republic Games
16. Greedfall by Spiders Games
17. GRIS by Nomada Studio / Devolver Studio
18. Indika by Odd Meter
19. Jurassic World Evolution I & II 📷 by Frontier
20. Jusant by DON’T NOD
21. Journey by Annapurna Interactive
22. Journey to the Savage Planet 📷 by Typhoon Studios
23. Kena: Bridge of Spirits 📷 by Ember Lab
24. Layers of Fear by Bloober Team
25. Life is Strange I & II by DON’T NOD
26. Limbo by PlayDead
27. Little Nightmares I & II by Tarsier Studios
28. Martha is Dead by Lka Games
29. Mortal Shell 📷 by Cold Symmetry
30. No Man’s Sky 📷 by Hello Games
31. Nobody Wants to Die by Critical Hit Games / PLAION
32. Observer by Bloober Team
33. Ori and the Blind Forest by Moon Studios
34. Ori and the Will of the Wisps by Moon Studios
35. Outer Wilds 📷 b Annapurna Interactive
36. Praey For The Gods 📷 by No Matter Studios
37. Remember Me by DON’T NOD 
38. RoboCop Rogue City by TEYON Games
39. Sable 📷 by ShedWorks
40. Shadow Warrior 2 & 3 📷 by Flying Wild Hog / Devolver Digital
41. Scorn by Ebb Software
42. SIFU📷 by SloClap
43. Steelrising by Spiders Games
44. Still Wakes The Deep by The Chinese Room
45. Stray by Annapurna Interactive
46. Tchia 📷 by Kelper Interactive
47. Trek to Yomi by Flying  Wild Hog
48. The Art of Rally 📷 by The Fun Selektor Labs
49. The Ascent 📷 by Neon Giant Games
50. The Invicible 📷 by Starward Industries
51. The Medium by Bloober Team
52. The Shore 📷 by Ares Dragonis
53. Vampyr by DON’T NOD
54. What Remains of Edith Finch by Giant Sparrow

Fantasy-themed submissions should still align with the chosen categories, but they can include elements that are imaginative, surreal, or fictional.

The PMAs supports any games which contain a photo mode capability provided:

1. via an official photo mode;
2. and/or mods that enable a free camera

An official photo mode is a feature within the game that allows players to capture and edit in-game screenshots without the need of mods.

Yes, you are permitted to use photo editing software such as Lightroom, Photoshop, and similar programs to enhance your photos. This includes  (not limited to):

1. Adjustments to exposure, contrast, color balance, sharpening, shadow, cropping, presets, etc;
2. You are allowed to remove unwanted objects or imperfections from your photos, such as dust spots or minor distractions;
3. Ai products to upscale images
4. Use of ReShade

You are not allowed to:

1. Heavy photo manipulation of the image that would involve adding elements not present in the original photo is not permitted (e.g. rain drops, sun/moon, clouds). 
2. Images created by artificial intelligence using image-creation programs (for example, MidJourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, etc) may not be entered. 
3. Use Watermarks. When a judge looks at your entry, they should not be able to identify who you are, so you can’t put a signature or watermark on the front of the photograph. Images submitted with watermarks or branding on them will not be considered for judging and will be disqualified.

Yes, participants are generally allowed to submit photos from game cinematics only if an official photo mode provides such capability in the game (e.g. Hellblade, A Plague Tale). Mods are not allowed in this instance.

The competition aims to showcase the creativity of participants within the constraints of the game environment. Utilizing an official photo mode, when it comes to cinematic captures , ensures a level playing field and adherence to the competition guidelines.

Despite the challenges in enforcing this, the competition reserves the right to cancel prizes for any participant caught violating the rules. This measure is in place to maintain fairness and integrity within the competition.

Check the game’s official website, user manual, or in-game settings to determine if an official photo mode is available. If uncertain, reach out to the game’s support website for clarification.

While it may be challenging to monitor every submission in real-time, the competition organizers may conduct random checks or rely on community reporting to identify potential violations.

Entrants retain copyright of their images. The entrant provides The Photo Mode Awards a limited-use authorization to publish and distribute their photographs for the sole purpose of promoting The Photo Mode Awards. Images may be used by The Photo Mode Awards or in any promotion.