Every photographer wants the wall. The juried selection, the medal, the line on the bio that says someone who had seen ten thousand frames stopped on yours.
For the fine art nude it is harder, because most of the big programs would rather not say the word out loud. The body is the oldest subject in art and the first thing a platform hides.
So we did the sorting for you. Here are ten places that actually welcome the nude as art in 2026, from the global heavyweights to the dedicated nude salons to the one peer review that almost nobody passes.
One thing first, because it matters more than the list. We do not feature photographers because they win. We feature the best fine art nude in the world, award or none, with no bias. So when we checked these winners lists against our own pages and the names kept matching, we took it as proof, not as a reason. You will see those names noted under each award.
A note on the numbers. Entry fees and deadlines change every cycle, so treat anything specific below as a pointer and confirm the current round on each program's own site.
1. International Photography Awards (IPA)
The prestige heavyweight. Nude work enters under Fine Art, in the Nudes sub category. Global recognition, a real line on any resume.
In our pages: Aaron Rayburn (Fine Art, Honorable Mention), Nº43.
2. Px3, Prix de la Photographie Paris
Paris prestige, run under the Lucie network. Fine Art carries a Nudes sub category, with a Male Nudes line too. European credibility and a strong winners gallery.
3. Fine Art Photography Awards (FAPA)
One of the few majors with a dedicated, named Nudes category. Thousands in prizes plus publication, and the current edition is open.
In our pages: Gabriel Dusil (Nº44), Paolo Lazzarotti (Nº17, three editions), Aaron Rayburn (Nº43), Livio Moiana (Nº6), Feng Yan (Nº54). All Nudes-category honorees.
4. MonoVisions & Monochrome Photography Awards
The black and white powerhouse, with a standalone Nude category and a Nude Photographer and Series of the Year title. If you shoot the nude in monochrome, this is the room.
In our pages, and this is the big one: Vassilis Pitoulis, Nude Photographer of the Year 1st 2016 (Nº1). Bruno Birkhofer, Nude 1st 2014 (Nº13). Nino Veron, B&W Nude Series of the Year 1st 2019 (Nº8). Lukasz Spychala, Nude Gold 2023 (Nº21). Plus Reto Heiz (Nº51), Erik Rozman (Nº44), Dionysius Hungerbuhler (Nº29), Serhii Kovbasyuk (Nº35), Paolo Lazzarotti (Nº17), Samuel and Virginie (Nº50), Ingo Kremmel (Nº2), and Marc Boily, B&W Nude Series of the Year 2nd 2017 (Nº1).
5. Black & White Spider Awards
The long running international B&W salon, with a standing Nude category judged by a rotating jury of gallery and museum names. A classic credential.
In our pages: Andy Amyx (Nude Nominee, Nº32), Anthony Neste (Nude Nominee 2025, Nº1), Thierry Smets (Nude Honorable Mention 2025, Nº54).
6. ND Awards
A clean, accessible international award with a dedicated Fine Art Nudes category and a public, browsable winners gallery. Friendly to enter, real category.
In our pages: Gabriel Dusil (Nº44), Gaspar Marquez (Nº42), Paolo Lazzarotti (Nº17). All Fine Art Nudes honorees.
7. The Eros Awards (TZIPAC)
The genre's iconic dedicated award, built entirely around fine art nude. Famous for a low risk two stage fee, about one dollar to enter the first round and more only if you advance, with a US 2,000 dollar grand prize and a Fine Art Nudes Photographer of the Year title. Worth watching for a new cycle, and confirm it is open before you submit.
In our pages: Thomas Holm, Gold and Silver medals (4th Eros Awards 2016), Nº3.
8. Praxis Gallery, Nude Geographies
Not a trophy, an actual juried gallery exhibition of the nude in Minneapolis. Selection puts your print on a real wall and earns an Official Selection credential photographers cite for years. A gallery line, not just a badge.
9. RE:ARTISTE, "NAKED" (New York)
An international juried exhibition that says the quiet part out loud. It explicitly welcomes the nude, the figure, and the sensual, and top selections have earned solo show slots at a New York gallery.
In our pages: Gaspar Marquez (Finalist and Solo Show 2016), Nº42.
10. 1x.com
Not an award, the hardest yes in photography. 1x is a curated gallery where roughly one percent of submissions are published, every one handpicked by curators. There is a living fine art nude tradition here, and being published is a peer review credential a paid entry can never buy. Free to submit, brutal to pass.
In our pages: Anton Belovodchenko (nude Bodyscapes, Nº16), Pavel Titovich (Nº26), Erik Rozman (Nº44). All published 1x members.
Also worth a look: MUSE Photography Awards (Gabriel Dusil won Fine Art Nudes in 2024, Nº44), WPE Awards (Anna Shuvalova, Fine Art Nude Silver 2023 and 2024, Nº18), Chromatic and 35Awards (Anna Shuvalova again), Trierenberg Super Circuit, LensCulture, Dodho, and All About Photo.
The proof, not the point
We did not go looking for trophies. We went looking for the best pictures in the world, and the trophies were already there. Look back through the names and you will see them again and again, the photographers we publish. Here are three of them, and what they have on the wall.
Vassilis Pitoulis was named Nude Photographer of the Year. First place, monochrome, for a single frame that stops you cold. In our pages since Issue Nº1.
Marc Boily took second for a B&W Nude Series of the Year, the Iona Collection, sculpted light on a Canadian coast. In our pages since Issue Nº1.
Bruno Birkhofer took first in the nude before most of these programs had their current name. In our pages, Issue Nº13.
And these are only three of many. Nino Veron and Lukasz Spychala have taken first in the nude. Anna Shuvalova collects silver after silver. Gabriel Dusil, Paolo Lazzarotti, Aaron Rayburn, Thomas Holm, and more than a dozen others carry these credentials. Every name is in the photographers directory.
That is the whole point. Award or none, our only filter is the work. These photographers would be in our pages with or without the medals. The trophies just happen to agree with us.
Award or none
Here is the honest part. NUDE covers these awards, and yes, plenty of our photographers win them. But that is not the test. The test is the picture. If your work is among the best in the world, we want it in our pages, medal or no medal, a known name or a first submission.
So if you shoot the nude as art, send it. If you enter these awards, tell us. Either way, the next issue gets built out of the best work we can find, wherever it comes from.
Esha, The NUDE Team