How NEEW works
Discover, submit, compete, progress.
NEEW runs photography competitions at five levels. Daily competitions are free. Win one, and your entry to the next level is free as well. Keep winning and the ladder runs to the year end, where the Yearly Winner takes the title NEEW Photographer of the Year.
The ladder
- DailyFree entry
- The Winner receives free qualification to the Weekly competition. The Qualification Ticket covers the entry fee in full. Daily Runner-ups receive a permanent Trophy Room record but do not qualify automatically.
- Weekly75 NP
- The Winner and both Runner-ups receive free qualification to the Monthly competition. The Qualification Ticket covers the entry fee in full.
- Monthly175 NP
- The Winner and both Runner-ups receive free qualification to the Seasonal competition. The Qualification Ticket covers the entry fee in full.
- Seasonal300 NP
- The Winner and both Runner-ups receive free qualification to the Yearly competition. The Qualification Ticket covers the entry fee in full.
- Yearly500 NP
- The top of the ladder. The Winner receives the title NEEW Photographer of the Year. There is no level above this one.
The performance route
Enter a free Daily competition. Win it, and you hold a Qualification Ticket for the Weekly competition. Win that, and you and both Runner-ups move up to Monthly. It is possible to reach the Yearly competition without ever paying an entry fee.
The community route
Qualification is not required. Every photographer receives NEEW Points each month, and can earn more by reviewing other photographers’ work. Spend them to enter any level you choose.
Both routes are judged identically — the judges do not know, and cannot see, how an entry arrived.
How entries are judged
Judging is blind wherever practical. Each judge scores every eligible submission from 1 to 10 against the competition’s published criteria. Scores are weighted, locked, and ranked. An administrator reviews the ranking and confirms the Winner and two Runner-ups before anything is published.
Results are never published automatically, and every change to a published result is recorded.
What winning means
NEEW awards recognition. A Winner receives a trophy, a permanent Trophy Room record, a published result page with a share card, exposure on the homepage and category pages, eligibility for a Journal interview, and qualification to the next level.
NEEW does not pay cash prizes and does not award items of monetary value. Winning never grants NEEW Points. You are paying to compete and to be judged — not for the chance to receive money.
The full statement is in the competition rules.