Picture Editing

The Best of Photojournalism’s Photo Editing division recognizes teams and individuals who practice and promote great photojournalism and storytelling through excellent picture editing. 

Photo editing is an inherently collaborative process. Photo editors identify the best pictures and organize and shepherd them to the public eye through a balance of risk and restraint. They ensure that text, pictures, design and layout all work together to tell the story with impact. The act of editing may be a team effort, or it may be performed by an individual, but it is never completely in isolation.

Judges will consider design, layout and innovative uses of technology, but will weigh most heavily how the photos have been considered, sequenced, and presented. Entries, whether featuring original photography or photo research or a mix, will be judged based on how effectively the photos and storytelling inform and entertain the reader. 

Submissions for the Magazine and Newspaper print categories should be exported as JPG files. Please make sure they have been saved as RGB files and not CMYK. They should be at least 3000 pixels tall. Each individual page or spread should be entered as an individual image so designs can be seen in full. (For example, a two-page magazine spread should be entered as a single image.)

Digital category entries should be in the form of one (or more) URLs. For sites with a paywall, you will need to provide a login and password for judges to access the site.

For all categories, you’ll have the opportunity to tell the story of how these presentations came to be. This is a place where editors can talk about behind-the-scenes work that was done by them or their team to get the photographer to a place to make great pictures, the designer to agree to the space, all the unseen work that is a big part of picture editing. This is an optional field that judges may choose to look at.

Please refer to the Guidelines section of the competition website for more details, and contact [email protected] for more information or questions about the contest.

Print Editing

These categories are print-focused and are open to all media organizations or outlets with a print product. One element includes one story, page, section or project. 

Magazine Cover

Best use of photography on a magazine cover.

Magazine General News Story

Coverage of an individual news event or issue. Single or multiple pages. 

Magazine Feature Story

Coverage of a non-news event that captures daily life or stories that bring dignity to the human spirit. Include Sports here. Single or multiple pages. 

Magazine Picture Editing Team of the Year

Best use of photography from two or more editors. There is a maximum of seven elements.

Magazine Picture Editor of the Year 

Best use of photography from a single editor. There is a maximum of seven elements.

Newspaper Front Page

The front page of a newspaper.

Newspaper Section Front 

The front page of other sections of a newspaper (e.g., features, sports, business, local news, etc.).

Newspaper General News Story

Coverage of an individual news event or issue. Single or multiple pages. 

Newspaper Feature Story

Coverage of a non-news event that captures daily life or stories that bring dignity to the human spirit. Include Sports here. Single or multiple pages. 

Newspaper Picture Editing, Team, Circulation Under 100,000 

Best use of photography from two or more editors. Please include entries that represent three or more months out of the year. There is a maximum of seven elements. The circulation of the newspaper must not exceed 100,000.

Newspaper Picture Editing Team, Circulation Over 100,000

Best use of photography from two or more editors. Please include entries that represent three or more months out of the year. There is a maximum of seven elements. The circulation of the newspaper must exceed 100,000.

Newspaper Picture Editor of the Year, Circulation Under 100,000

Best use of photography from a single editor. Please include entries that represent three or more months out of the year. There is a maximum of seven elements. The circulation of the newspaper must not exceed 100,000.

Newspaper Picture Editor of the Year, Individual, Circulation Over 100,000

Best use of photography from a single editor. Please include entries that represent three or more months out of the year. There is a maximum of seven elements. The circulation of the newspaper must exceed 100,000.

Digital Editing

These categories are digital-only entries and are open to all media organizations or outlets. They can come in the form of galleries, slideshows or scrolling pages. Video and audio that are a part of the entry may be considered, but the still photography and its presentation will carry the primary weight.

General News Story 

Daily coverage of an individual news event or issue.

Feature Story

Daily coverage of a non-news event that captures daily life or that brings dignity to the human spirit. Include sports here. 

Digital Project 

This entry can be news, features or sports. It is not for content generated by a single daily assignment, but a longer-termed story told digitally.

Digital Picture Editing Team of the Year 

Best use of photography from two or more editors. Please include entries that represent three or more months out of the calendar year. There is a maximum of seven URLs.

Digital Picture Editor of the Year 

Best use of photography from a single editor. Please include entries that represent three or more months out of the calendar year. There is a maximum of seven URLs.