London Independent Photography and LIP are used interchangeably throughout the document.
Eligibility
FLIP Student Competition is open to any British or international student, 18 or older, studying photography or visual arts in the UK at Further Education (FE) level or higher.
Entrants are not required to be members of London Independent Photography to enter the competition.
Judging panel members including LIP committee members, LIP group coordinators and FLIP magazine editorial team members may not enter the competition.
All submitted works must meet the conditions stated in FLIP Student Competition Terms & Conditions to be eligible.
The works must have been created during current study period.
The works must have been photographically created. This includes cameraless photography techniques, collage, photomontage and expanded photography.
The works or any elements of the works which have been created through a text-to-image generator (AI-generative platform) are not permitted.
The works must not have previously been selected as shortlisted, runner up or winner in FLIP Student Competition.
Entries
The works must fall into one of the following categories: portrait, landscape, or still life.
The works must be submitted online via FLIP Student Competition submission webpage.
A maximum of 1 work is permitted per entrant per category, which means that an entrant can submit a maximum of 3 works, providing they are each in a different category, i.e. one work in portrait category, one work in landscape category and one work in still life category.
The works can comprise of individual images or a coherent series of images.
Shortlisted, runner up and winner works may be published or displayed indefinitely on LIP webpages, FLIP magazine webpages and publications, LIP mail-outs, and on LIP and FLIP magazine social media.
Shortlisted, runner up and winner entrants may be tagged on social media in relation to the competition if social media account name is provided in the FLIP Student Competition submission.
Copyright
No copyright is transferred to FLIP magazine or LIP in respect of any works submitted.
Entrants shall be deemed to warrant that they own copyright of the entire work or, in the event of a collaborative submission, that they have permission from all other rights-holders to enter and be credited for the work. Entrants undertake to indemnify FLIP magazine and LIP in respect of any breach of the same.
In the event of a collaborative work, only one person is to act as the entrant.
Entrants shall be deemed to warrant that all relevant or necessary model or property releases have been obtained by them. Entrants undertake to indemnify FLIP magazine and LIP in respect of any breach of the same.
If the entrant is not a resident of the UK, they enter the competition at their own risk should they be infringing any laws or regulations in the territory where they reside, and they agree to fully indemnify FLIP magazine and LIP in the event of any claim whatsoever being brought against them in respect of their entry into the competition.
Entrants grant to FLIP magazine and LIP the non-exclusive right to display, reproduce and publish in any media, any entry, without payment, for an unlimited time, for the purpose of promoting and publicising FLIP magazine, LIP, and FLIP Student Competition.
Entrants will be credited whenever their work is published.
Technical Specification
The entrant’s name, any logos or watermarks must not feature anywhere on the works.
The submissions must be saved in the following format: first name_surname_category
For example: Anne_Adams_portrait, Anne_Adams_landscape, Anne_Adams_still life
The works must be in JPEG, 2000 pixels on the longest side and maximum 2MB in size, and sRGB profile.
Runner up and winner entrants must supply high-resolution files for publication at 300ppi, in JPEG, 3600 pixels on the longest side, and Adobe RGB (1998) profile shortly after judging is complete.
Dates and Deadlines
Competition opens: 29 November 2025, 00:00 UK time
Competition closes: 1 February 2026, 23:59 UK time
Judging: February 2026
Shortlist announced: 1 March 2026
Winners and runners up announced: 1 April 2026
Any works received after the closing of the competition will be invalid and will not be entered into the competition.
Judging and Prizes
The judging panel comprises of members of LIP committee, LIP group coordinators, FLIP magazine editorial team, and a guest judge outside of LIP.
The judging panel will select:
- Overall Winner
- Portrait Winner
- Landscape Winner
- Still Life Winner
- Runners Up
- Shortlisted
FLIP magazine will attempt to notify all entrants of the outcome of the competition via the email addresses or the phone number provided in the FLIP Student Competition submission as soon as judging is complete.
All shortlisted entrants will have their work displayed in an online FLIP gallery. Runner up and winner works will be published in the Spring issue of FLIP magazine.
Published entries will be credited with entrant’s full name and the name of the school, college or university they attend.
Runner up and winner entrants will receive a copy of FLIP Spring issue magazine by post, sent to the addresses provided in the FLIP Student Competition submission.
Winners in portrait, landscape and still life categories will receive one year free LIP membership inclusive of all membership benefits.
General
All communications from FLIP magazine and LIP will be made via email. FLIP magazine and LIP reserve the right to make contact via the phone number provided in the FLIP Student Competition submission, in the event entrants are not reachable by email.
FLIP magazine and LIP will hold and process entrants’ personal information in connection with the competition. Entrants agree that personal data including, but not limited to, name, phone number, postal address, email address, place of study, name of academic course, name of course leader, and social media may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used for the purposes of conducting the competition.
No correspondence will be entered into between the judging panel and entrants regarding the judging process.
No appeals against the decision of the judging panel are permitted.
By entering the FLIP Student Competition all entrants are deemed to have accepted FLIP Student Competition Terms & Conditions without reservation.
Contact
Any questions or notifications relating to FLIP Student Competition should be directed to editors@londonphotography.org.uk
Any questions relating to LIP membership should be directed to membership@londonphotography.org.uk
Social Media
For social media, please tag @london_independent_photography @flipmaglondon and use hashtags: #FLIPmagazine #LIP #flipstudentcompetition #LIPstudentcompetition #photocompetition