Photo Competition

From this year forward, WFTGA will run an annual Photo Competition to improve how professional tourist guiding is portrayed worldwide. Too often, stock libraries and tourism campaigns show landmarks or museum docents rather than qualified tourist guides. We want to change that.

Goal: curate excellent, authentic images of tourist guides in action for WFTGA channels and for release to the wider community via public stock platforms. To enable broad use, entrants transfer rights in their submitted photos to WFTGA. We will then re‑publish selected images under an open community licence (e.g. CC BY 4.0) with photographer credit where reasonably practicable.

Everything you need to take part—how the competition works, what we require, and how decisions are made—is outlined below; if you have any questions, please contact james@wftga.org.

Theme 2026

Inaugural edition 2026:

Open theme — any genuine guiding situation (winter tours, museums/galleries, city walks, nature/heritage).
The guide must be the clear subject.
From next year, editions will be theme‑specific and timed so colleagues can also shoot during the Northern Hemisphere summer.

Eligibility

All Tourist Guides and WFTGA member associations
18+ only.
Up to 5 photographs per entrant or association.
Those directly administering the competition are not eligible.

Prizes

Individual entrant:
50% reduction on the registration fee for the WFTGA Main Convention 2028 (excludes accommodation, pre/post tours and flights).

Association prize:
One participating member association wins a complimentary online CPD webinar (up to 90 minutes) for its members, delivered by a WFTGA trainer within 12 months of award (date/topic by mutual agreement).

Jury & Voting

Pre‑selection:
A WFTGA Committee screens entries and selects the top 10 photographs against relevance, originality, technical quality, composition and impact.

Final vote:
Shortlisted images go to a live vote of registered WFTGA Convention 2026 (Fukuoka) participants. Voting concerns the photograph only, not the guiding skills of the photographer.

Announcement: Winners revealed at the Closing Ceremony; certificates issued; publication across WFTGA channels thereafter.

Deadlines

Open now
Submission deadline: 1 February 2026, 23:59 CET
Shortlist: before WFTGA Convention 2026 (Fukuoka)
Winners: announced at the Convention Closing Ceremony

Waiver / Model Release

A waiver (also called a model release) is a short consent form that gives WFTGA the legal permission to use and share your photographs.

It protects the people pictured, the photographer and WFTGA by recording informed consent, confirming authorship, and transferring the rights we need to publish images on our channels and to re-release selected photos under an open community licence or via stock libraries.

A separate release is required for every identifiable person (including the guide); a parent/guardian must sign for minors.

Some locations (e.g. museums, private interiors or where copyrighted artworks appear) may also require a property release. Without the correct releases we cannot accept or display your entry.

Download the waiver below and attach them to each photo in the Submission Form.

Download Waiver as PDF

Do
✅ Make the guide the subject (mid‑ground framing works well).
✅ Use depth of field to keep guests incidental (blur/back of head).
✅ Professional attire; badge/licence visible if applicable (need not be legible).
✅ Purposeful body language — interpreting, pointing, listening, engaging.
✅ Convey passion and enjoyment.
✅ Use light/composition to separate guide from background.
✅ Include all releases when submitting.

Don’t
❌ Submit group shots where guests are the subject.
❌ Include awkward expressions/closed eyes/distracting gestures.
❌ Show third‑party marketing logos prominently (association insignia is fine).
❌ Make the site/landscape the hero without the guide.
❌ Use AI or heavy manipulation.