THE BRIEF

An ongoing series of publications, The City Series sets out to explore the people, places, and cultures that shape cities around the world. The inaugural volume explores a city that has welcomed us, and been home to nearly a dozen Shutter Hub exhibitions – Cambridge.

We’re inviting international photographers to capture Cambridge – a city of contrast and continuity. Along the river, historic stone buildings and quiet courtyards stoically reflect centuries of tradition while the streets around them pulse with movement as fleets of bicycles and pedestrians move between libraries, museums, galleries, and cafés.

Cambridge is shaped by an ever-evolving population – a vibrant mosaic of permanent residents, students, and curious tourists from around the world. A place where creative expression, scientific discovery and technological innovation coexist effortlessly with daily life.

The tension between heritage and progress, permanence and change, gives Cambridge its unique rhythm and energy – a city that invites both reflection and reinvention.

HOW TO ENTER

All submitted files must be named with the photographer’s name and title of work as described in the specifications. Files that are not labelled correctly may not be accepted.

Please read the specification information below.

Deadline for entries: 25 September 2025 (5pm UK time)

Please do not leave your entry until the last minute, we cannot accept any late entries.

Throughout the call for entries we will be selecting images to form accompanying online features. If you’re work is selected for inclusion in the online features, this does not mean that your work will also be selected for the publication.

FEES & ENTRY

We’re making this opportunity affordable for all photographers. There are no set entry fees, but we’re asking you to ‘pay what you can’, with a minimum donation of £10. Please help support the work we do by sharing this opportunity with other photographers too. We intend it to be a showcase for the photographers involved. We will promote it heavily across our networks, make it available to purchase in a variety of locations as well as directly from our online shop, and it will be held in national archives around the world.

We receive no external grants or funding, but we’re determined to do what we can to keep photography open to all. In order to make this opportunity as accessible as possible for all photographers, we are offering a number of free image submissions to those with limited income – to be considered, please send us an email before entering your submission, detailing why you should receive a free submission.

We’re making this opportunity as affordable as possible for all photographers, but it isn’t cheap to produce and we intend to recoup some of our costs with book sales. Unfortunately, this does mean we won’t be able to pay royalties or supply each entrant with a free copy, but we intend this to be a showcase for photographers and will promote the publication across our networks, making it available to purchase in a variety of locations as well as directly from our online shop, and create a page on our website to allow people to connect directly with the photographers that are featured in the book, as we’ve done with all our previous publications. Having considered many different possibilities and options we feel this is the fairest approach.

10 images can be entered per photographer.

SPECIFICATIONS FOR ENTRIES

• All submitted files must be named with photographers name and title of work. Image Files that are not labelled correctly may not be accepted. Correct file naming looks like this: lastname_firstname_imagetitle.jpg
• Images can be landscape or portrait format but keep in mind that the publication itself is portrait orientation.
• Please do not place multiple images together (such as diptychs or triptychs), please submit them as separate images. Please do not include captions or titles as part of the image, unless it is a graphic element of the image itself.
• Submitted images must be 300dpi jpegs, to fit within the A5 size of 148 × 210mm, CMYK colour profile (Coated GRACoL 2006 (ISO 12647-2:2004) and no more than 5MB in size. We will contact successful entrants to request larger files for print if they are required.
• Images must be suitable for a family audience.
• Shutter Hub reserves the right to not display work.
• Please read the Terms and Conditions for further details.

We will be in touch to inform entrants of the outcome whether they have been selected or not within 12 weeks of the deadline. We always get in touch, so, if for any reason you don’t hear from us, please email.

SALE OF WORK

Shutter Hub Edition publications will be for sale by Shutter Hub as open editions, featuring images selected from this call for entries. By entering the photographer agrees that we can publish the image in this publication and in future editions/print runs of this title.

Any enquiries such as for commissions or print sales from readers will be noted and passed directly to the photographer.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Shutter Hub reserves the right to display, reproduce and publish in any media any entry, without payment, for the purpose of the publication and its promotion and publicity. Copyright remains with the originator and each photographer shall be deemed to warrant that they own the entire copyright in the work or that they have permission from the licensee and/or copyright owner/s for the uses and that all necessary model releases and clearances have been obtained. Shutter Hub reserve the right to refuse work that they deem to be inappropriate, offensive or explicit.

Please make sure you read and agree with the above information before you submit your application. By submitting your application you are agreeing to abide by the terms and conditions and the information set out above.

Got any questions? Email us at info@shutterhub.org.uk