DJI, a global leader in drones and aerial imaging, has once again teamed up with SkyPixel, a leading online community for aerial photography and videography, for the 11th annual SkyPixel Photo and Video Contest. The total prize pool is worth $200,000, giving photographers and videographers a chance to win big.
The competition invites visual artists to “Frame the World” through both aerial and handheld photography. For the photography section, it’s all aerial creations, and entries must be taken with an eligible DJI drone, which includes Inspire, Mavic, Air, Mini, Phantom, Neo, and Flip series drones.
The videography side of the SkyPixel Photo and Video Contest includes aerial and handheld categories. Aerial videos should be fewer than five minutes long, and at least 30 seconds of footage must have been shot using eligible DJI products, including the ones above, plus Avata and DJI FPV, and at least 50% of the submission should be aerial footage.
The handheld videography category is open to a broader range of gear. At least 30 seconds of footage should be shot using eligible DJI products, including Ronin gimbals and cinema cameras, Osmo Action, Osmo Pocket, Osmo Mobile, Osmo 360, and Osmo Nano. Further, entries must include over 50% handheld footage.
This year’s contest, per usual, has a jury of leading photographers and videographers. Photography category submissions will be evaluated by outdoor photographer and filmmaker Jake Guzman, landscape photographers Daniel Kordan and Jiang Ping, and curator and Professor at the School of Photography, Zhu Jiong.
‘Mysterious Realm’ by Gangerqia | 10th Annual SkyPixel Photo and Video Contest Grand Prize Winner
On the video side, cinematographer Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight, Inception, Director of Photography Ryan Hosking (Yellowstone), cinematographer and editor Zeng Jian (Blind Massage), and photographer and natural history cinematographer Benjamin Hardman, who has worked with Netflix, BBC, National Geographic, and Disney.
In total, the 11th annual SkyPixel Photo and Video Contest will award 53 prizes over the course of the competition, with the total prize pool valued at over $200,000. All grand prize winners will receive a trophy and a SkyPixel Creator Contract. The overall winning photographer will receive a Hasselblad X2D II 100C Combo valued at over $15,000. The winning aerial video participant will get a DJI Inspire 3 and Mavic 4 Pro combo worth over $22,000. Finally, the grand-prize handheld video winner will receive a DJI Ronin 4D-8K cinema camera valued at over $18,000. The full breakdown of all the prizes up for grabs is available on the SkyPixel website.
Submissions are open now until March 10, 2026, at 11:59 PM (UTC+8). Submissions are accepted via the official SkyPixel website as well as DJI’s social media channels.
Those seeking inspiration should check out the outstanding winners from the 10th annual SkyPixel Photo and Video contest.
Image credits: DJI, SkyPixel