Royal Signals

The purpose of the annual R SIGNALS Photographic and Videography Competition is to encourage the visual capture of unit life across the Corps and its family. As well as providing a ‘snap shot’ of the Corps each year, the best contemporary compositions are added to the stock imagery used widely in engagement, communications and recruitment. The 2026 Competition will be launched via the Corps social media on 9 Mar 26. Submitted images will be considered for the Royal Signals Charity Christmas Cards to be posted in December 2026.

The Competition is open to R SIGNALS Regular and Reserve personnel, QG SIGNALS personnel and R SIGNALS badged Cadets. 

Photos/videos must have been taken between 21 Jun 25 – 19 Jun 26.

Categories:

There are 8 categories and entrants should attempt to capture the ‘spirit’ of the category. The top photos in each category will be published across the Corps social media. There is a maximum of 10 entries per person, per category. The categories are:

a.  Sport and Adventure (S&A) – should cover military sport and sporting events, capturing the action of a game and behind the scenes of the players or focus on capturing images in the great outdoors, involving individuals participating in sports.

b.  Portrait (P)– Submissions should illustrate character and capture the personality of the subject by using effective lighting, backdrops, poses and should contain branding relevant to the Corps.

c.  Operations and Exercises - Submissions should illustrate R SIGNALS operations, training or simulation and should contain equipment and branding relevant to the Corps, promoting the Corps in a good light.

d.  Taken on a Phone - It could be an iPhone or Android, old or new and should feature content from one of the other 5 categories. Submissions to this category can also be entered into any of the other categories.

e.  Teamwork - Submissions should show the whole force approach including the civilian workforce who contribute to enrich the corps family.

f.   Tell a Story/Portfolio - is to consist of four images, a collection of work rather than as four individual entries. Images may be of any category, but you may want to consider a theme with Corps branding and equipment: light, portrait, operations, training, equipment or similar.

g.   Cadets - Submissions should illustrate R SIGNALS Cadets participating in any activity including Sport and adventure, Portraits, Operations and Exercises, Teamwork, or as part of a Tell a Story/Portfolio collection.  Images may be taken on any device including phones, should capture the personality and character of cadets, illustrate training, sporting events, outdoor adventures, or the whole force approach, and should contain individuals, equipment and branding relevant to the Corps whilst promoting the Corps in a good light.

h.   Video - We invite 30 - 60 second video entries, ones that will capture R SIGNALS personnel and equipment in an overview of the year; day to day working; in training environments or on exercise. You may enter up to 3 videos which need to be in MP4 format. Videos must all be your own work, filming and editing.  Video submissions with music must be copyright or royalty free. Music that is not royalty free must have permission for use. The winning video will feature on the R SIGNALS Website and across the Social Media Platforms.

Prizes

All prizes are sponsored by the Royal Signals Charity. All photos that make it through the initial sift will be considered for the prizes listed below. Details of prize giving will be published later.

Best picture - The overall winner across all categories will receive a cash prize of £250 and be named Corps Photographer of the Year.  

Photography Category winner – The winner of each of the six categories listed above will receive a prize of £100.

Best Video – The overall winner will receive a prize of £350.

Best Cadet Picture - The overall winner will receive a cash prize of £100 and the runner up £50.

Conditions of Entry:

All entrants must ensure they read the category guidelines to ensure they understand the category requirements before submitting: 

a. The Competition is open to R SIGNALS Regular and Reserve personnel, QG SIGNALS personnel and R SIGNALS badged Cadets.

Entries can be submitted between 9 Mar 25 – 19 Jun 26.

b. All serving entrants in R SIGNALS and QG SIGNALS must be paying into the relevant Corps Charities via the One Day's Pay Scheme.  This does not apply to R SIGNALS badged cadets.

c. All photos must be at least 1Mb and be saved as a JPEG. Colour or black and white entries are acceptable in all categories. Nominees will be asked to produce a high-resolution version and photos that are not in focus or poorly composed will be removed at the initial sift stage.

d. All submissions must have been taken between 21 Jun 25 – 19 Jun 26 and cannot have been submitted into previous R SIGNALS Photographic Competitions.  Any submissions that have been previously entered will be automatically deleted.  

e. To submit your entry use the online form below and then upload your entry at the link provided.

f. The upload form requires your:

Name

Rank

Home/Unit address

Total number of photos you are entering

What category they are

Summary of what is happening within your photo

g. All photos must be named in line with the naming convention requested: Date submitted-surname of entrant-  Category-photo number (e.g. 20190710-Smith-Portrait-Photo1.

h. Timeline: Entrants are to note the key dates below:

(1)  19 Jun 26 - Closing date for entries.  Submissions received after this deadline will not be judged.

(2)  w/c 6 Jul 26 - Judging (Conducted by a panel within HQ R SIGNALS).

(3)  w/c 20 Jul 26 – Winners announced.

i.  If your image contains an individual that is recognisable you must confirm you have their permission to use the image.

j.   By entering this competition you are agreeing that you are paying into the Corps Charity via the One Day's Pay Scheme.

k.   By entering this competition, you are agreeing that your photo is, or will become, Crown Copyright. This should be confirmed when photos are submitted and if entries are not already Crown Copyright; a form for completion will be sent to individuals if their photo advances through the initial sift.

l.  By entering this competition, you are agreeing that you own the image, you have taken the image and you have not obtained the image from another individual or on-line platform.

m. By entering this competition, you are agreeing that all photos, and not just winning photos, may be used for inclusion in Army and Corps publications, presentations and across Army and Corps social media platforms without payment or fees.

n.  Any photographs submitted for the competition cannot be returned. Any music used in the videos must be royalty free and cannot be subject to copyright.

o.  All further information including details of prize winners will be posted on Defence Connect, Corps Facebook pages and HQ R SIGNALS Defence Connect page.

p. The decision of HQ R SIGNALS will be final in all matters relating to the rules of the competition.

q. These rules will also be published on the HQ R SIGNALS Defence Connect page.

Further Information

For more details or any questions about the R SIGNALS Photography and Videography Competition please contact the social media cell email socialmedia@royalsignals.org 

We can't wait to see your competition entries this year. Use the button above to upload your photographs into the competition folder and enter your details using the form below. Don't forget to use the correct naming convention and provide us with the details of each of the photo's or video you have submitted; against each of the entry criteria.  If we have any questions, we will come back to you.

Next year it could be your images and videos featured on our pages and in our publications.  Capture a moment in time and share it with the R SIGNALS community, by entering the 2026 competition.