Tecno Names Winners of Shot On CAMON Contest
The third annual global photography contest, co-hosted with Lonely Planet, drew entries from 40 countries under the theme "Seeing is Believing."
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Photography
Tecno unveiled the winners of its third annual Shot On CAMON global photography contest, co-hosted with Lonely Planet. The contest received over 13,000 entries from 40 countries, with a total prize pool of $38,000.
Why it matters
The contest showcases photography produced on Tecno Camon series smartphones and highlights amateur and emerging photographers across multiple countries. Its international scale offers a view of how mobile devices are being used for creative photography worldwide.
The competition awarded a total prize pool of $38,000 across five categories, with the overall winner receiving $8,000. Entries were limited to photographers using Tecno Camon series smartphones, and the source does not detail the judging criteria beyond the category structure.
The players
Tecno
Tecno is a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Hong Kong that markets the Camon series of camera-focused phones.
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel publisher known for its guidebooks and travel content, and it co-hosted the contest with Tecno.
The details
Nigerian photographer @dominic_films won the top honor, the title "TECNO Photography Master," for the photo "Weightless Voyager." Other category winners include Nigerian photographer @_shotbykene, who took the Gold Prize in the Faces * Unfiltered portrait category, and Filipino photographer @mlpadecio, who won the Culture * Unscripted category.
Timeline
Winners were announced on November 3, 2026.
Culture Shift
The contest reflects the growing role of smartphone cameras in amateur and semi-professional photography, with Tecno's Camon line serving as the platform for entries. Its theme "Seeing is Believing" frames mobile photography as a credible creative medium.
Readers interested in mobile photography can see the range of work produced on consumer smartphones across categories such as portraiture and culture. The contest demonstrates that entry-level camera hardware can support competitive, prize-worthy images.
The takeaway
Amateur photographers can use contests like this to test their work against an international field and to see how different categories frame the same craft. Studying the winning portraits and cultural shots can sharpen composition and storytelling choices.
Further reading
Explore more smartphone-shot images in the Photography section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by PetaPixel.
