Each edition of PhotoKTM presents an Award of Excellence to an individual or group who has made instrumental contributions towards the development of Nepali photography and journalism.

Recipients of the PhotoKTM Award of Excellence in previous years have included:

PhotoKTM5 : Mr. Shyam Chitrakar

PhotoKTM3 : Dr. Shahidul Alam

PhotoKTM2 : Mr. Kiran Shrestha / Mr. Shridhar Lal Manandhar

PhotoKTM1 : Mr. Mani Lama