The γp→K+Λ(1520) reaction mechanism is investigated within a Regge-effective Lagrangian hybrid approach based on our previous study of this reaction [Phys. Rev. C 89, 015203 (2014)PRVCAN0556-281310.1103/PhysRevC.89.015203]. Near threshold and for large K+ angles, the data from both the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility large acceptance spectrometer (CLAS) and the laser electron photon beamline at SPring-8 (LEPS) can be successfully described by considering the contributions from the contact, t-channel K¯ exchange, u-channel Λ(1115) hyperon pole, and s-channel nucleon pole and N*(2120) resonance contributions. However, for higher energies and forward K+ angles, systematic discrepancies with data appear, which hint at the possible existence of sizable quark-gluon string mechanism effects. We show how the inclusion of a K¯-Regge-trajectory exchange in the t channel leads to an efficient description of the Λ(1520) photoproduction channel over the whole energy and angular ranges accessible in the CLAS experiment.