Sony World Photography Awards 2026
The Sony World Photography Awards 2026 offers another glimpse into the talents of photographers around the world. Its Open Competition showcases 10 of the most unique and insightful shots taken throughout 2025, after reviewing over 430,000 entries from over 200 countries and territories.
Each winner receives a selection of Sony’s state-of-the-art imaging equipment, as well as public exposure through a gallery exhibition and book to commemorate their achievement. In addition, one of these images will be selected as the overall winner of the competition, and receive a $5,000 prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to London for the awards ceremony.
The overall winner will be announced on Thursday, April 16 at the official awards ceremony in London. The winning and shortlisted images will be exhibited at Somerset House in the UK from April 17 to May 4, 2026, before traveling to other cities around the world.
Joel Meyerowitz: Exhibition and talk
A mixed-media maestro, Joel Meyerowitz recreated the streets of Europe through the interplay of his art, photography, video and soundscapes. The 19th recipient of the Sony World Photography Awards “Outstanding Contribution to Photography,” he has been invited to discuss his work and career on April 21.
The 10 category winners are:
Architecture
Markus Naarttijärvi (Sweden) for “Industrial Layers,” depicting a paper mill in Obbola, combining lights, smoke, concrete and sky for a sharply contrasting shot.
Creative
Siavosh Ejlali (Iran)’s “Lost Hope,” exhibiting a woman in red with her face shrouded in black, representing “dark thoughts” — a haunting reminder of the women’s protests in Iran.
Landscape
J Fritz Rumpf (Venezuela) captures the naturally muted tones of the Sossuvlei Dunes in Namibia in his “Shapes and Patterns of the Desert.”
Lifestyle
Vanta Coda III (U.S.) highlights a simple scene from everyday life with “Charlotte and Dolly,” with Charlotte leaning against her cow Dolly in the shade of a cow barn during the Virginia State Fair.
Motion
Franklin Littlefield (U.S.) showcases the energy and motion in music with “Sailboat,” a top-down capture of the drummer of the titular band playing at a Rhode Island concert.
Natural World and Wildlife
Klaus Hellmich (Germany) takes a heavily contrasted image of a blue-tinged fox standing firm against a bitter wind in “Arctic Fox in Blizzard.”
Object
Robby Ogilvie (U.K.) uses the sharp color shifts in Bo-Kaap, a neighborhood of Cape Town, South Africa, to create an eye-catching shot in “Colour Divides.”
Portraiture
Elle Leontiev (Australia) captures the defiant image of a self-taught volcanologist standing barefoot on the slopes of Mount Yasur, his gifted suit gleaming against the dull earth in “The Barefoot Volcanologist.”
Street Photography
Giulia Pissagroia (Italy) shows a family discovering the stunning view from Ørnevegen, Norway, in a deeply intimate shot titled “Between the Lines.”
Travel
Megumi Murakami (Japan) captures the raw emotion and energy of the traditional Japanese Abare Festival in “Men’s Passion.”
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