Portrait photography prize winner is a powerful tribute to human resilience

Home / Latest / Latest news / Portrait photography prize winner is a powerful tribute to human resilience

National Portrait Gallery have announced the winner of the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize! Swedish photographer Martina Holmberg has been named the overall winner of the competition with ‘Mel’, from the series ‘The Outside of the Inside’ which documents people with facial and physical differences that fall outside “the norm”. A tribute to human resilience and the rich diversity of appearances, the photograph is a worthy winner of the prize.

As the winner of the competition, Martina has been awarded £15,000, with £3,000 going to Luan Davide Gray in second place and Byron Mohammad Hamzah receives third prize of £2,000. A commission to the value of £8,000 has also been awarded to Hollie Fernando, who will create a photograph that will form part of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

The winning images will be going on display in the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize exhibition from 13 November 2025 until 8 February 2026, alongside a newly unveiled portrait of activist and advocate Lady Phyll by the Taylor Wessing Photographic Commission winner, Jesse Navarre Vos.

Sabina Jaskot-Gill, Senior Curator, Photography at National Portrait Gallery said, “Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize, and to all the exhibiting photographers, who have produced stunning works. Through the contributions of so many remarkable photographers from across the world, and the support of Taylor Wessing, I’m delighted that the NPG can continue to champion contemporary innovations within photographic portraiture.”

Mel by Martina Holmberg – Winner, Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize

Mel from the series The Outside of the Inside, October 2024 © Martina Holmberg

Holmberg’s work focuses on portraying people’s living conditions around the world, often those of women. Her portrait, Mel, is part of her project The Outside of the Inside – a photography series that documents people with facial and physical differences that fall outside of the norm. The series is a tribute to the rich diversity of appearances that exist among us and endeavours to bring more visibility to the discrimination those with physical differences experience.

This is a portrait of Mel, a burn survivor, gazing thoughtfully out of a window. Appearing lost in a daydream, it immediately captures the imagination as viewers wonder what might be on her mind, as well as what her story is. When Mel was two years old, she and her sister were waiting for their mother in the car while she went to make a quick purchase at the convenience store. When she returned, the car was on fire. Tragically Mel’s sister died in the accident; Mel survived with severe burns.

The judges commended this portrait for its combination of compassionate approach and technical skill, noting how the lighting and thoughtful pose draw viewers into the sitter’s remarkable story.

Boss Morris by Hollie Fernando – The Taylor Wessing Photographic Commission

Boss Morris from the series Hoydenish, April 2024 © Hollie Fernando

A form of English folk dance, Morris dancing rings were traditionally male dominated. Now, women make up more than half of its participants. With her portrait, Boss Morris, Fernando wanted to explore the shift in gender equality within Morris dancing. Boss Morris is a young, all female Morris side based in Stroud.

Part of her series, Hoydenish, the photo presents Boss Morris adorned in folkloric dress and make up as they huddle together for a group portrait. Pictured in communion with nature, with flowing hair and long dresses, the image recalls pre-Raphaelite muses and the photo portraits of Julia Margaret Cameron. Their hyper-feminine, traditional costume juxtaposes with the unusual and somewhat feral placement of flora and fauna across their faces. Romantic and soft yet full of energy, the photograph powerfully conveys the spirit, creativity and ambition of the subjects.

The judges commended this image for its striking and otherworldly qualities. They noted how intriguing details draw the eye into the frame, building a mysterious narrative.

We Dare to Hug by Luan Davide Gray – Second Place

We Dare to Hug from the series Call Me by Your Name, March 2025 © Luan Davide Gray

Luan’s current body of work explores the visible invisibility of homelessness. We Dare to Hug is part of a photographic series, Call Me by Your Name, which was created to illustrate that love is love regardless of the form, face or name of those connected by it.

This black and white portrait of two men in their 60s sharing a tender embrace tells a quiet story of trust, love and the passage of time. It captures a moment of mature intimacy that defies conventional representations of physical closeness, as one softly holds the other’s bare chest, gently kissing him on the cheek. Their skin meets and their bodies intersect without barriers, forming a continuous, intimate loop in which the flow of affection drifts equally between giving and receiving. The image evokes sculpture through its composition and in its use of light and shadow to create areas of contrast and connection between the sitters and their interlocking bodies.

The judges noted how it was unusual to see a portrait capturing such tenderness and physicality between older sitters. They felt that the portrait contained a clear and beautiful message, buitably conveyed through the closely crossed, black and white print.

Jaidi Playing by Byron Mohammad Hamzah – Third Place

Jaidi Playing from the series Bunga dan Tembok (The Flower and The Wall: The Stateless Youths of Semporna), April 2025 © Byron Mohammad Hamzah

For the past two years Hamzah has been working as a volunteer art and photography teacher with an NGO based in Sabah, East Malaysia that provides free schooling for stateless and marginalised youth, particularly from the Bajau Laut ethnic group. Working in Semporna, a coastal town with a large enclave of stateless Bajau Laut, Hamzah began documenting the lives of the local youths and their community as part of a collaborative photographic and documentary project.

Amidst such challenging lives, Hamzah wanted to document the innocence of youth and the relationships that form between the children. Play was a crucial expression of these. Jaidi is one of the stateless children who attend the free school where Hamzah teaches. This gentle portrait of Jaidi playing, his head cradled in the hands of a fellow child, captures a moment of tranquillity within a tumultuous and uncertain existence. Despite the injustices they experience, the outcome of the project encapsulates the spirit of these young people; resilient, colourful and full of hope and pride.

The judges were drawn to the way this portrait pictures a moment of youthful connection and play yet invites may questions from the details it excludes.