Thanks to a great calendar of prestigious global photography competitions and smaller contests, we see hundreds of incredible images every year. 2025 has again given us plenty to marvel over, from rare wildlife and majestic landscapes to emotional photojournalism stories and impactful portraits.
At the very start of the year, we saw Jerome Brouillet’s ‘Golden Moment’, of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina, take home the overall World Sports Photography Awards 2025 prize. Having gone viral last year online during the Paris Olympics, I’m sure you remember it!
After a year of ten diverse and exciting rounds of competition, in March Lynn Fraser won the overall prize to conclude Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024, with Lucy Monckton winning Young Amateur Photographer of the Year.
Later in the year, Canadian photographer Liron Gertsman won Bird Photographer of the Year 2025 with an image that took 18 months of planning to make, for a moment that lasted less than five seconds. ‘The Frigatebird and the Diamond Ring’, captured the moment that a frigatebird was silhouetted against a total solar eclipse.
A firm favourite of mine is from the World Sight Day photography competition winner, ‘Shakul’s Eyes’ by Marijn Fidder. There are so many highlights, and the images on the following pages are just some of the wonderful winning images from this year. I hope that they inspire you to enter your own photographs into a competition in 2026!
Mahmoud Ajjour, Aged Nine by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times – World Press Photo of the Year 2025
Winner of the AP Photojournalism award at this year’s AP Awards, Samar Abu Elouf was evacuated from Gaza in December 2023 and now lives in the same apartment complex as Mahmoud Ajjour in Doha, where she has documented the few badly wounded Gazans who have made it out for treatment. Mahmoud was severely injured while fleeing an Israeli attack in Gaza City in March 2024. After he turned back to urge his family onward, an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other. The portrait powerfully expresses Mahmoud’s suffering and resilience. Now navigating his new reality, he is learning to play games on his phone, write, and open doors with his feet.
The Andromeda Core by Weitang Liang, Qi Yang and Chuhong Yu – Winner, Galaxies category and ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025
This collaborative image showcases the core of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in exceptional detail, captured using a long focal-length telescope. Taking advantage of the excellent seeing conditions at AstroCamp Observatory, Nerpio, Spain, the photographers focused on revealing the intricate structure of the galaxy’s central region and its surrounding stellar population.
The ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition is currently on at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, until 3 August 2026.
Mel by Martina Holmberg – Winner, Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2025
Martina’s portrait, Mel, is part of her project The Outside of the Inside – a series that documents people with facial and physical differences that fall outside of ‘the norm’ and also endeavours to bring more visibility to the discrimination they experience.
Mel is a burn survivor and here we see her gazing thoughtfully out of a window. When she was two years old, Mel and her sister were waiting for their mother in the car while she went to make a quick purchase at the convenience store. When her mother returned, the car was on fire. Tragically, Mel’s sister died in the accident; Mel survived with severe burns.
Appearing lost in a daydream, the lighting and Mel’s thoughtful pose draws the viewer into her remarkable story. The combination of compassion and technical skill is commendable. The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize exhibition is on at National Portrait Gallery until 8 February 2026.
Ghost Town Visitor by Wim van den Heever – Winner, Urban Wildlife category and Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025
In October, Wim van den Heever was awarded the most prestigious prize in wildlife photography. Wim’s winning picture is a haunting scene of a rare brown hyena among the remains of a long-abandoned diamond mining town in Kolmanskop, Namibia. After first noticing hyena tracks nearby, Wim chose this spot for his camera trap. It took him ten years of attempts to finally get this one image of the brown hyena in a well-constructed composition.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 61 exhibition is currently on show at Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, running until 12 July 2026.
Tbourida La Chute by Olivier Unia – 1st Place, Motion Category (Open) and Open Photographer of the Year, Sony World Photography Awards 2025
This striking image captures the danger and excitement of a rider being thrown from their mount during a ‘tbourida’, which is a traditional Moroccan equestrian performance. Typically, photos of the ‘tbourida’ usually show the riders firing their rifles. Olivier has been working on this project for the past two years and wanted to show other sides to the event, such as how dangerous it can be when a rider is thrown from their mount.
The Open category of the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards is open for entries until 6 January 2026, 13:00 GMT. You can get a bonus 20 extra free entries with the code APHOTO20.
Little Buckaroo by Michael Woodward – Black and White category winner, International Amateur Photographer of the Year 2025
To kickstart International Amateur Photographer of the Year (APOY) 2025, our first-round category was Black and White. Our first winner of this year’s competition was this image by Michael of a young Junior Rodeo participant during mutton busting. I love the action captured in this moment, combined with the boy’s expression, the motion blur and setting.
The Urban Life category of APOY is currently open until 5 January 2026, with the final category, Open, running from 6 January to 2 February. The overall results of the 2025 competition will be announced in spring 2026. Enter your photos here.
The Gorgeous Ring by Geshuang Chen, Shuchang Dong – Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year 2025
Taken at a drizzly Lugu Lake in China’s Yunnan Province, engineer and astronomy photographer Geshuang flew a drone to a height of 500 metres to pass through the rain curtain. With the lens facing away from the sun, Geshuang captured this remarkable image of a complete circular rainbow. Full-circle rainbows are much less common than rainbows we regularly see. From the ground, the lower half of the circle is usually hidden below the horizon. From high above with the sun behind and rainfall ahead, it’s possible to see the entire circle.
Gangster Granny by Jack Currie – The AOP Emerging Talent Award
This year marked 40 years of the prestigious AOP Awards, reflecting the AOP’s commitment to celebrating every aspect of the photography industry. The AOP Emerging Talent Award celebrates the best in the new wave of photographers and image makers. ‘Gangster Granny’ is a striking and humorous tribute to Jack’s late relative, Margaret Currie, and part of a digitally altered creative series that sees Margaret participating in ‘dangerous’ activities such as skateboarding and speeding on a motorbike.
Jack uses doubles and Photoshop to bring the images to life and he has also received accolades from Portrait of Britain and the IPA for this work.
The Elderly Having Delicious Food by Xiaoling Li – Winner, Food for the Family category and overall World Food Photography Awards 2025 sponsored by Tenderstem® Bimi® Broccolini winner
Xiaoling’s image was taken on an early spring afternoon in Shuangliu Ancient Town, Sichuan Province, China. Five elderly people sit together, eating the famous Sichuan snack spring rolls. They are ‘setting up a Dragon Gate formation’ – an expression used in China to refer to neighbourhood friends coming together to chat and share stories. I can smell the spring rolls and feel their laughter through the image.
The 2026 World Food Photography Awards sponsored by Tenderstem® Bimi® Broccolini is open for entries until 8 February 2026.
Clash of the Titans by Svetlana Ivanenko – Close Up Photographer of the Year 2025
For a brief period during the summer, stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) engage in fierce battles for mating rights. These elusive creatures inhabit oak forests, typically making the beetles hard to locate. Svetlana witnessed this battle for dominance in the Voronezh region of Russia. The resulting image, which is beautifully lit and has strong contrast, oozes with atmosphere and power.
More reading:
- See the top 10 best animal photographs!
- Hilarious dancing gorilla wins top prize at Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards
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