The prestigious Sony World Photography Awards have officially announced their winners and shortlisted photographers for the 2025 edition, marking the competition's 19th year of celebrating exceptional single images captured over the past twelve months. This globally renowned event continues to honour the most compelling and visually striking photographs from around the world.
Record-Breaking Global Participation
This year's competition saw an extraordinary level of international engagement, with more than 430,000 submissions received from over 200 countries and territories. This remarkable figure underscores the competition's vast global reach and its status as a premier platform for photographic talent across diverse cultures and regions.
Category Winners and Shortlisted Entries
Ten category winners have been unveiled in the Open competition, alongside 120 shortlisted photographs. The 2025 categories encompass a wide range of photographic disciplines, including Portraiture, Street Photography, Travel, Natural World & Wildlife, Object, Motion, Lifestyle, Landscape, Creative, and Architecture.
Open Category Winners
Portrait: Ellie Leontiev's 'The Barefoot Volcanologist' captures a volcanic scientist standing on a volcanic rock bomb in Vanuatu.
Street Photography: Italy's Giulia Pissagroia won with 'Between the Lines,' a candid family picture taken in Norway.
Travel: Japan's Megumi Murakami triumphed with an image from the Abare Festival in Japan's Noto region, showing men leaping into a river amid blazing torches in a centuries-old tradition.
Object: Robby Ogilvie's 'Colour Divides' highlights the contrasting bright colours in Cape Town's Bo-Kaap neighbourhood, South Africa.
Natural World & Wildlife: Klaus Hellmich's winning entry features an Arctic fox in Norway bracing against wind and snow.
Motion: Franklin Littlefield of the United States won with an image taken at a concert in Rhode Island.
Lifestyle: Vanta Coda III's portrait 'Charlotte and Dolly' shows a cow and a young woman resting together in a West Virginia barn.
Landscape: Fritz Rumpf of the United States won with a shot of the Sossusvlei dunes in Namibia.
Creative: Siavosh Eljali's 'Lost Hope' serves as an ode to Iranian women.
Architecture: Markus Naarttijärvi's image of a paper mill in Obbola, Sweden, secured the win.
Notable Shortlisted Submissions
The shortlist includes diverse and captivating entries from around the globe:
- Poland's Sebastian Szczepanowski with a Lifestyle category shortlisted shot of friends at a camper van.
- The United Kingdom's Mondo Love shortlisted in Portraiture, featuring a subject with one eye peeping from a plastic cover.
- France's Marie-Line Dentler with a vibrant blue shortlisted entry in the Creative category.
- Switzerland's Lorea Hausheer shortlisted in Motion with an image of a horse.
- Tim Munsey of the United States shortlisted in Natural World & Wildlife with an eagle photograph.
- The UK's Samuel Round shortlisted in Natural World & Wildlife with a stag image.
- Scott Portelli shortlisted in Natural World & Wildlife with another successful entry.
- Mexico's Livier Miroslava Ultreas shortlisted in Portraiture.
- Australia's Lisa Skelton shortlisted in Natural World & Wildlife.
Upcoming Awards Ceremony and Grand Prize
One of the ten Open category winners will be named Open Photographer of the Year at an awards ceremony in London on April 16. The overall winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a Sony Digital Imaging equipment kit, alongside the prestigious title. This event will culminate the competition, celebrating the finest photographic achievements of the year.
