Sony World Photography Awards Overall Winners 2026

The Sony World Photography Awards announced today the 2026 overall winners at a gala ceremony in London, bringing together leading figures in the contemporary photography world to honour this year’s winners and their achievements. The prestigious Photographer of the Year 2026 title was awarded to Citlali Fabián for the series Bilha, Stories of my Sisters. Citlali Fabián is a visual artist from the Yalalteca Indigenous community in Mexico currently based in London, who uses photography to explore ways of addressing identity and its connections with territory, migration, and community bonds. Fabián receives a $25,000 (USD) cash prize, a range of Sony Digital Imaging equipment, and the opportunity to present a solo showcase at the Sony World Photography Awards 2027 exhibition.

Fabián was selected from the 10 Professional competition category winners, who were announced at today’s ceremony, alongside the 2nd and 3rd place finalists in each category. The evening’s programme additionally recognised the overall winners of the Awards’ Open, Student and Youth competitions. Also honoured during the course of the evening was this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography recipient, celebrated photographer Joel Meyerowitz.

Now in their 19th edition, the Sony World Photography Awards set the standard for international photography recognition; an unmissable moment in the global cultural calendar that continues to discover, celebrate and elevate the photographers shaping our visual world. Across this year’s competitions, over 430,000 images from over 200 countries and territories were submitted. Each edition of the Awards brings into focus stories and images with profound resonance, offering an authoritative perspective on the ever-evolving art of photography.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2026 exhibition is on display at Somerset House, London from 17 April – 4 May, presenting over 300 prints and hundreds of images in digital displays, as well as a special presentation by Joel Meyerowitz.

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Citlali Fabián wins for her project Bilha, Stories of my Sisters, which blends carefully crafted photographic portraits with digital illustrations. The series tells the stories of iconic women from Indigenous communities across Oaxaca, Mexico, whose advocacy work generates meaningful impact across a range of spheres: in law, linguistics, the arts and ecology, among others. Conceived as a project to inspire young girls with positive role models, and created through close, sustained collaboration with the women in the photographs, the images in this series highlight their achievements as well as their lived experiences and motivations. The digital drawings applied to the portraits comprise symbols and motifs that reflect the sitters’ personal trajectories and celebrate their cultural heritage. 

Commenting on Citlali Fabián’s winning project, Monica Allende, Chair of the 2026 Professional jury says: ‘Through her work, Citlali Fabián reflects on urgent questions of visibility and representation. In many Indigenous cultures, stories are told collectively, shaped by conversation and lived experience rather than by a single voice. Fabián brings this spirit into her photographic practice by working closely with each woman she portrays. Her subjects are not simply photographed, they are active participants in shaping how their stories are told. Through this process, the artist highlights the presence, strength, and achievements of women who have often been overlooked, giving them the visibility and recognition they have long deserved within the wider social and cultural landscape.’

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY WINNERS

The winning series in the 2026 Professional competition have been selected by a panel of expert judges. Each of the winning photographers displays an original approach to storytelling and outstanding technical ability.

All of the category winners receive Sony Digital Imaging equipment, and were invited to participate in Insights, a day of specialised sessions with industry experts in London. To learn more about this year’s Professional winners and finalists, please visit worldphoto.org.

This year’s winners are:

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

WINNER: Joy Saha (Bangladesh) for Homes of Haor

Finalists: 2nd place André Tezza (Brazil); 3rd place Chen Liang (China Mainland) 

CREATIVE

WINNER: Citlali Fabián (Mexico) for Bilha, Stories of My Sisters

Finalists: 2nd place Pablo Ramos (Mexico); 3rd place Ben Brooks (United Kingdom)

 DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS

WINNER: Santiago Mesa (Colombia) for Under the Shadow of Coca

Finalists: 2nd place Colin Delfosse (Belgium); 3rd place Alexandre Bagdassarian (France)

ENVIRONMENT

WINNER: Isadora Romero (Ecuador) for Notes on How to Build a Forest

Finalists: 2nd place Matteo Trevisan (Italy); 3rd place Shane Hynan (Ireland)

LANDSCAPE

WINNER: Dafna Talmor (United Kingdom) for Constructed Landscapes

Finalists: 2nd place Andreas Secci (Germany), 3rd place Michael Blann (United Kingdom)

PERSPECTIVES

WINNER: Seungho Kim (Republic of Korea) for Sunny Side Up: A Portrait of the Most Average K-Parenting Today

Finalists: 2nd place Hayate Kurisu (Japan); 3rd place Fredrik Lerneryd (Sweden)

PORTRAITURE

WINNER: Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni (Italy) for The Faithful

Finalists: 2nd place Marisa Reichert (Germany); 3rd place Federico Borella (Italy) 

SPORT

WINNER: Todd Antony (New Zealand) for Buzkashi

Finalists: 2nd place Morgan Otagburuagu (Nigeria); 3rd place Rob Van Thienen (Belgium)

STILL LIFE

WINNER: Vilma Taubo (Norway) for Talking Without Speaking

Finalists: 2nd place Gargi Sharma (India); 3rd place Daniele Vita (Italy)

WILDLIFE & NATURE

WINNER: Will Burrard-Lucas (United Kingdom) for Crossing Point

Finalists: 2nd place Anita Pouchard Serra (Argentina); 3rd place Wolfgang Duerr (Germany)

OPEN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

The Open competition is a celebration of the photographic image in all its power; standout images are chosen for the way they distil a moment into something that resonates far beyond it. The Open Photographer of the Year 2026 is Elle Leontiev (Australia), who receives a $5,000 (USD) cash prize and Sony Digital Imaging equipment.

Leontiev wins for The Barefoot Volcanologist, a striking portrait of Phillip Yamah, an internationally recognised, self-taught volcano scientist, standing atop a volcanic rock bomb on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu.

Commenting on her win, Elle Leontiev says: ‘In 2018 I stood in a London gallery at the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition and dreamed of being featured. Years later, my dream has become real. Seeing my work win has filled me with overwhelming gratitude and tears of joy. It’s a reminder that quiet dreams, nurtured and pursued with heart, can come true.’

STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

The brief for this year’s Student competition was Together, inviting students of photography across the world to enter a series on the theme of togetherness, looking at the concept in its broadest sense. The Student Photographer of the Year 2026 is Jubair Ahmed Arnob (Bangladesh, Counter Foto – A Center for Visual Arts). His series The Place Where I Used To Play, visually narrates the changing landscape of the Green Model Town in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where urban development is altering daily life and the suburban topography.

Commenting on his win, Jubair Ahmed Arnob says: ‘Winning the Sony World Photography Award feels like a dream come true — years of passion, memories, and stories finally being seen and recognised. It fills me with gratitude, joy, and a renewed drive to keep capturing the world through my lens.’

YOUTH PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

The 2026 Youth competition invited all photographers aged 19 and under to respond to the Open Call and share their best images of the past year. The Youth Photographer of the Year 2026 is Philip Kangas (Sweden, 16 years old). He receives the award for Saving History from the Flames, a remarkable image of two firefighters as they carry an artwork out of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm during a fire, capturing the action and collaboration of the moment.

Commenting on his win, Philip Kangas says: ‘I was very surprised when I heard that I was a winner in this year’s Sony World Photography Awards. I am very happy, as it gives confirmation to my hard work.’

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY 

The prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Photography 2026 is awarded to acclaimed photographer Joel Meyerowitz. Meyerowitz’s practice is marked by his observant eye, finely tuned to the currents and textures of life. His work shows a fascination with life happening around him, and a remarkable instinct for framing images that are at once revealing and enigmatic, imbued with beauty and wit.

A selection of works by Meyerowitz, including excerpts from his series Europa (1966-1967) and two new artist videos, are on view at Somerset House as part of the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition, offering an insight into the spirit and curiosity that has characterised his practice for the past six decades.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION CATEGORY WINNERS AND SHORTLIST

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN	CREATIVE	DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS
Category Winner Joy Saha, Bangladesh 2nd Place André Tezza, Brazil 3rd Place Chen Liang, China Mainland	Photographer of the Year Citlali Fabián, Mexico 2nd Place Pablo Ramos, Mexico 3rd Place Ben Brooks, United Kingdom	Category Winner Santiago Mesa, Colombia 2nd Place Colin Delfosse, Belgium 3rd Place Alexandre Bagdassarian, France
Shortlist	Shortlist	Shortlist

Cristopher Rogel Blanquet Chavez & Daniel Ochoa de Olza, Mexico Farshid Rahimi Kalahroudi, Iran, Islamic Republic Of Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy Mathieu Moindron, France Peter Lipton, Netherlands Stephan Zirwes, Germany Tomasz Kawecki, Poland

Abbey Hepner, United States Armin Graca, Bosnia And Herzegovina Daniela Balestrin, Brazil Persia Campbell, Mexico Sarah Ketelaars, United Kingdom Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru Zula Rabikowska, United Kingdom

Anne Mocaër, France Dong Wei, China Mainland Mário Cruz, Portugal Sandile Ndlovu, South Africa Seamus Murphy, Ireland Ye Hyun Kim, Korea, Republic Of Yris Pablo, Venezuela

 

ENVIRONMENT	LANDSCAPE	PERSPECTIVES
Category Winner Isadora Romero, Ecuador 2nd Place Matteo Trevisan, Italy 3rd Place Shane Hynan, Ireland	Category Winner Dafna Talmor, United Kingdom 2nd Place Andreas Secci, Germany 3rd Place Michael Blann, United Kingdom	Category Winner Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of 2nd Place Hayate Kurisu, Japan 3rd Place Fredrik Lerneryd, Sweden
Shortlist	Shortlist	Shortlist

Borja Abargues, Spain Eduardo Valenzuela, Ecuador Hossein Sadri Nobarzad, Iran, Islamic Republic Of Jacob Paley, United States Mahé Elipe, France Tommy Trenchard, United Kingdom Yi-Hsuan Lin, Taiwan

Daniel Clavería, Chile David Baxter III, United States Florian Ruiz, France Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist, Sweden Liam Man, United Kingdom Nathalie Ericson, Sweden Peter Franck, Germany

Brian Mena Laureano, Mexico Camille Nivollet, France Dara Petrova, Ukraine Kanyuan Li, China Mainland María Fernanda García Freire, Ecuador Maria Fynsk Norup, Denmark

 

PORTRAITURE	SPORT	STILL LIFE
Category Winner Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy 2nd Place Marisa Reichert, Germany 3rd Place Federico Borella, Italy	Category Winner Todd Antony, New Zealand 2nd Place Morgan Otagburuagu, Nigeria 3rd Place Rob Van Thienen, Belgium	Category Winner Vilma Taubo, Norway 2nd Place Gargi Sharma, India 3rd Place Daniele Vita, Italy
Shortlist	Shortlist	Shortlist

Caroline Gutman, United States Ed Alcock, United Kingdom Hans-Juergen Burkard, Germany János Bődey, Hungary Ron Timehin, United Kingdom Shaohan Fang, China Mainland Wei Kuai, China Mainland

Alain Schroeder, Belgium Delfina Pignatiello, Argentina Irina Werning, Argentina Luis Henry Agudelo Cano, Colombia Mariusz Śmiejek, Poland Qiu Yan, China Mainland Yi Xiao, China Mainland

Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy Andrzej Pilichowski-Ragno, Poland Carlos Espinosa, Ecuador Francesco Amorosino, Italy Md Harun Or Rashid, Bangladesh Ruston Banal, Philippines Yi-Hsuan Lin, Taiwan

 

 

WILDLIFE & NATURE
Category Winner Will Burrard-Lucas, United Kingdom 2nd Place Anita Pouchard Serra, Argentina 3rd Place Wolfgang Duerr, Germany
Shortlist

Benjamin Pawlica, France Fei Xin, China Mainland Hugo Hebbe, France James Ross, United Kingdom Loren Elliott, United States Marcus Westberg, Sweden Sunita Mandal, United States

 

OPEN COMPETITION CATEGORY WINNERS AND SHORTLIST

 

ARCHITECTURE	CREATIVE	LANDSCAPE
Winner	Winner	Winner
Markus Naarttiijärvi, Sweden	Siavosh Ejlali, Iran, Islamic Republic Of	J Fritz Rumpf, United States
Shortlist	Shortlist	Shortlist

Carlo Yuen, Hong Kong Catherine Wang, United States Eng Tong Tan, Malaysia Falkmar Ameringer, Austria Hanjun Zhang, China Mainland Hui Liang, China Mainland Klaus Lenzen, Germany Kong Zhongxiang, China Mainland MD Tanveer Hassan Rohan, United States Qingsheng Sun, China Mainland Ramatis Haywanon da Costa, Brazil Utshaho Gupta, United States

Abdulla AL-Mushaifri, Oman Ali Zolghadri, Iran, Islamic Republic Of Anne-Marie Etienne, France Ben Mozafari, Canada Cameron Wilcox, United States Chen Zijun, China Mainland Chukwudebelu Ojekwe, Nigeria Claudia Behrensen, Argentina Jay Tang, Netherlands Maja Schubert, Germany Marie-Line Dentler, France Sai Ma, China Mainland Shabnam Maleki, Iran, Islamic Republic Of Toshio Ishido, Japan

Cong Lin, Canada Dimitry Papkov, United States Francisco Lima Saraiva, Brazil Jassen Todorov, United States Jim Guerard, United States Kibong Nam, Korea, Republic Of Lisa K. Kuhn, United States Manuel Ortiga Castillo, Spain Matteo Redaelli, Italy Sascha Schernthaner, Austria Scott Portelli, Australia

 

LIFESTYLE	MOTION	NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE
Winner	Winner	Winner
Vanta Coda III, United States	Franklin Littlefield, United States	Klaus Hellmich, Germany
Shortlist	Shortlist	Shortlist

Andreas Kanellopoulos, Greece Anita Clark & Paul Wenham-Clarke, United Kingdom Brian Arancibia, Chile Camila de Medeiros Fantinel, Brazil Charlie Clift, United Kingdom Ethan Parker, United Kingdom Hernan Jaramillo, Colombia Mustafa Shorbaji, Egypt Sebastian Szczepanowski, Poland Tomek Kozlowski, Poland

Andre Magarao, Brazil Axel Schmidtke, Germany Christoph Oberschneider, Austria Easelyn Pineda, Philippines He Lu, China Mainland John Winkopp, United States Lee Jongkee, Korea, Republic Of Lorea Hausheer, Switzerland Martin Schmid, Austria Oscar Seguel Mangiola, Chile Takeru Marui, Japan Vishal Naveen, India Zdeněk Vošický, Czechia

Chung Cheong Wong, Singapore Daichi Shimada, Japan Elizabeth Yicheng Shen, Taiwan Giacomo Marchione, Italy Huajin Sun, China Mainland Juan Jacobo Castillo Barrerra, Colombia Kevin Shi, United States Lisa Skelton, Australia Samuel Round, United Kingdom Scott Portelli, Australia Stan Bouman, Netherlands Tim Munsey, United Kingdom Vishal Naveen, India Wouter van Hofwegen, Netherlands

 

OBJECT	PORTRAITURE	STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Winner	Open Photographer of the Year	Winner
Robby Ogilvie, United Kingdom	Elle Leontiev, Australia	Giulia Pissagroia, Italy
Shortlist	Shortlist	Shortlist

David Hoekje, United States Glen Serbin, United States Guglielmo Mangilli, Italy Hanhoon Lee, Korea, Republic of Jan Goeke, Germany Leonel Costa, Angola Lesley Ormrod, United Kingdom Olivier Koestel, France Sarah Barlow, United Kingdom Soomin Park, Korea, Republic Of Yuliy Vasilev, Bulgaria

Alejandra Valenzuela, Chile Charlie Clift, United Kingdom Duncan Elliott, United Kingdom Jaylon Cooper, United States Kalista Kemp, South Africa Kamil Hendrych, Poland Katarzyna Lakocy, Poland Livier Miroslava Ultreras, Mexico Luis Alejandro Dávila López, Spain Maria Gutu, Moldova, Republic Of Mondo Love, United Kingdom Shuyang Zhuang, China Mainland Tim Pearse, United Kingdom

Andre Gaspar, Portugal Arun Saha, India Bijoy Krishna Paul, Bangladesh France Leclerc, United States Kathryn Mussallem, Canada Maciej Lubomski, Poland Mariana Zilbershteyn, Australia Mattia Massaiu, Italy Otto David Ramírez Villa, Mexico Paolo Dellepiane, Italy Rodrigo Paredes, Argentina Rudi Uran, Slovenia

 

TRAVEL

Winner

Megumi Murakami, Japan

Shortlist

ChenYu Hsieh, Taiwan David Sykes, United Kingdom Filip Hrebenda, Slovakia Jet Huynh, Vietnam John Edwards, United States Liping Jiang, China Mainland Marie-Line Dentler, France Megan Tavarez, United States Sawyer Alcázar-Hagen, United States Swati Biswas Guha, India

 

STUDENT & YOUTH COMPETITIONS CATEGORY WINNERS AND SHORTLIST

STUDENT COMPETITION	YOUTH COMPETITION
Student Photographer of the Year Jubair Ahmed Arnob, Bangladesh Counter Foto – A Center for Visual Arts, Bangladesh	Youth Photographer of the Year Philip Kangas, Sweden
Shortlist   Aakash Gulzar, India MERC, University of Kashmir, India	Shortlist   Abdallah Islam, Egypt
Chanel Grobler, South Africa Open Window Institute, South Africa	Ayden Feagle, United States
Ci Song, China Mainland Drexel University, United States	Doğa Ergün, Türkiye
Julian Cabral, Argentina Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina	Jane Mozzi, Argentina
Laura Anna Rossa, Belgium LUCA School of Arts Sint Lukas Brussels, Belgium	Jeirin Anton, Sri Lanka
Matte Dixon, Australia Griffith University, Australia	Keira Pereira, Canada
Teresa Halbreiter, Germany Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany	Riley Shickle, United Kingdom
Yulai Xu, China Mainland University of the Arts London, United Kingdom	Ruohan Wang, China Mainland

Zifan Zhang, China Mainland Danish School of Media and Journalism (DJMX), Denmark

Victor Reichert, France