See the Best of Nearly Half a Million Entries to the Sony World Photography Awards

For its 19th edition, the Sony World Photography Awards welcomed over 430,000 submissions for its Open competition from photographers in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe. Ten categories, ranging from portraiture to landscapes to travel, encompass the staggering breadth and beauty of nature and society captured throughout 2025.

The contest has announced the category winners, including Robby Ogilvie’s vibrant composition of a vintage car in front of colorful buildings in the Bo-Kaap neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa, and Klaus Hellmich’s portrait of an arctic fox braving a blizzard.

A vintage blue car is parked in front of bright green and pink buildings under a bright blue sky — © Robby Ogilvie, United Kingdom. Winner, Open Competition, Object

“The Open competition recognises the best single images taken in the last year,
celebrating the power of an individual image to pique curiosity, spark imagination, and reveal a wider narrative,” says a statement.

The top award of Open Photographer of the Year will be announced on April 16 in London, the day after which the contest’s exhibition opens at Somerset House, where it remains on view through May 4.

A seal swims in the water, captured from halfway above and halfway below the surface — © Lisa Skelton, Australia. Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife

A giant religious statue in the background of a row of houses — © ChenYu Hsieh, Taiwan. Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel

A child sits on horseback wearing a hat and traditional Andean garments along with other individuals on horseback — © Brian Arancibia, Chile. Shortlist, Open Competition, Lifestyle

A seemingly endless sea of red houses viewed from above — © Liping Jiang, China Mainland. Shortlist, Open Competition, Travel

An arctic fox stands amid blowing snow in a blizzard — © Klaus Hellmich, Germany. Winner, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife

A portrait of eight African American young people in front of a giant American flag, some of whom are making funny faces — © Jaylon Cooper, United States. Shortlist, Open Competition, Portraiture

A vast desert landscape in South America with a giant crescent moon in the sky — © Francisco Lima, Saraiva, Brazil. Shortlist, Open Competition, Landscape

Three women in rugby uniforms stand on a pitch and nurse their babies — © Anita Clark and Paul Wenham-Clarke, United Kingdom. Shortlist, Open Competition, Lifestyle

A woman relaxes on the shoulder of her black cow in a barn — © Vanta Coda III, United States. Winner, Open Competition, Lifestyle

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