The Sony World Photography Awards announce the four overall winners of the 2026 competitions: Professional, Open, Student and Youth
- Citlali Fabián receives the prestigious Photographer of the Year title ● The 10 category winners for the Professional competition announced
- Joel Meyerowitz honoured as 2026 Outstanding Contribution to
Photography recipient
- 2026 exhibition opens at Somerset House, London from 17 April – 4 May
LONDON, 16 APRIL 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 her win, Fabián says: ‘It is a massive honour to receive this award for Bilha, Stories of My Sisters, a series that is deeply connected to my heart and my people. I hope this recognition will help to spread the voice not only about my work, but also about the amazing efforts and work of the women in this project. They are truly inspiring and a force of hope for their communities and beyond.’
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
Category Winner Citlali Fabián, Mexico Santiago Mesa, Colombia 2nd Place Pablo Ramos, Mexico 2nd Place Colin Delfosse, Belgium 3rd Place Ben Brooks, United Kingdom 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
Anne Mocaër, France Armin Graca, Bosnia And Herzegovina Dong Wei, China Mainland Daniela Balestrin, Brazil Mário Cruz, Portugal Persia Campbell, Mexico Sandile Ndlovu, South Africa Sarah Ketelaars, United Kingdom Seamus Murphy, Ireland Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru Ye Hyun Kim, Korea, Republic Of Zula Rabikowska, United Kingdom Yris Pablo, Venezuela |
|
| ENVIRONMENT | LANDSCAPE PERSPECTIVES | |
| Category Winner
Isadora Romero, Ecuador 2nd Place Matteo Trevisan, Italy 3rd Place Shane Hynan, Ireland |
Category Winner
Category Winner Dafna Talmor, United Kingdom Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of 2nd Place Andreas Secci, Germany 2nd Place Hayate Kurisu, Japan 3rd Place Michael Blann, United 3rd Place Fredrik Lerneryd, Kingdom 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
Finalists Todd Antony, New Zealand Vilma Taubo, Norway 2nd Place Morgan Otagburuagu, 2nd Place Gargi Sharma, India Nigeria 3rd Place Daniele Vita, Italy 3rd Place Rob Van Thienen, Belgium |
| Shortlist | Shortlist Shortlist |
| Caroline Gutman, United States
Ed Alcock, United Kingdom Hans-Juergen Burkard, Germany János Bődey, Hungary Ron Timehin, United Kingdom |
Alain Schroeder, Belgium
Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy Delfina Pignatiello, Argentina Andrzej Pilichowski-Ragno, Poland Irina Werning, Argentina Carlos Espinosa, Ecuador Luis Henry Agudelo Cano, Colombia Francesco Amorosino, Italy Mariusz Śmiejek, Poland Md Harun Or Rashid, Bangladesh |
| Shaohan Fang, China Mainland
Wei Kuai, China Mainland |
Qiu Yan, China Mainland
Ruston Banal, Philippines Yi Xiao, China Mainland Yi-Hsuan Lin, Taiwan |
| WILDLIFE & NATURE | |
| Category Winner
Will Burrard-Lucas, United Kingdom2nd 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
Cong Lin, Canada Ali Zolghadri, Iran, Islamic Republic Of Dimitry Papkov, United States Anne-Marie Etienne, France Francisco Lima Saraiva, Brazil Ben Mozafari, Canada Jassen Todorov, United States Cameron Wilcox, United States Jim Guerard, United States Chen Zijun, China Mainland Kibong Nam, Korea, Republic Of Chukwudebelu Ojekwe, Nigeria Lisa K. Kuhn, United States Claudia Behrensen, Argentina Manuel Ortiga Castillo, Spain Jay Tang, Netherlands Matteo Redaelli, Italy Maja Schubert, Germany Sascha Schernthaner, Austria Marie-Line Dentler, France Scott Portelli, Australia Sai Ma, China Mainland Shabnam Maleki, Iran, Islamic Republic Of Toshio Ishido, Japan |
|
| LIFESTYLE
Winner |
MOTION NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE 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
Chung Cheong Wong, Singapore Axel Schmidtke, Germany Daichi Shimada, Japan Christoph Oberschneider, Austria Elizabeth Yicheng Shen, Taiwan Easelyn Pineda, Philippines Giacomo Marchione, Italy He Lu, China Mainland Huajin Sun, China Mainland John Winkopp, United States Juan Jacobo Castillo Barrerra, Colombia Lee Jongkee, Korea, Republic Of Kevin Shi, United States Lorea Hausheer, Switzerland Lisa Skelton, Australia Martin Schmid, Austria Samuel Round, United Kingdom Oscar Seguel Mangiola, Chile Scott Portelli, Australia Takeru Marui, Japan Stan Bouman, Netherlands Vishal Naveen, India Tim Munsey, United Kingdom Zdeněk Vošický, Czechia 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 |
Andre Gaspar, Portugal
Alejandra Valenzuela, Chile Arun Saha, India Charlie Clift, United Kingdom Bijoy Krishna Paul, Bangladesh Duncan Elliott, United Kingdom France Leclerc, United States Jaylon Cooper, United States Kathryn Mussallem, Canada Kalista Kemp, South Africa Maciej Lubomski, Poland Kamil Hendrych, Poland Mariana Zilbershteyn, Australia Katarzyna Lakocy, Poland Mattia Massaiu, Italy Livier Miroslava Ultreras, Mexico Otto David Ramírez Villa, Mexico Luis Alejandro Dávila López, Spain Paolo Dellepiane, Italy Maria Gutu, Moldova, Republic Of Rodrigo Paredes, Argentina Mondo Love, United Kingdom Rudi Uran, Slovenia Shuyang Zhuang, China Mainland Tim Pearse, United Kingdom |
| 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
Youth Photographer of the Year Jubair Ahmed Arnob, Bangladesh Philip Kangas, Sweden Counter Foto – A Center for Visual Arts, Bangladesh |
| Shortlist
Shortlist Abdallah Islam, Egypt Aakash Gulzar, India MERC, University of Kashmir, India |
| Chanel Grobler, South Africa
Ayden Feagle, United States Open Window Institute, South Africa |
| Ci Song, China Mainland
Doğa Ergün, Türkiye Drexel University, United States |
| Julian Cabral, Argentina
Jane Mozzi, Argentina Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina Laura Anna Rossa, Belgium Jeirin Anton, Sri Lanka LUCA School of Arts Sint Lukas Brussels, Belgium Matte Dixon, Australia Keira Pereira, Canada Griffith University, Australia Teresa Halbreiter, Germany Riley Shickle, United Kingdom Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany |
| Yulai Xu, China Mainland
Ruohan Wang, China Mainland University of the Arts London, United Kingdom |
| Zifan Zhang, China Mainland
Victor Reichert, France Danish School of Media and Journalism (DJMX), Denmark |