Over 430,000 entries later: Sony World Photography Awards 2026 crowns its winners

The prestigious Sony World Photography Awards have unveiled their 2026 winners, whittling down greater than 430,000 submissions from over 200 international locations and territories.

This 12 months’s prime honour – Photographer of the Year – was awarded to Citlali Fabián for her deeply shifting sequence Bilha, Stories of my Sisters, a undertaking exploring id, neighborhood and Indigenous ladies’s experiences in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Fabián, who’s from the Yalalteca Indigenous neighborhood and at present primarily based in London, makes use of a mix of portraiture and digital illustration to focus on the achievements and lived experiences of girls throughout a number of fields – from legislation to ecology.

Reacting to the win, she stated: “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.”

Alongside Fabián’s recognition, the awards additionally celebrated winners throughout the Professional, Open, Student and Youth classes – all of which are actually on show at Somerset House in London from 17 April to 4 May.

Here are this 12 months’s winners:

‘Bilha, Stories of my Sisters’ by Citlali Fabián (Photographer of the Year)

‘The Place Where I Used to Play’ by Jubair Ahmed Arnob (Student Photographer of the Year)

‘The Barefoot Volcanologist’ by Elle Leontiev (Open Photographer of the Year)

‘Saving History from the Flames’ by Philip Kangas (Youth Photographer of the Year)

‘Homes of Haor’ by Joy Saha (Architecture & Design winner)

‘Under the Shadow of Coca’ by Santiago Mesa (Documentary Projects winner)

‘Notes on How to Build a Forest’ by Isadora Romero (Environment winner)

‘Sunny Side Up: A Portrait of the Most Average Ok-Parenting Today’ by Seungho Kim (Perspectives winners)

‘Buzkashi’ by Todd Antony (Sport winner)

‘Talking Without Speaking’ by Vilma Taubo (Still Life winner)

‘Crossing Point’ by Will Burrard-Lucas (Wildlife & Nature winner)

You can see the successful works from the Sony World Photography Awards at Somerset House in London from 17 April to 4 May 2026.