‘It’s an enormous, futuristic area with huge skylights’: Ali Zolghadri’s greatest cellphone image | Photography

The Iran Mall in Tehran is the biggest shopping center on the planet. Ali Zolghadri recollects it being pretty empty the day he took this picture, 4 months earlier than the US and Israel launched their struggle on Iran. “This particular spot is in the central atrium. It’s a huge, futuristic space with sweeping curved lines, layered architecture, metallic surfaces and massive skylights,” Tehran-born Zolghadri says. “The clean geometry and the way light moves through the structure really caught my eye. It’s a public space, but because of its scale, it often feels quiet and almost otherworldly.” The shot, a composite of three pictures, was shortlisted within the inventive class of the 2026 Sony World Photography awards.

“As a fine art photographer, editing is an essential part of my process,” Zolghadri says. “Every element in the final composition was photographed by me, but some unnecessary elements were removed, and the frames were carefully blended in Photoshop. I don’t use AI in my workflow; everything is captured and edited manually by me. The post-production process is a continuation of the creative act, not a shortcut.”

Zolghardi saved the passerby within the white shirt so as to add a way of scale to the expansive area. “For me, fine art photography is not only about capturing a moment, but about constructing meaning,” he says. “When I look at this image, I feel a mixture of admiration for the architectural structure and awareness of the human vulnerability within it.”