The 2026 Sony World Photography Awards Open Shortlist

From putting landscapes to intimate portraits, these single pictures characterize among the greatest international pictures from the previous 12 months

The Sony World Photography Awards has formally unveiled the ten class winners and shortlisted photographers for the 2026 Open competitors. Now in its nineteenth 12 months, the competitors celebrates the distinctive energy of the one picture to pique curiosity, spark the creativeness, and reveal a wider narrative about our world.

The choice displays an unimaginable variety of imaginative and prescient, that includes every little thing from huge, putting landscapes to considerate portraits and charming – typically humorous – scenes from the pure world. This 12 months’s shortlist was drawn from a staggering pool of expertise, with greater than 430,000 pictures submitted throughout all competitions from over 200 international locations and territories.

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This 12 months’s Open class winners are:

Architecture

Markus Naarttijärvi (Sweden) for his picture of the paper mill in Obbola, Sweden, surrounded by layers of shadows, concrete and clouds, on a darkish November night time.

Creative

Siavosh Ejlali (Iran) for Lost Hope, a fastidiously composed portrait, utilizing staged and symbolic components in a poignant ode to Iranian girls.

In this picture, the photographer describes how the black plastic overlaying many of the lady’s face is an indication of ‘dark thoughts and the imposition of beliefs’, whereas the purple balloon falling to the bottom might be ‘her lost hope’. The background evokes Iranian city society, which has been the setting for the latest demonstrations involving Iranian girls, noting that ‘the red clothes and lips are the bloody price that women have paid.’

Landscape

J Fritz Rumpf (USA) for Shapes and Patterns of the Desert, a examine of the geometric composition and the wealthy, heat colors of the Sossusvlei dunes in Namibia.

Lifestyle

Vanta Coda III (USA) for the portrait of Charlotte and her cow Dolly, preserving cool within the cow barn between occasions on the one centesimal State Fair of West Virginia in Lewisburg. Outside, the temperature is upwards of 32°C.

Motion

Franklin Littlefield (USA) for his movement blur shot of a punk live performance in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, capturing the dynamism of the second.

Natural World & Wildlife

Klaus Hellmich (Germany) for {a photograph} of a blue arctic fox within the Varager Peninsula, Norway. The fox is caught in a blizzard and stands alone braving the wind and snow.

Object

Robby Ogilvie (United Kingdom) for Colour Divides, depicting the juxtaposition of a blue automobile towards vibrant inexperienced and pink buildings of the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood in Cape Town, South Africa.

Portraiture

Elle Leontiev (Australia) for The Barefoot Volcanologist, a putting portrait of Phillip of Tanna, an internationally recognised, self-taught volcano scientist, standing atop a volcanic rock bomb on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu. Tanna has collaborated with worldwide scientists to doc details about Vanuatu’s volcanos. In this picture he poses in a gifted lava go well with on the ash plaine of Yasur

Street pictures

Giulia Pissagroia (Italy) for Between the Lines, a candid, comedic black-and-white {photograph} of a household at Ørnevegen (Eagle Road), Norway, displaying their humorous facial expressions as they admire the view.

Travel

Megumi Murakami (Japan) for a glowing {photograph} capturing the full of life Abare Festival, the place males leap into the river as torches blaze, a standard celebration handed down for over three centuries within the Noto area of Japan.

The total Open Photographer of the Year will probably be revealed throughout a gala ceremony in London on 16 April. Along with the title, the winner will obtain a US$5,000 money prize and a spread of Sony Digital Imaging gear.

For these desirous to see the work in individual, a number of the successful and shortlisted pictures will probably be on show at Somerset House in London from 17 April to 4 May 2026. Following the London premiere, the exhibition is ready to tour numerous worldwide places.