Fire-Breathers & Saree-Clad Skaters: The Best Of The 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

The 2025 Sony World Photography Awards©Ankit Ghosh, India, Shortlist, Youth Competition

Published on:

27 Feb 2025, 7:30 am

3 min read

On Tuesday, February 25, the World Photography Organisation announced the finalists and shortlisted photographers for the 2025 Sony World Photography Awards — one of the most prestigious professional and amateur photography competitions in the world. Now in its 18th year, the Sony World Photography Awards include professional, student, and youth contests, as well as open categories for non-professionals. Organisers say they received almost 420,000 entries across this year’s various competitions.

There are 10 categories in total: Architecture & Design, Creative, Documentary Projects, Environment, Landscape, Perspectives, Portraiture, Sport, Still Life, and Wildlife & Nature. Three photographers are selected as finalists in each category. The Photographer of the Year title is chosen from among the 10 category winners. In addition to receiving a $25,000 cash prize and a range of Sony digital imaging equipment, the Photographer of the Year is offered the opportunity to show their work in a solo presentation at the following year’s Sony World Photography Awards London exhibition. The 2025 Awards also marks the first edition of the Japan Professional Award to “underscore the creativity and dynamism of Japan’s contemporary photography scene.”

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Among the photographers selected as finalists and shortlistees this year are Indian photographers Ankit Ghosh (shortlisted in the Youth competition), Rajeev Gaikwad (winner, National Awards), and Italian photographer Chantal Pinzi (finalist in the Professional competition in the Sports category) for her photoseries about female skaters in India. The 10 category winners and the Photographer of the Year award winner will be revealed at the Sony World Photography Awards ceremony in London, UK, on April 16, 2025.

See some of the images shortlisted for the 2025 Sony World Photography Awards here:

A female skater in India, as featured in the second part of photographer Chantal Pinzi's series "Shred the Patriarchy." © Chantal Pinzi, Italy, Finalist, Professional competition, Sport, 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

India, the world’s most populous country with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, only has a handful of female skaters. From the series ‘Shred the Patriarchy.’© Chantal Pinzi, Italy, Finalist, Professional competition, Sport, 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

Shot in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Nepal, photographer Ivan Ryaskov's series "Trust Me" explores the bond between people and their horses.© Ivan Ryaskov/Sony World Photography Awards 2025

From the Divided Youth of Belfast series.© Toby Binder, Germany, Finalist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

From the series ‘The Journey Home From School’ which explores the tumultuous public lives of young people in the gang-governed Cape Flats area of Cape Town, South Africa, where their daily commute carries the risk of death.© Laura Pannack, United Kingdom, Finalist, Professional competition, Perspectives, 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

Polar bears rely heavily on sea ice for hunting, mating and resting, but face significant challenges due to rising Arctic temperatures. Every November they gather near Churchill, Canada, to wait for Hudson Bay to freeze, so they can venture onto the ice for winter. However, the warming sea has disrupted this routine. In recent years, the ice in Hudson Bay has not solidified until early December, leaving the bears stranded on the land for several weeks with no food source. Driven by hunger, these bears sometimes venture into towns, endangering their residents.

Nowhere To Go by Kevin Shi© Kevin Shi, United States, Finalist, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, 2025 Sony World Photography Awards

A selection of works by finalists and shortlisted photographers will be on display as part of the Sony World Photography Awards 2025 exhibition at the Somerset House in London, UK, from April 17 till May 5, 2025. For tickets and more information, visit www.worldphoto.org.

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