Sony’s 2026 Picks for the World’s Best Photos
And projects we loved from this year’s World Photography Award winners.
Summary
- Sony announced the winners of the 2026 World Photography Awards
- Standout titles include Citlali Fabián (Photographer of the Year), Elle Leontiev (Open Photographer of the Year), Jubair Ahmed Arnob (Student Photographer of the Year) and Philip Kangas (Youth Photographer of the Year)
The winners for this year’s Sony World Photography Awards have arrived. The 2026 victors hail from a pool of over 430,000 images from 200 countries and territories, and the final lineup represents our best, from under-19’s to pros, in a stunning visual celebration of humanity’s many textures.
Citlali Fabián took home the Photographer of the Year title, the competition’s highest honor, for her series “Bilha, Stories of my Sisters.” Overlaying digital illustration and portraiture, the series is an ode to the women of the Yalalteca Indigenous community in southern Mexico, emphasizing their achievements and experiences, with hopes to inspire their next generation.
Other overall winners include Australian photographer Elle Leontiev, who secured the Open category win for “The Barefoot Volcanologist,” and Student Photographer of the Year, Jubai Ahmed Arnob of Bangladesh, for his dreamy studies of landscapes in the face of urban erasure in “The Place Where I Used to Play.” Meanwhile, Philip Kangas from Sweden took the cake in the Youth category for a journalistic shot of firefighters saving a painting from a fire at Stockholm’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
Beyond the top spots, gripping compositions and serene, moving scenes caught our eye across the competition. These stories include Documentary Project’s winner Santiago Mesa and his investigation into coca farmers, and Todd Antony’s shots of Tajikistan’s ancient horse-riding sport, buzkashi, which won in Sports. A cinematic morning capture of Myanmar’s young fishermen from Kyaw Zayar Lin and an editorial-ready black-and-white duet portrait by Obaroh Oghenemairo, both of whom won National Awards for Myanmar and Nigeria respectively, also don’t miss.
Over 300 winning and shortlisted works from the competition are now on view at London’s Somerset House through May 4. Head to the organization’s website to check out the galleries for yourself and learn more about how to enter next year’s contest.
Somerset House
Strand,
London WC2R 1LA,
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