Johannesburg – The Sony World Photography Awards has revealed the 30 finalists and over 65 shortlisted photographers in the 2026 Professional competition: a powerful showcase of visual storytelling that pushes the boundaries of contemporary photography.
Among the shortlisted photographers is Sandile Ndlovu, a South African photographer who has been shortlisted in the Documentary Projects category.
Celebrating nearly two decades of photographic excellence, the Professional competition champions photographers whose bold bodies of work combine mastery of the craft with narrative vision.
Across this year’s competitions, over 430 000 images from more than 200 countries and territories were submitted.
The 10 category winners are chosen from the 30 finalists and announced at a special ceremony in London on 16 April.
The recipient of the prestigious Photographer of the Year title is chosen from the category winners and announced on the same night, receiving a $25 000 (USD) cash prize, a range of Sony Digital Imaging equipment, as well as the opportunity to show their work in a solo presentation at next year’s London exhibition.
The winners and finalists are additionally invited to London for Insights, a day of tailored sessions with leading industry figures, offering specialised guidance on ways to continue expanding their platform.
A selection of works by finalist and shortlisted photographers is first on view as part of the Sony World Photography Awards 2026 exhibition at Somerset House, London, from 17 April to 5 May 2026, and will thereafter travel to other locations.
Commenting on behalf of the jury, Monica Allende, Chair of the Jury, says: “The finalist and shortlisted work in the Professional competition for the Sony World Photography Awards 2026 demonstrates a remarkable growth in the craft and commitment to photography as a powerful storytelling medium.
“Across the many series we judged, I was deeply struck by the celebration of the human experience, and of love, kindness, and quiet resilience woven into complex and often challenging realities.
“Many of the most powerful images focused on intimate moments and small acts of heroism, revealing the enduring strength and spirit found in everyday life.”
The three finalist projects in each category of the Sony World Photography Awards 2026 Professional competition are:
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Everyday Structures by André Tezza (Brazil) shines a light on the modest architecture of neighbourhood grocery stores in southern Brazil. In Homes of Haor Joy Saha (Bangladesh), the vernacular architecture of Bangladesh’s Haor region, where homes are built on raised mounds that become islands during the monsoon. Chen Liang’s (China Mainland) series explores watchtowers in Jiangmen, in China’s Guangdong Province, a unique blend of Chinese and international architectural influences.
CREATIVE
The Black Album by Pablo Ramos (Mexico) explores Mexico’s disappeared through silhouettes cut from archival photographs, transforming the images into a haunting collective portrait of absence. In The Palm, On Piru Ben Brooks (United Kingdom) depicts the spiritual connections and collective identities of rappers from South Los Angeles. In Bilha, Stories of My Sisters, photographer Citlali Fabian (Mexico) uses a mix of portraits and digital illustrations to bring to life the stories of inspiring women in southern Mexico, collaborating with activists and artists from Indigenous communities in the region.
DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS
Santiago Mesa’s (Colombia) Under the Shadow of Coca follows the farmers whose livelihoods depend on this illicit economy, and the armed group that controls the cocaine trade in Colombia. In Sixteen and a Half: Eight Months in a Juvenile Prison Alexandre Bagdassarian (France) documents the daily lives of detainees in one of France’s juvenile prisons. Colin Delfosse’s (Belgium) series Restitution explores the journey of African masks between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Belgium, from their original use to their display in museums, examining the issues surrounding restitution.
ENVIRONMENT
Shane Hynan‘s (Ireland) series Beneath | Beofhód, ‘life beneath the sod’ in Irish, evokes the primal significance of bogs in Celtic tradition, and the interplay of cultural and environmental imperatives. Matteo Trevisan’s (Italy) Jinê Land: Where Women Keep the Earth Alive documents women-led ecological and social rebuilding in Rojava, Syria, where communities come together in an experimental vision for the future. In Notes on How to Build a Forest Isadora Romero (Ecuador) explores forests as cultural territories, inhabited and shaped by multiple human and non-human groups over time.
LANDSCAPE
Dafna Talmor’s (United Kingdom) Constructed Landscapes stem from the photographer’s personal archive, and employ hand-printed and collaged colour negatives, reconfigured into abstracted landscape representations. Andreas Secci’s (Germany) series presents abstract landscapes formed by aerial views of oyster farms on the French coast of Normandy and Brittany. Michael Blann (United Kingdom) uses photopolymer etching to depict iconic European mountain roads.
PERSPECTIVES
Living Photographs by Hayate Kurisu (Japan) documents the experience of the photographer and his wife, following the loss of a child to stillbirth, and the days spent together as a family before the cremation. In Fredrik Lerneryd’s (Sweden) Country Music in Kenya, the photographer captures the International Cowboy Day festival in Nairobi, a major event for country music fans in Kenya. Seungho Kim’s (Korea, Republic Of) Sunny Side Up: A Portrait of the Most Average K-Parenting Today turns the lens on the photographer’s family, to capture the delightful pandemonium of his household – where parents, dog, and baby collide.
PORTRAITURE
Federico Borella (Italy) documents the Koryo-saram community in Uzbekistan, as a new generation influenced by the ‘K-Wave’ are embracing their Korean identity. Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni’s (Italy) The Faithful captures portraits from the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, between the death of one pope and the election of the next; a pilgrimage that took on the traits of fandom. Marisa Reichert’s (Germany) series be:longing documents the lives of older Muslim trans people in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia, where they are faced with the challenge of reconciling their faith, their identity, and societal expectations.
SPORT
Todd Antony’s (New Zealand) series looks at ‘Buzkashi’ (literally meaning ‘goat pulling’ in Persian), the fierce, ancient sport of Tajikistan. In It’s a Dog’s Life, Rob Van Thienen (Belgium) attended sighthound training sessions, producing a dynamic series of images of dogs in action as they chase an artificial rabbit around a track. Morgan Otagburuagu’s (Nigeria) Beneath the Bridge chronicles a makeshift gym in Lagos, Nigeria where amateur boxers train, far from the gleam of professional rings.
STILL LIFE
The Bronte Pistachio, by Daniele Vita (Italy) is a long-term study of the pistachio nuts of Sicily, photographing them one by one to capture their unique qualities up close. Gargi Sharma’s (India) Experiments in Stillness explores the dialogue between the object and the viewer, allowing space for multiple interpretations and moments of stillness. Vilma Taubo’s (Norway) Talking Without Speaking is a series of photographs of everyday objects that have become symbols of protest.
WILDLIFE & NATURE
Wolfgang Duerr’s (Germany) series WILD was made by a camera activated via motion sensors, capturing various wildlife in action in black and white. Anita Pouchard Serra’s (Argentina) series captures the clash between the neighbourhood capybaras and the residents of a private development in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Will Burrard-Lucas’s (United Kingdom) Crossing Point captures wildlife in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve; a remote camera trap set up to monitor endangered black rhinoceroses ultimately revealed an array of animals gathering at the forested river crossing.
The jury of the 2026 Professional competition includes:
- Monica Allende, Independent Curator and Photography Consultant, Chair of the Jury
- Daniel Brena, Director, Centro de las Artes de San Agustín, México
- Yumi Goto, Independent Curator, Editor, Researcher, and Publisher, Japan
- Zack Hatfield, Managing Editor, Aperture magazine, USA
- Paul Ninson, Founder and Executive Director, Dikan Center, Ghana
- Bindi Vora, Artist and Senior Curator, Autograph, UK
The overall winners in the Student, Youth, Open, and Professional competitions of the Sony World Photography Awards 2026 will be announced on 16 April 2026. For more information about upcoming announcements and winners, please visit worldphoto.org.
| ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN | CREATIVE | DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS |
| Finalists | Finalists | Finalists |
| André Tezza, Brazil Chen Liang, China Mainland Joy Saha, Bangladesh | Ben Brooks, United Kingdom Citlali Fabian, Mexico Pablo Ramos, Mexico | Alexandre Bagdassarian, France Colin Delfosse, Belgium Santiago Mesa, Colombia |
| Shortlist | Shortlist | Shortlist |
| Cristopher Rogel Blanquet Chavez, Mexico Farshid Rahimi Kalahroudi, Iran, Islamic Republic Of Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy Mathieu Moindron, France Peter Lipton, Netherlands Stephan Zirwes, Germany Tomasz Kawecki, Poland | Abbey Hepner, United States Armin Graca, Bosnia And Herzegovina Daniela Balestrin, Brazil Persia Campbell, Mexico Sarah Ketelaars, United Kingdom Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru Zula Rabikowska, United Kingdom | Anne Mocaër, France Dong Wei, China Mainland Mário Cruz, Portugal Sandile Ndlovu, South Africa Seamus Murphy, Ireland Ye Hyun Kim, Korea, Republic Of Yris Pablo, Venezuela |
| ENVIRONMENT | LANDSCAPE | PERSPECTIVES |
| Finalists | Finalists | Finalists |
| Isadora Romero, Ecuador Matteo Trevisan, Italy Shane Hynan, Ireland | Andreas Secci, Germany Dafna Talmor, United Kingdom Michael Blann, United Kingdom | Fredrik Lerneryd, Sweden Hayate Kurisu, Japan Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of |
| Shortlist | Shortlist | Shortlist |
| Borja Abargues, Spain Eduardo Valenzuela, Ecuador Hossein Sadri Nobarzad, Iran, Islamic Republic Of Jacob Paley, United States Mahé Elipe, France Tommy Trenchard, United Kingdom Yi-Hsuan Lin, Taiwan | Daniel Clavería, Chile David Baxter III, United States Florian Ruiz, France Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist, Sweden Liam Man, United Kingdom Nathalie Ericson, Sweden Peter Franck, Germany | Brian Mena Laureano, Mexico Camille Nivollet, France Dara Petrova, Ukraine Kanyuan Li, China Mainland María Fernanda García Freire, Ecuador Maria Fynsk Norup, Denmark |
| PORTRAITURE | SPORT | STILL LIFE |
| Finalists | Finalists | Finalists |
| Federico Borella, Italy Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni, Italy Marisa Reichert, Germany | Morgan Otagburuagu, Nigeria Rob Van Thienen, Belgium Todd Antony, New Zealand | Daniele Vita, Italy Gargi Sharma, India Vilma Taubo, Norway |
| Shortlist | Shortlist | Shortlist |
| Caroline Gutman, United States Ed Alcock, United Kingdom Hans-Juergen Burkard, Germany János Bődey, Hungary Ron Timehin, United Kingdom Shaohan Fang, China Mainland Wei Kuai, China Mainland | Alain Schroeder, Belgium Delfina Pignatiello, Argentina Irina Werning, Argentina Luis Henry Agudelo Cano, Colombia Mariusz Śmiejek, Poland Qiu Yan, China Mainland Yi Xiao, China Mainland | Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy Andrzej Pilichowski-Ragno, Poland Carlos Espinosa, Ecuador Francesco Amorosino, Italy Md Harun Or Rashid, Bangladesh Ruston Banal, Philippines Yi-Hsuan Lin, Taiwan |
WILDLIFE & NATURE | ||
| Finalists | ||
| Anita Pouchard Serra, Argentina Will Burrard-Lucas, United Kingdom Wolfgang Duerr, Germany | ||
| Shortlist |
| Benjamin Pawlica, France Fei Xin, China Mainland Hugo Hebbe, France James Ross, United Kingdom Loren Elliott, United States Marcus Westberg, Sweden Sunita Mandal, United States |
