The Sony World Photography Awards has just revealed the 10 category winners for its 2025 Open competition, and as expected the images are nothing short of spectacular. Now in its 18th year, the Open competition celebrates the power of a single image to capture a moment in time and tell a compelling story.
With over 419,000 submissions from more than 200 countries and territories, this year’s competition was as fierce as ever. The winners and shortlisted photographers have delivered a stunning array of work spanning architecture, portraiture, landscape, and more; offering a glimpse into some of the most arresting photography of the past year.
While the category winners have now been announced, we still have one more big reveal to look forward to – the Open Photographer of the Year, who will be crowned at a special gala ceremony in London on April 16. The winner will take home a $5,000 (approximately £3,800 / AU$7,900) cash prize and a selection of Sony digital imaging equipment.
For those eager to see these award-winning images up close, the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition will run at Somerset House in London, England, from April 17 to May 05 2025, before traveling to other locations worldwide. If previous years are anything to go by, this will be an unmissable event for photography lovers.
The winning images highlight both technical mastery and creative vision. This year’s category winners include Xuecheng Liu from China, whose dramatic aerial shot of Times Square titled Centre of the Cosmos, emphasizes the city’s vast scale with a wide-angle perspective.
Jonell Francisco from the Philippines won for Kem the Unstoppable, a beautifully composed collage portrait inspired by Renaissance portraiture traditions. Ng Guang Ze from Singapore captured a mesmerizing black-and-white image of a winding stream disappearing into the distance in Wenhai, Lijiang.
Here’s the full list of 2025 Sony World Photography Awards Open category winners:
Architecture: Xuecheng Liu (China Mainland) – Centre of the Cosmos
Creative: Jonell Francisco (Philippines) – Kem the Unstoppable
Landscape: Ng Guang Ze (Singapore) – Curved Stream
Lifestyle: Hajime Hirano (Japan) – Akihabara
Motion: Olivier Unia (France) – Tbourida La Chute
Natural World & Wildlife: Estebane Rezkallah (France) – The Whale Raft
Object: Sussi Charlotte Alminde (Denmark) – Octopuses in the Sky
Portraiture: Yeintze Boutamba (Gabon) – Encounter
Street Photography: Khairizal Maris (Indonesia) – Celebrating Football Club Victories
Travel: Matjaž Šimic (Slovenia) – Ask a Shaman
The Sony World Photography Awards is one of the most prestigious photography competitions in the world, providing a platform for emerging and established photographers alike.
Past winners have gone on to launch successful careers, and this year’s winning images once again demonstrate the incredible diversity and talent within contemporary photography. From the architectural grandeur of New York City to the untamed wilderness of Greenland, these photographs remind us of the power of a single image to transport, inspire, and provoke thought.
To see the full list of category winners and shortlisted images, head over to the official Sony Photography Awards website.
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