The Sony World Photography Awards has revealed the finalists and shortlisted photographers in its 2026 Professional competition. This year, the dominant thread running through the work is something the jury Chair, Monica Allende, described perfectly: “love, kindness, and quiet resilience woven into complex and often challenging realities.”

Photographers from more than 200 countries and territories submitted over 430,000 images for this year’s Professional contest. The Sony World Photography Awards features ten categories in the 2026 Professional competition, and these are the categories and the photographers who found their place under the spotlight:

1. Architecture & Design: André Tezza (Brazil), Joy Saha (Bangladesh), Chen Liang (China Mainland)
2. Creative: Pablo Ramos (Mexico), Ben Brooks (United Kingdom), Citlali Fabian (Mexico)
3. Documentary Projects: Santiago Mesa (Colombia), Alexandre Bagdassarian (France), Colin Delfosse (Belgium)
4. Environment: Shane Hynan (Ireland), Matteo Trevisan (Italy), Isadora Romero (Ecuador)
5. Landscape: Dafna Talmor (United Kingdom), Andreas Secci (Germany), Michael Blann (United Kingdom)
6. Perspectives: Hayate Kurisu (Japan), Fredrik Lerneryd (Sweden), Seungho Kim (Korea, Republic Of)
7. Portraiture: Federico Borella (Italy), Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni (Italy), Marisa Reichert (Germany)
8. Sport: Todd Antony (New Zealand), Rob Van Thienen (Belgium), Morgan Otagburuagu (Nigeria)
9. Still Life: Daniele Vita (Italy), Gargi Sharma (India), Vilma Taubo (Norway)
10. Wildlife & Nature: Wolfgang Duerr (Germany), Anita Pouchard Serra (Argentina), Will Burrard-Lucas (United Kingdom)

I’d love to give a shoutout to Hayate Kurisu’s Living Photographs, the finalist in the Perspectives category. This project has completely stopped me in my tracks. Kurisu documents the days he and his wife spent with their child after a stillbirth, before the cremation. It’s the kind of work that takes tremendous courage to make, and even more to share.

Note that it could be potentially triggering, so be mindful of that before you scroll down.

The ten category winners and the overall winner will be announced on April 16, 2026, in London. The overall winner will win a $25,000 cash prize and a solo exhibition at next year’s show. The full exhibition opens at Somerset House, London, on April 17 and runs until May 5, 2026, before travelling to other locations. Take a look at the selection of images from this year’s finalists, and visit the contest website for the full gallery.