The Open Category Winners of the Sony World Photography Awards 2025

Mar 10, 2025

Jeremy Gray

1. Left: A man reads amid a cluttered store filled with tools and colorful items. 2. Center: A serene, black-and-white landscape of a river winding through hills. 3. Right: A jubilant crowd celebrates with a red flare and flags at night.

The World Photography Organisation unveiled the 10 category winners for this year’s Sony World Photography Awards.

Now in its 18th year, photographers from over 200 countries submitted over 419,000 images to the 2025 Sony World Photography Awards competition. The prestigious photo contest includes Professional and Open categories. The Professional segment awards photographers for cohesive series of photos, while the Open contest celebrates the best single images.

“The Open competition celebrates the ability of an individual photograph to capture and distil a singular moment, and to evoke a broader narrative,” the World Photography Organisation explains.

The 10 categories in the Sony World Photography Awards 2025 include architecture, creative, landscape, lifestyle, motion, natural world and wildlife, object, portraiture, street photography, and travel. All category winners are featured below.

Aerial black and white view of a densely packed cityscape at night. Skyscrapers and streets are illuminated, creating a dynamic, radiating pattern of lights that appear to converge towards the center, giving a sense of depth and movement. — Architecture Winner — © Xuecheng Liu (China) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

A monochromatic, abstract art piece of a man sitting with his arms crossed. The image has a grainy texture with overlaying patterns, and a vibrant yellow sunflower near the top right, adding a touch of color. — Creative Winner — © Jonell Francisco (Philippines) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

A serene landscape with a winding river flowing through a dark, open field at dusk. Silhouetted hills and mountains frame the horizon under a dimly lit sky, creating a peaceful, reflective atmosphere. — Landscape Winner — © Ng Guang Ze (Singapore) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

Man sits reading a book in a cluttered electronics store filled with shelves of parts, colorful wires, and gadgets. Numerous drawers and switches cover the walls. The space is packed with electronic components and tools. — Lifestyle Winner — © Hajime Hirano (Japan) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

Horsemen in traditional attire ride through a dusty field during a cultural event. One horse appears to be bucking, and a rider is falling to the ground. A pink flag is visible in the background, and spectators are watching. — Motion Winner — © Olivier Unia (France) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

Polar bears gather on a large carcass, likely a whale, amidst icy surroundings. Some are actively feeding while others stand or lie down on the ice. The scene is set in a cold, Arctic environment with floating ice and snowy patches. — Portraiture Winner — © Yeintze Boutamba (Gabon) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

A beach scene with numerous large, yellow octopus-shaped kites flying in the blue sky. People can be seen on the sand, with buses and other kites in the background. The day is clear and sunny. — Portraiture Winner — © Yeintze Boutamba (Gabon) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

A couple lounges on a bed in a sunlit bedroom with large windows. They sit relaxed against pillows, surrounded by warm decor including candles and a suitcase. Shelves and a chair are visible, adding to the room's cozy ambiance. — Portraiture Winner — © Yeintze Boutamba (Gabon) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

A group of people, some on motorcycles, celebrate energetically at night, holding flares and flags. The scene is lit with red light and filled with smoke, creating a vibrant and dynamic atmosphere. — Travel Winner — © Matjaž Šimic (Slovenia) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

A group of people in traditional clothing sit outside a vibrant green building with colorful geometric and mountain designs. The building features blue doors with painted flags. Fluffy clouds fill the blue sky above. — Travel Winner — © Matjaž Šimic (Slovenia) | Sony World Photography Awards 2025

One of the 10 photographers above will be named the Open Photographer of the Year during the Sony World Photography Awards ceremony in London on April 16. For the honor, the winner will receive $5,000 in cash and a range of Sony digital imaging equipment. Further, selected winning and shortlisted images will be shown as part of the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House in London from April 17 through May 5 before the exhibition embarks on an international tour.

Speaking of “shortlisted images,” the judges honored varying numbers of images in each category. All these excellent shortlisted photos can be viewed on the Sony World Photography Awards website.

For those who cannot wait until April 16 to see amazing Sony World Photography Awards content, PetaPixel has recently featured the Professional finalists and the 21 young photographers eligible to win the Student and Youth competitions.

Image credits: Sony World Photography Worlds / World Photography Organisation. Individual photographers are credited in the image captions.