The Sony World Photography Awards competition has been attracting immensely talented creatives from across the globe since 2008, and this year's national and regional winners are no exception.
This program, which supports local communities of photographers worldwide, drew in more than 430,000 images from 200+ countries for the 2026 edition. The winning entries were chosen from the Open, Professional, and Student competitions this year – meaning you'll find photographers at different stages of their careers taking home prizes in the form of Sony gear.
The winning entries showcase a wide range of subjects that each tell memorable and striking stories, and many of them feature pattern-breaking compositions I can't say I've seen before. I've selected just a handful of them that simply took my breath away for you to peruse below.
Colombia's Juan Jacobo Castillo Barrera has a beautiful shot of the Upper Amazon Stubfoot Toad that's endemic to Peru and critically endangered by habitat loss in the region.
Nakheon Choi of South Korea captured a slice of life in the country's capital, depicting workers relaxing in the Cheonggyecheon stream that runs through Seoul during a busy day in the concrete jungle.
Jargalsaikhan Bayarkhand's winning entry from Mongolia is a striking portrait of a Kazakh nomad in traditional attire and the country's sparse landscape framing him.
The perfect monochrome symmetry of a common meure is the subject of Costa Rica-based Alvaro Cubero Vega's expert shot.
In this frame by Nelya Rachkova of Kazakhstan, we see a magnificent praying mantis dramatically posing on a thistle flower in the morning light.
Lastly, Kyaw Zayar Lin's photo at the top of this story features children fishing in the early hours of the day in the wetlands of Myanmar's Inle Lake. It beautifully captures how humans eke out a livelihood from nature.
The overall winners and the Photographer of the Year will be announced at the prestigious Awards ceremony in London on April 16. Their works, along with more than 300 images including National award winning entries, will go on display at the subsequent exhibition at Somerset House starting the next day, until May 4.
Click through our gallery to see more of my selections, and head to this site for all the winning and shortlisted entries.
For even more spellbinding photography, check out these architectural images from this year's Sony awards, as well as arresting compositions from the 2025 Minimalist Photography Awards and incredible details in last year's Natural Landscape Photography Awards.
Source: World Photography Organisation
