The International Photography Awards (IPA) has revealed the main category winners of its 2025 competition, celebrating the exceptional work of both amateur and professional photographers across 11 distinct categories. The prestigious competition draws participants from around the world, showcasing diverse photographic talents and perspectives.
One of the 11 professional category winners will be crowned International Photographer of the Year at the upcoming IPA Gala in Athens this October, earning a substantial $10,000 cash prize. Meanwhile, the top non-professional winner will receive the title of Discovery of the Year along with a $5,000 award. According to IPA guidelines, a professional photographer is defined as someone who earns or has earned the majority of their income from photography, regularly sells or publishes their work, or belongs to professional photography organizations.
The 2025 IPA jury highlighted several remarkable awarded projects that demonstrate exceptional artistic and technical merit. Savadmon Avalachamveettil's photograph "MahaKumbh – World's Largest Gathering," which claimed victory in the Event photography category, captures a once-in-144-years ritual at the sacred Kumbh Mela festival in India. The stunning image shows Naga Sadhus covered in ash swimming in the Ganges River at dawn, documenting this extraordinary spiritual gathering.
In the Editorial/Press category, photographer Abdelrahman Alkahlout's powerful series "Echoes of Genocide" won recognition for its devastating portrayal of the war's effects in Gaza. Alex NG, publisher of PhotoNews.hk and IPA jury member, provided insight into the judging process for news photography. "When judging news photography, the first consideration is not the magnitude of the news event itself, but the essential elements of a visual work: what the image wants to say, how it says it, and whether it says it well," NG explained. "The conflict between Israel and Palestine was one of the most significant global issues last year, and both sides have their supporters. As a competition judge, one must view these photographs with detachment – judging the image as an image. The success of this entry lies in its ability to break the viewer's heart."
Among the non-professional winners, Sebastian Piorek's photo project "The Overflowing Earth" explores Poland's growing landfills and their environmental impact. The photographer describes his work by saying, "What once seemed like isolated dumps now spread endlessly, forming landscapes where refuse dominates." This project exemplifies the competition's commitment to addressing contemporary environmental and social issues through powerful visual storytelling.
The professional category winners span a diverse range of photographic disciplines. In Advertising, Jonathan Knowles won with "Colour Has a New Chapter," while Piotr Zbierski claimed the Analog/Film category with "Solid Maze of All That's Left Untold." Architecture photography was dominated by Romain Thiery's "Requiem pour Pianos," and the Book category went to "Fragili Equilibri" by Autori Multipli, Percorso Perbellini.
Other notable professional winners include Julia Fullerton-Batten's "Frida – A Singular Vision of Beauty and Pain" in Fine Art, Sho Otani's "The Beauty of Floating Babies" in Nature photography, and Natasha Pszenicki's "Family In Vitro" in the People category. The Special category was won by Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz's "Damselflies from Another Planet," while Todd Antony's "Buzkashi" captured the Sports category.
The non-professional category showcased equally impressive talent across all divisions. Winners included Natalie Vorontsoff's "Porcelain Petals" in Advertising, Yehor Lemzyakoff's "Misplaced Childhood" in Analog/Film, and Mohammad Awadh's "Icon of Architectural" in Architecture. The Book category went to Markus Naarttijärvi's "A Surrender," while Yu Ling Ho won Event photography with "South Island Group Wedding."
Additional non-professional winners featured Marie Sueur's "Murmures de l'âme" in Fine Art, Ilene Meyers' "Iowa Storm Cell" in Nature, and Ilona Schong's "Inside Romania" in People photography. Monia Marchionni's "Emotive Snapshots" claimed the Special category, and Kohej Kawashima's "Piercing the Rainbow" won Sports photography.
The International Photography Awards continues to serve as a premier platform for photographers worldwide to showcase their artistic vision and technical expertise. With the October gala in Athens approaching, anticipation builds to see which photographer will claim the ultimate title and grand prize, representing the pinnacle of contemporary photographic achievement.
