Sony World Photography Awards 2021

The World Photography Organisation (WPO) has announced the shortlist of photographers vying to secure the title of Student Photographer of the Year and Youth Photographer of the Year in the Sony World Photography Awards 2021. The winners are set to be revealed on 15 April via the WPO’s online channels.

The Student shortlist features ten photographers who are participating in higher education around the world. The first brief centred on the theme of Building a Better Future, with students being tasked to tell the stories of those working towards a better future for us all in the context of a challenging 2020. Among the shortlisted entries, environmentalism was a common theme, along with social and political activism.

The students have now moved on to the second brief, Our Time, with photos to be themed around the photographers and their peers, highlighting how they view the world around them. The photographers will be using new Sony gear to capture these shots, as a reward for their success with the first brief. Following the Our Time brief, a winner will be crowned Student Photographer of the Year and awarded with €30,000 worth of Sony digital imaging equipment for their institution.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2021 also features a competition for younger participants. The Youth competition shortlist comprises six category winners, each having responded to a different monthly theme from July to December 2020. These categories were: Composition and Design, Culture, Natural World & Wildlife, Street Life, People and Show Us Your World. Across the board, the finalists’ images were equally inspiring, with winning youngsters from the UK, India, China and Germany.

A gallery of the shortlisted photographers’ works can be viewed on the World Photography Organisation’s website.