Here Are 20 Jaw-Dropping Entries From The 2025 IPA Finalists

The International Photography Awards™ (IPA) have once again raised the bar in 2025, showcasing a breathtaking blend of talent, vision, and storytelling from around the world. Each year, the IPA celebrates both emerging and established photographers who push the boundaries of the medium—and this year’s finalists have delivered an awe-inspiring array of work.

#1 “Sardines” By Benjamin Yavar

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Nature Photographer Of the Year

Photo shooting with the sardines is such an amazing experience, they can create incredible unique forms. I love how in this photo, the sardines are welcoming the freediver or swallowing it ( depends how you see it)

#2 “Descendants Of Black Civil Combatants” By Drew Gardner

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Analog / Film Photographer Of the Year
Neikoye Flowers, direct descendant of David Miles Moore, drummer boy in the 54th Massachusetts infantry who served in the civil war. Part of the series ‘Descendants of the Civil War.’ The culmination of 3 years of research, to trace descendants of Black Civil war combatants and recreate original portraits of their forebears using a TinType camera in an authentic daylight studio.

#3 “Going In Circles” By Markus Naarttijarvi

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Non-Professional Sports Photographer Of the Year

The Schaatsen Grand Prix marathon skating competition in Luleå, Sweden. In this photo taken from a bridge over the sea ice, the leading pack has pulled away from the other skaters that appear as miniatures in the background.

#4 “Samurai In Autumn Night” By Yukihito Ono

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Non-Professional Special Photographer Of the Year

This photo was taken in Nagano, Japan. A lightning rod (lightsaber) is swung during the exposure to create the light trail of the sword.

#5 “Towards Intimacy” By César Guardia Alemañi

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Non-Professional Fine Art Photographer Of the Year

Towards Intimacy is a project that aims to capture moments from fictional characters, inspired by real processes that occur in everyday spaces. Life’s inexorable cycle creates events that serve as turning points—either driving change or trapping individuals in recurring patterns. The project became a window into very profound intimacies, revealing stories of transformation, gratitude, and loss. Moments in people’s lives that redefine their worldview and their capacity to adapt into new conditions. It is a photographic exploration of the deeper intimacies and reflections of individuals.

#6 “Ballers” By Peter Muller

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Sports Photographer Of the Year

i love to look for sports that are fast paced, full of action and something i’d like to try. wheelchair basketball is a sport open to all. it is very physical and way more skillful than some may think. i am a great admirer of sports people that face adversity and make it look so easy.

#7 “Colossal Encounters: The Human-Art Symbiosis At Burning Man” By Mark Fromson

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Non-Professional Event Photographer Of the Year

Colossal Encounters captures the diverse interplay between participants and big art installations at Burning Man, highlighting a profoundly experiential and interactive relationship between humans and art at a monumental scale. This project, through its visual storytelling, aims to leave its audience with a deeper appreciation of the symbiotic relationship between humans and experiential artistic creation, encouraging a reevaluation of the boundaries between viewer, art, environment and participation.

#8 “In The Shadows Of Silent Women” By Maryam Firuzi

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

People Photographer Of the Year

I started a journey to find my roots as an Iranian woman in this project, I drove more than 50 thousand kilometres in different parts of Iran to find women who live in intertwined communities. A journey into the history of Iranian women’s life, which is a combination of tradition and patriarchy, and at the same time, linguistic and cultural diversity. Women who, despite the limitations, with solidarity and interweaving in women’s groups strive for education of their children and at the same time, they want to preserve their ancestral identity.Some of these women are the last generation.

#9 “Line, Form And Color” By Gleici Rufatto

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Architecture Photographer Of the Year

A series of geometric images that explore the interplay of color, form, and material, capturing an essence reminiscent of architectural elements. Each piece is centered on abstract forms within the built environment, presenting a visual journey that challenges perceptions and delves into the essence of architectural expression.

#10 “Why Aren’t You Taking Photos Anymore?” By Yuji Haikal

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Non-Professional Book Photographer Of the Year
Handmade self-published book that has been published and got the ISBN last year. The photobook is dedicated to my late father and the reason that I start taking photos again. In the whisper of a departed voice, the title emerges: “Why aren’t you taking photos anymore?” A question posed by my late father now resonating within the depths of my soul. This photobook, crafted with love, is a testament to my beloved father and the beginning of an endless journey in the realm of photography. With every turn of a page, I pay homage to his unwavering belief in my dreams through the power of images.

#11 “The Arctic: A Darker Shade Of White” By Sebastian Copeland

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Professional Book Photographer Of the Year

The Arctic: A Darker Shade of White chronicles deep, immersive expeditions in the high north. I was fortunate to walk to the North Pole on skis; I crossed the Greenland ice sheet in its length; and covered great distances across the Canadian Arctic. Throughout 20 years of challenging polar missions, I never ceased to be moved by the power and scale of the landscape. This communion I had with Nature always led to epiphanies even while that harsh environment takes no pity on human life. But from year to year, I bore witness to transformations that spell profound global implications.

#12 “Sk8” By Renee Barron

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Non-professional People Photographer Of the Year

I grew up in Venice during the ’80s- 2000s. My friends were surfers, skaters, ravers, punk rockers and graffiti artists. We were latchkey kids from mostly broken homes trying to figure our way in life not just to survive but thrive in a world that seemed built to be against us. Kids from all races, socio economic backgrounds and diverse upbringings, we lived on the edges of a society that did not accept us. Through surfing, skating, raving/punk rocking and street art became the constructs of a world where we could succeed not in the system of societal norm but in a world, we built.

#13 “Beautyofdiversity” By Andrea Paolini Merlo

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Non-Professional Advertising Photographer Of the Year

The beauty of diversity through the art of dance. A series of photos created for the Hungarian Dance University to celebrates the vibrant diversity of dance by showcasing different dancers in various styles, each highlighted in a distinct color shade. This visual “mosaic” not only emphasizes the richness of different dance forms but also embraces the unity and inclusivity of all cultures and races. Diversity enriches our lives, strengthens our communities, and propels us towards a more united and harmonious world. APMerlo

#14 “Metropolis” By Kiyoshi Karimizu

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Non-Professional Architecture Photographer Of the Year

Inspired by the classic German film Metropolis, known as the symbol of the city of the future, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which represents Tokyo, was represented and photographed as Metropolis. It is reminiscent of the futuristic city in the film and at the same time symbolises the strength and dynamism of the huge metropolis that is Tokyo.

#15 “Svalbard” By Blake Burton

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Non-Professional Analog / Film Photographer Of the Year

The Arctic has captivated the imaginations of generations of people who venture to its remote wilderness in search of glory, science, self reflection, and a myriad of other reasons. No matter the motivation, the landscape remains an enchanting and haunting character. It was through this lens that I set out to capture moments of the wild polar lands of Svalbard. Despite the overwhelming beauty of this icy world, it remains in peril due to climate change, and serves as a reminder of the delicate relationship we humans have with our planet.

#16 “Fine Art Of Resilience” By Paul Szimák

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Fine Art Photographer Of the Year

The focus of the Fine Art Of Resilience project is Mother Earth in the form of the Greek goddess of nature Gaia, who we encounter in every picture in a new form. Gaia always appears timelessly youthful and beautiful to us, but in reality she is not well. All images are classic Photoshop compositions that were created by hand over weeks of very complex detailed retouching (WITHOUT any use of artificial intelligence). In Photoshop I retouch using the painting techniques of the Old Masters such as sfumato, trebenism and chiaroscuro to merge my photographs with paintings.

#17 “Last Trip Home” By Dale May

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Special Photographer Of the Year

“Last Trip Home” features Emerson Croasdale as a young woman who heads back to her hometown to care for her father, a war veteran battling cancer. While tending to the garden, she spots black smoke in the distance, an event that will change everyone’s lives. This project combines traditional photography with CGI

#18 “Roe V. Wade Fully Human” By Charles Niell Jr. Chaz

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Photographer of Year
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the nation finds itself thrust into the heart of one of the most contentious and emotionally charged debates of our time. For fifty years, Roe v. Wade had stood as a landmark decision affirming a woman’s right to choose, but now, the tide has turned, emotions run high on both sides of the issue. On one side of the divide, the passionate advocates for women’s reproductive rights. And equally as passionate in their convictions, conservative Christians, many of them driven by deeply held religious beliefs.

#19 “Everything In Our Hands” By Malgorzata Fober

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Discovery Of The Year

The series “Everything in Our Hands” is a collection of photographs of animals living in my home during the fight for their health and life, but also those waiting for adoption, whom I took care of as a caregiver in the so-called “temporary home”. The animals were depicted in the company of the hands of people who visited me at that time, who often helped to support my activities. The whole series consists of 13 photographs, from which the author’s calendar under the same title was created.

#20 ‘the Second’ By Tom Franks

Image source:  International Photography Awards™ (IPA)

Advertising Photographer Of the Year

The Second Amendment was partially written to ensure that civilian America was sufficiently armed that they could deal with the British invasion should it ever happen, and yet here I was, door-knocking with a British accent asking to enter people’s homes to see their guns, have a chat – and take their photo. Over two weeks in January 2024, I headed to Prescott, Arizona with one goal – to talk my way into the living rooms of seemingly ordinary citizens & learn about the normalization of gun ownership in the USA.