From exhilarating wildlife shots to surreal black & white street scenes – serene snowy scenes to awe-inspiring aerial images – this year's Youth shortlist is sure to be one of our best yet!
Open to 12-19 year olds, the Youth competition pays tribute to the next generation of photographers. Running from June to December 2021, each month we challenged budding photographers around the world to enter images relating to a specific theme. With entry being completely free, submissions are always varied and diverse, attracting all different types of photographer. The themes (in chronological order) were Composition & Design; Street Photography; Landscape; Culture & Travel; Wildlife & Nature; Portraiture and then finally an Open Call, where entrants could submit images of any subject matter. Each monthly winner was promoted to our online community.
Judged by the team at the World Photography Organisation, the seven monthly winners now become our shortlist, with the overall winner being chosen by Open and Youth competition judge Director of Photography at Newsweek Japan Hideko Kataoka. Read our interview with Kataoka here. The Youth Photographer of the Year will be announced on 12th April, 2022. Alongside having their work published in the annual book and exhibition, the winner will receive a range of Sony digital imaging equipment.
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COMPOSITION & DESIGN, JUNE: Elijah Baptiste, USA
'I can't express how happy I am to win this competition. For me, it means that I am on the right track. But this isn't going to be the end of my photography journey. I am going to keep practicing and hopefully one day, I can accomplish even greater achievements.'
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY, JULY: Zinuo Shi, China Mainland
'I'm pretty speechless by the overwhelming happiness of being recognised in the July Youth Competition. With the greatest pleasure, I’d like to express my gratitude to the World Photography Organisation committee for giving me such a valuable opportunity to present my work to a wider community, as well as my parents and friends, for their unconditional support along this memorable journey. This experience makes me believe that photography carries more than artistic expression. It is my third eye, my window to the world, a universal language, which can make more voices from the unprivileged minorities be heard.'
LANDSCAPE, AUGUST: Emery Sanderson, Canada
'I am very pleased and very thankful that my image has been selected for this month’s competition. It is nice to see years of passion and work get acknowledged. Hopefully it can inspire others who share the same passion and love for the art.'
CULTURE & TRAVEL, SEPTEMBER: Cameron Borg, Australia
'Thank you World Photography Organisation for recognising my work and allowing me to share it with the wider community. I can’t wait to see where my passion for photography takes me in the future.'
WILDLIFE & NATURE, OCTOBER: Rayhan Mundra, USA
'I am thrilled and honored for my work to be recognised by the World Photography Organisation. This is my first submission to a photography competition and winning this award motivates me to continue pursuing my passion.'
PORTRAITURE, NOVEMBER: Tri Nguyen, Vietnam
'I feel excited that I have won this award. This opportunity gives me further motivation to take more photographs.'
OPEN CALL, DECEMBER: Benjamin Joel, USA
'I am thrilled to win the Sony World Photography Open Call Youth competition! This recognition inspires me to continue challenging myself to creatively capture life's unique moments. As a photographer, I look forward to experimenting with new genres, equipment, and lighting. I am grateful to the World Photography Organisation for spotlighting my work and encouraging the work of emerging photographers all over the world.'
OVERALL WINNERS ANNOUNCED 12 APRIL
SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2022 EXHIBITION 13 APRIL TO 2 MAY 2022, SOMERSET HOUSE, LONDON
