Summary
- IPA 2026 has announced 22 main category winners: 11 professional and 11 non-professional.
- The two overall winners have not yet been announced.
- The final ceremony will take place on October 11 at the Benaki Museum in Athens.
The International Photography Awards 2026 have announced the 22 winners of the professional and non-professional categories, who now advance to the final decision for the competition’s two top honours.
The official list includes 11 winners in the professional division and another 11 in the non-professional division, spanning advertising, analogue photography and architecture through editorial work, nature, people and sports. These 22 photographers are not yet the two overall IPA 2026 winners: they are the finalists from whom the International Photographer of the Year and the Discovery of the Year will be selected.
The 2026 edition has a direct connection to Greece because the final awards ceremony will take place in Athens as part of the IPA 2026 Photo Fest. Four days of exhibitions, talks and portfolio reviews will lead up to the announcement of the International Photographer of the Year and Discovery of the Year.
The 11 professional category winners
The professional selection moves between portraiture, the photobook, artistic research and hard news. Ali Jadallah’s work from Gaza appears alongside Bill Hao’s wet-plate collodion photographs, Gianluca Santoni’s study of material and form, and distinct narrative approaches across People, Nature and Sports.
| Category | Photographer / country | Winning work |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising | Chris Sorensen (United States) | Alan Cumming |
| Analog / Film | Bill Hao (Canada) | Rocky Mountains on Wetplate Collodion 2025 |
| Architecture | Gianluca Santoni (Italy) | Poetry of Matter |
| Book | Claire Rosen (United States) | Birds of a Feather |
| Editorial / Press | Ali Jadallah (Turkey) | After two years of war, Gaza stands between ruins, hunger, and loss |
| Event | Ken Hermann (Denmark) | Kavant |
| Fine Art | Maryam Saeedpoor (Iran) | Painful hug |
| Nature | Jakob Andersen (Denmark) | Ground control to Major Tom |
| People | Alicia Sanchez Cabanes (Germany) | The Milky Days. |
| Special | Patrizia Pezzino (Italy) | pubblico e privato |
| Sports | Davide Bastianelli (Italy) | Momentum |
Below are the official category-winning images published by the International Photography Awards.
Advertising: Chris Sorensen — “Alan Cumming”
Analog / Film: Bill Hao — “Rocky Mountains on Wetplate Collodion 2025”
Architecture: Gianluca Santoni — “Poetry of Matter”
Book: Claire Rosen — “Birds of a Feather”
Editorial / Press: Ali Jadallah — “After two years of war, Gaza stands between ruins, hunger, and loss”
Event: Ken Hermann — “Kavant”
Fine Art: Maryam Saeedpoor — “Painful hug”
Nature: Jakob Andersen — “Ground control to Major Tom”
People: Alicia Sanchez Cabanes — “The Milky Days.”
Special: Patrizia Pezzino — “pubblico e privato”
Sports: Davide Bastianelli — “Momentum”
Each of these 11 category winners receives a $1,000 cash prize and two tickets to the awards ceremony. They also remain in contention for the top professional title and its $10,000 prize.
The 11 non-professional category winners
The non-professional division follows the same 11 broad categories but forms a separate route to the Discovery of the Year title. The winners represent Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, while their projects range from melting icebergs and fine-art constructions to sports photography and studies of public space.
| Category | Photographer / country | Winning work |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising | Anna Matysiak (Poland) | Boring |
| Analog / Film | Frank Hoogeboom (Netherlands) | Residual |
| Architecture | Alex Polli (Switzerland) | Lost in the museum |
| Book | Fabio Domenicali (Italy) | TEREN ZIELONY |
| Editorial / Press | Dennis Lehtonen (Finland) | The 2025 Innaarsuit Icebergs |
| Event | Gurpreet Chawla (United States) | Machina Mirabilis |
| Fine Art | Oleg Buyanov (Canada) | The Eternal Rerurn |
| Nature | Daniel Viñé (Spain) | Smoking Skull |
| People | Nicola Ducati (Italy) | Mongration |
| Special | Masaru Takagi (Japan) | Iguana |
| Sports | Lorenzo Passalacqua (Australia) | Avalanche |
Below are the official category-winning images published by the International Photography Awards.
Advertising: Anna Matysiak — “Boring”
Analog / Film: Frank Hoogeboom — “Residual”
Architecture: Alex Polli — “Lost in the museum”
Book: Fabio Domenicali — “TEREN ZIELONY”
Editorial / Press: Dennis Lehtonen — “The 2025 Innaarsuit Icebergs”
Event: Gurpreet Chawla — “Machina Mirabilis”
Fine Art: Oleg Buyanov — “The Eternal Rerurn”
Nature: Daniel Viñé — “Smoking Skull”
People: Nicola Ducati — “Mongration”
Special: Masaru Takagi — “Iguana”
Sports: Lorenzo Passalacqua — “Avalanche”
The 11 winners receive $500 and two tickets to the ceremony. One of them will be named Discovery of the Year and receive a further $5,000 prize. The titles “The Eternal Rerurn” and “Mongration” are reproduced exactly as they appear in the IPA’s official results database.
Athens hosts the IPA 2026 Photo Fest
The official IPA 2026 Photo Fest will take place in Athens from October 8 to 11, 2026. From October 8 to 10, the House of Lucie Gallery at 4 Charalampi Sotiriou Street will host the Best of Show exhibition, artist talks, portfolio reviews, peer reviews and a symposium.
The awards ceremony and reception are scheduled for Sunday, October 11, at the Benaki Museum, 138 Pireos Street, with arrivals from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and the ceremony running from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m. The International Photographer of the Year and Discovery of the Year will be revealed there. Until then, any claim that the IPA 2026 overall winners have already been selected would be premature.
What the finalists receive and how the process concludes
The IPA clearly separates the winners of its main categories from the first-, second- and third-place recipients in individual subcategories. The 22 category winners have already secured prize money, ceremony tickets and a place in the final judging. Category winners who attend are also eligible for an additional $500 contribution toward travel and accommodation.
Recipients in the individual subcategories receive a certificate and official winner seal, inclusion in the competition’s annual book, and the possibility of selection for exhibitions and promotional programmes. The IPA lists the total prize package at $47,500, although international visibility and access to a wider photographic network may be equally important for many participants.
A list that maps the range of contemporary photography
The 2026 selection is not built around one dominant style. The winning projects use analogue processes, current digital cameras, long-term documentation, staged imagery and the photobook form. This allows the results to function as a map of different photographic practices rather than as a ranking of a single visual language.
At the same time, the presence of war, displacement, environmental change and lived human experience shows that editorial photography and documentary work remain central to major international awards. The list of 22 does not replace the complete results gallery, but it offers a clear first view of the directions recognised by this year’s jury.
For comparison with an earlier edition, PTTL also published a detailed presentation of the International Photography Awards 2020 winners.
What we think
The value of the IPA 2026 results lies not only in recognisable names or prize money, but in the coexistence of very different approaches to visual storytelling. The awards ceremony in Athens creates a rare opportunity for the local public to encounter internationally recognised work and photographers. The final decision, however, remains open until October 11, and that distinction must remain clear in every account of this year’s results.
Frequently asked questions
Have the two overall IPA 2026 winners been announced?
No. The 22 professional and non-professional category winners are finalists. The International Photographer of the Year and Discovery of the Year will be announced at the October 11 ceremony in Athens.
When and where is the awards ceremony?
The ceremony will take place on October 11, 2026, at the Benaki Museum, 138 Pireos Street. It is the final day of the IPA 2026 Photo Fest, which begins on October 8.
What are the top cash prizes?
The International Photographer of the Year will receive $10,000 and the Discovery of the Year $5,000. Professional category winners receive $1,000 each, while non-professional category winners receive $500 each.
