Photograph titled Charlotte and Dolly, depicting a young woman and her cow resting together in a barn to keep cool in the summer heat in West Virginia, United States. Captured by Vanta Coda III of the United States, and the winner of the Lifestyle category in the Open Competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2026.
The Sony World Photography Awards has just revealed the category winners and shortlisted photographers in its Open competition 2026.
The Open competition recognizes the best single images to have been taken in the last year.
Unlike the other competitions within the Sony World Photography Awards, where entrants submit a series of photographs, the Open competition is all about a single image, so the photographer gets just one chance to impress.
This year's Open competition was judged by Ruby Rees-Sheridan, Assistant Curator of Photography at the National Portrait Gallery in London, UK.
"The winners and shortlists represent a diverse range of photographs," says awards producer Creo, "from striking landscapes to thoughtful portraits, and both captivating and humorous scenes from nature."
The Sony World Photography Awards is now in its 19th year and over 430,000 images from over 200 countries and territories were submitted across this year’s competitions.
Scroll down to enjoy the 10 Open competition category winners…
The Sony World Photography Awards exhibition takes place in London's Somerset House (pictured above during the 2024 show) (Image credit: Future)
A selection of winning and shortlisted images from the Open competition will be displayed at the Sony World Photography Awards 2026 exhibition in London's Somerset House.
This runs from April 17 to May 4 before going on to tour other countries.
