Judges announced for 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition

●Competitions, including new categories, open for entries now until January 2017

●2017 is the 10^th anniversary of world's largest photography competition

●New selection of images available for publication via worldphoto.org/press

September 15, 2016: The judges for the 10^th anniversary of the world's largest photography competition, the Sony World Photography Awards, are announced today.

Esteemed experts from across the photographic industry will come together to uncover and celebrate the best images shot in 2016 across the awards’ Professional, Open, Youth, National Award and Student Focus competitions.

Their chosen winners will not only receive the latest Sony digital imaging equipment and fantastic cash prizes, but will also be exhibited globally and most importantly, for the winners and many shortlisted, also receive world-wide exposure and recognition.

Talking about his experience winning the 2016 Professional Conceptual category, Julien Mauve comments: "With the visibility you get in all types of media and the people you meet, the Sony World Photography Awards is a major award in any photographer's journey and cannot be overlooked. I really enjoyed the experience, which did not stop after the night of the award ceremony but continued throughout the year."

Created by the World Photography Organisation, the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards will include new categories, pushing photographers’ creative boundaries, and invites photographers from all the corners of the world, of all abilities and styles, to enter their best images for free via www.worldphoto.org.

2017 Jury

The judges of the Professional competition are: Zelda Cheatle (Chair) Curator (UK); Allegra Cordero di Montezemolo, Curator and Head of Exhibitions, Centro de la Imagen (Mexico);Russ O'Connell, Picture Editor, The Sunday Times Magazine(UK);Aida Muluneh,Photographer and Cultural Entrepreneur (Ethiopia); Denis Curti, Creative Director, Tre Oci Foundation(Italy) and Francoise Callier, Program Director at Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops (France).

The Open and Youth competitions will be chaired by journalist / photographer Damien Demolder (UK), who will also judge the National Awards competition which runs across 61 countries worldwide. The Student Focus competition will be judged by a selection of judges including Andrea Kurland, Editor-in-Chief, Huck (UK), Dan Rubin, photographer / Creative Director (UK) and Jennifer Shaw, founder / Creative Director, PhotoNOLA (US). 

Zelda Cheatle, Chair of the Professional competition, comments: "I will be looking for originality of thought and execution, clarity of vision - a clear concept that translates well into pictures on the wall or on the screen.Simplicity, good craftsmanship and sometimes its wit, or compassion, ingenuity, luck or good judgement - but a good picture always stops you in your tracks."

Prizes

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on April 20, 2017. Prizes include the latest Sony digital imaging equipment, inclusion in the 2017 awards’ book plus cash prizes of $25,000 (USD) for the overall Professional winner and $5,000 (USD) for the overall Open winner.

In addition, the annual PR campaign for the awards’ winners and shortlisted photographers secures invaluable international exposure with the world’s most prestigious magazines and newspapers, as well as the most read websites and key photographic trade titles.

All winning and shortlisted images will also be exhibited as part of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House, London from April 21 – May 7, 2017.

Competition deadlines

●December 5, 2016 – Student Focus competition closes

●January 5, 2017 – Open, National Award and Youth competitions close

●January 10, 2017 – Professional competition closes

The 2016 Sony World Photography Awards received a record-breaking number of submissions: 230,103 images from 186 countries, a 33 % increase in entries on 2015.

An exclusive selection of entries from the 2017 awards is available for publication at www.worldphoto.org/press.

For all press enquiries please contact

Press Department, World Photography Organisation

+ 44 (0) 20 7886 3043 / 3049 / press@worldphoto.org

Notes to Editors

All entries to the Sony World Photography Awards are free via www.worldphoto.org.
Please visit the website for rules and conditions of entries.

Key dates

The World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives. Working across more than 180 countries, our aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography by celebrating the best imagery and photographers on the planet.

We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with both individual photographers and our industry-leading partners around the world.

We host a year-round portfolio of events including: the Sony World Photography Awards (the world's largest photography competition, celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2017), various local meetups/talks throughout the year, and PHOTOFAIRS, International Art Fairs Dedicated to Photography, with destinations in Shanghai and San Francisco.