The winners of the British Photography Awards 2026 have been announced, celebrating photographers whose work captures everything from wildlife and landscapes to street photography, sport and live performances. The results were revealed at a black-tie ceremony at the Royal Lancaster hotel in London, attended by around 280 photographers, judges, collectors and photography industry representatives.
The competition celebrates work by photographers based in the UK, regardless of nationality, as well as British photographers living overseas. This year’s awards featured a shortlist of 500 photographs across 20 categories, with winners selected by a judging panel that included What Digital Camera editor Damien Demolder. Alongside the judged awards, members of the public voted for their favourites in the People’s Choice categories.
Among the winning photographs is Ethan Fraser’s dramatic image of a skateboarder jumping through a ring of fire in Dorset, captured using a Sony A7 III and an 11mm fisheye lens. Other winners include Marc Lock’s aerial photograph of the winding road beside Stwlan Dam in North Wales and Brad Wakefield’s underwater documentary image of a seaweed harvester working off the Cornish coast.
The photographs also demonstrate how different techniques can produce striking results. Claire Waring used two flashguns to freeze thousands of spores being released from a puffball fungus, while David Miller photographed an ultrarunner on The Wrekin using only the available light from a headtorch and a red beacon illuminating the mist. Jonathan Knowles, meanwhile, used precisely timed equipment and controlled lighting to capture drinks flying through the air for a commercial advertising campaign, without relying on CGI or AI-generated imagery.
The awards attracted considerable public interest, with organisers reporting more than 800,000 votes across the People’s Choice categories, almost double the previous year’s total. Awards director Hugo Donnithorne-Tait also confirmed that the competition’s community has grown to more than 40,000 registered photographers, highlighting the continued support for the awards and their associated charitable activities.
Below is a selection of the winning photographs, with details of the equipment used and the stories behind each image.
British Photography Awards 2026: Category winners
Event – Yungblud by Aggie Anthimidou
Captured during a live performance at the Choruslife Arena in Bergamo, Italy, this black-and-white photograph shows Yungblud leaping into the air while gripping a microphone stand. The image captures the movement and intensity of the performance, with stage lighting helping to separate the musician from the background.
Camera: Nikon D750
Drone – That Dam Road by Marc Lock
Photographed above Stwlan Dam near Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales, this aerial image follows a winding mountain road as it cuts through the surrounding landscape. Lock chose a directly overhead perspective to contrast the road’s sweeping curves with the straighter lines of the dam and reservoir.
Camera: DJI Mini 3 Pro
Documentary – The Seaweed Farmer by Brad Wakefield
This underwater photograph follows Dan Hawkes, a harvest manager at the Cornish Seaweed Company, as he free dives off Coverack in Cornwall to harvest sea spaghetti. Wakefield used a fisheye lens and underwater housing to capture the worker surrounded by long strands of seaweed, documenting a relatively unfamiliar form of sustainable food production.
Camera: Canon EOS R6
Lens: Tokina fisheye
Accessories: Ikelite underwater housing
Fashion – Strength in Simplicity by Hannah Couzens
A monochrome fashion portrait featuring a model wearing an oversized black hat, photographed in Hertfordshire. Couzens wanted to create a simple but striking composition, with the hat becoming the defining element of the photograph. The image was lit using a Profoto B30 with a silver beauty dish.
Camera: Sony A7R V
Lens: Sony FE 28–70mm F2 GM
Lighting: Profoto B30 with silver beauty dish
Wedding – Love Underneath The Arches by David Bostock
Taken at Cliveden House, this black-and-white wedding photograph uses the surrounding stone archway to frame a couple. Bostock positioned the bride’s veil to echo the curve of the arch, using the contrast between the textured stone and delicate fabric to draw attention towards the subjects. The photograph was captured using natural daylight.
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: Canon RF 70–200mm F2.8 L IS
Land Animal – Fish Tail by Deborah Russell
A coastal brown bear photographed at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in Alaska, shortly after catching a fish. Russell positioned her camera just centimetres above the mud to emphasise the animal’s size and presence, capturing the bear against a clear blue sky with the remains of its meal hanging from its mouth.
Camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II
Lens: Canon RF 400mm F2.8
Settings: 1/2000 sec, f/4, ISO 320
Commercial: Product – Bud Air by Jonathan Knowles
Created for Budweiser and Budweiser 0.0’s FIFA World Cup 2026 sponsorship campaign, this photograph captures drinks, splashes and confetti suspended in mid-air. Knowles used timed projection devices, carefully controlled lighting and high-speed photography to freeze the action. According to the photographer, the entire scene was produced in-camera without CGI or AI-generated elements.
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Macro – I’ll Huff and I’ll Puff by Claire Waring
Photographed at Hepple Wilds in Northumberland, this image captures a mature puffball fungus releasing a cloud of spores into the air. Waring used two flashguns triggered by the camera’s shutter to illuminate the spores, freezing a moment that would otherwise be difficult to observe. Timing was particularly important, as the release of spores was unpredictable.
Camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II
Lens: Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM
Lighting: Two flashguns
Low Light Photography – Summer Nights by Josh Dury
A field of sunflowers beneath the Milky Way in Dorset, photographed during a midsummer evening. Dury combined the flowers with the night sky, using the distant light pollution from Wimborne to add colour to the horizon. The photograph was made using an ultra-wide lens, a star tracker and a specialist filter.
Camera: Sony A7S II
Lens: Sigma 14mm DG DN
Accessories: Move Shoot Move NOMAD, NiSi Starsoft filter and Benro Tortoise tripod
Self Portrait – Feel the Music by Rachel Green
This self-portrait uses long exposure to represent the physical sensation of playing the cello. Green, who studied the instrument as a child, returned to playing after her youngest daughter began learning. The overlapping movement in the photograph is intended to convey the vibrations, emotion and experience of becoming absorbed in music.
Camera: Sony A7R V
Lens: 24–70mm f/2.8
Street – Pensioner Liverpool by Nicky Johnston
A black-and-white photograph showing a man sitting on the steps of a terraced house in Liverpool, with graffiti visible in the foreground. Johnston took the photograph at around 15 years old, during one of his first outings alone with his father’s camera. The image reflects the observational nature of street photography and the importance of recognising an interesting scene.
Camera: Pentax K1000
Pets and Domesticated Animals – On Duty by Andrew Raven
Four dachshunds dressed as King’s Guards stand on The Mall in London, surrounded by Union flags with Buckingham Palace in the distance. Part of Raven’s ongoing Iconic Dogs of London series, the photograph uses a familiar British setting to create a humorous portrait of the four dogs.
Camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II
Lens: Canon RF 50mm F1.2
Sports – The Ring of Fire by Ethan Fraser
Captured during the annual King of Kings skateboarding event at Kings Park Skatepark in Boscombe, Dorset, this photograph shows a skateboarder named Denis performing a trick while passing through a flaming ring. The ring is lit each year in memory of local skateboarder Nathan Heard, with the words ‘Nathan Forever’ welded across its top. Fraser used an ultra-wide fisheye lens to include both the skateboarder and the surrounding scene.
Camera: Sony A7 III
Lens: TTArtisan 11mm f/2.8 manual fisheye
Architecture – Netherdale by Tom Knowles
Photographed in Galashiels, Scotland, this image captures the main stand at Netherdale Stadium, home of Gala Fairydean Rovers. Designed by Peter Womersley and built in the 1960s, the Category A listed structure is an example of Brutalist sporting architecture. Knowles used Kodak Portra 400 film to capture the building’s geometric design and architectural character.
Camera: Hasselblad 500C, Kodak Portra 400 film.
Birdlife – Their World, My View by Isabel Latimer
Taken during an RSPB gannet-watching boat trip from Bridlington, this photograph captures northern gannets flying close to the water in strong winds and rough seas. Latimer photographed from near the water’s surface to convey the movement of the waves, the spray and the birds keeping pace with the boat.
Camera: GoPro Hero 12.
Fine Art – Still, Life by Jackie Slater
Photographed in Leeds, this image documents an exhibition of portraits created during a three-year project at a local hospice. Slater provided free portraits to people living with life-limiting illnesses, with prints often given to families as keepsakes. For the exhibition, the portraits were printed on acetate and mounted in old film carriers, accompanied by quotations from the participants.
Camera: Samsung SM-G950F smartphone camera.
Food & Drink – Floral Banquet by Lauren Mclean
Created in Mclean’s London studio for a 2025 client Christmas card, this elaborate still-life photograph features a banquet surrounded by carefully arranged flowers. The setup took approximately six hours to prepare, with each flower stem individually positioned in foam blocks. Food styling was provided by Vicki Smallwood, while Mclean handled the photography and props.
Kit: Phase One camera, 120mm lens and Broncolor lighting.
Landscape – Morning Rise by Emily Endean
Taken during an early morning swim off the Dorset coast, this photograph captures the surface of the sea as the sun rises above the horizon. Endean entered the water before sunrise and waited for the light to develop, focusing closely on the ripples to create an intimate view of the water rather than a conventional coastal landscape.
Kit: Fujifilm X-T5, 60mm lens and AquaTech underwater housing/Settings: 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200.
Portrait – Alison Spittle: Big by Matt Stronge
This portrait features comedian Alison Spittle wearing an oversized dress made from shower loofahs, created for a show exploring her experiences with weight loss and public comments about her body. Stronge photographed her against a simple grey background with restrained lighting, allowing the unusual costume and Spittle’s expression to remain the focus of the image.
Kit: Fujifilm GFX100S with 55mm lens.
Water Life – A World in the Palm of My Hand by Nur Tucker
Photographed in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, this underwater macro image shows a tiny clownfish nestled among the rounded tentacles of a sea anemone. Tucker filled the frame with the miniature scene to remove any obvious sense of scale, drawing attention to the repeating shapes, pink-tipped tentacles and vivid colours of the fish.
Kit: Nikon D500, Nikon 105mm macro lens, Subal underwater housing and two Inon Z240 strobes.
British Photography Awards 2026: People’s Choice winners
Landscape – Summer Glimpse by Thomas Harper
Photographed at Porthcurno Beach in Cornwall, this image captures a breaking wave from within the water, looking back towards the beach and its granite landscape. Harper positioned himself inside the wave to achieve the unusual perspective, using an underwater housing to protect his camera. He took the photograph during Easter, when a brief spell of warmer weather provided an early glimpse of summer.
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: Canon RF 10–20mm
Accessories: AquaTech underwater housing
Water Life – Holding On by Rhiannon Lawler
A polar bear balances on the edge of a drifting iceberg in East Greenland, photographed from above using a drone. Lawler wanted to capture both the strength of the animal and the fragility of the ice beneath it. The photograph was taken in 2025 using the drone’s 70mm zoom lens, with care taken to avoid disturbing the bear’s natural behaviour.
Camera: DJI Mavic 4 Pro
Lens: Built-in 70mm telephoto camera
Low Light Photography – The Hill by David Miller
An ultrarunner climbs through heavy mist during The Hill Ultra on The Wrekin in Shropshire, illuminated by a red beacon and the runner’s headtorch. Miller photographed the scene handheld using only the available light, with a slow shutter speed helping capture the unusual atmosphere. The event involves repeated ascents and descents of the hill over approximately 160 miles.
Camera: Leica Q3
Lens: Built-in 28mm Summilux
Settings: 1/13 sec, f/1.7, ISO 6400
Street – Never Let Me Go by Olly Headey
Taken in New York City, this photograph shows a couple embracing inside a train, viewed through its window. Headey noticed the moment while waiting for the last train home after photographing Halloween celebrations. The image captures an intimate interaction between the two people, with the window adding a sense of distance between the photographer and the subjects.
Camera: Fujifilm X-T5
Lens: Fujifilm XF 16mm F1.4
Settings: 1/250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250
Self Portrait – Black Sand Selfie by Mat Price
An aerial self-portrait taken on a black-sand beach near Vík in South Iceland. Price created the image the day before taking part in The Rift gravel race, using a drone to photograph himself and his bicycle beside the incoming waves. Calm conditions and unusually light winds made it possible to capture the contrast between the dark beach and white surf.
Camera: DJI Mavic 3 Classic
Macro – The Way Through the Woods by Jacki Gordon
Photographed at home in Glasgow, this miniature woodland scene was created using brown shimeji mushrooms and figures measuring just three-quarters of an inch tall. Gordon used a black backdrop to create atmosphere and experimented with lighting to make the mushrooms resemble towering trees.
Kit: Canon EOS 90D, Canon EF-S 35mm macro lens and tripod.
Settings: 1/5 sec, f/25, ISO 400, -2.3 EV.
Pets and Domesticated Animals – Lick Me by Nigel Wallace
This playful portrait shows Liby, a spaniel, licking a large imitation lollipop during a studio session at Pooch’s Yard Dog Daycare in Thetford, Norfolk. Wallace used a hardened clay prop with dog-friendly peanut butter or cream cheese applied to the back to encourage the dogs to interact with it. The sessions also helped raise money for charity.
Kit: Sony A9 II and Sony 24–105mm f/4 lens.
Settings: 1/160 sec, f/13, ISO 250.
Portrait – Matty by Neil Ferry
Taken at Beyond Vinyl Records in Newcastle upon Tyne, this portrait of musician Matty Healy was created during a brief photographic sitting. Ferry used controlled lighting and careful adjustments to tone and texture to produce a timeless portrait, placing greater emphasis on the subject’s expression than his celebrity status.
Kit: Sony A7 III, Tamron 28–70mm f/2.8 lens and Godox AD400 lighting.
Sports – Le Chemin du Curé by David Miller
An ultrarunner negotiates a rocky section of the TDS race in the French Alps. Miller positioned his camera close to the ground, using the surrounding rock formations to frame the athlete against the sky. By exposing for the highlights, he allowed the runner and foreground to fall into deep shadow, creating a strong silhouette that emphasises the scale of the mountain landscape.
Kit: Leica Q2 Monochrom with fixed 28mm Summilux f/1.7 lens.
Settings: 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200.
Wedding – Fluke by Stacey Jones
Captured during a wedding reception at a snooker club in Northwich, Cheshire, this black-and-white photograph shows a bride and groom sharing a moment of laughter. The venue was chosen because of the bride’s love of pool, giving the image a personal connection to the couple. Jones used monochrome to emphasise their expressions and give the photograph a timeless quality.
Kit: Nikon D5300.
Land Animal – Endangered Affection by Hang Ross
Photographed in Spain, this image captures two wild-born Iberian lynx kittens touching faces in a moment of natural interaction. Their distinctive tufted ears and patterned coats are clearly visible, while the close composition draws attention to the relationship between the siblings. The photograph also highlights a species that has faced a serious threat of extinction.
Kit: Canon EOS R5 Mark II and Canon RF 100–500mm f/4.5–7.1 L IS USM lens.
Drone – The Guardian Within by Thomas Lamont
An actor portraying Sir William Wallace stands within the crown of the National Wallace Monument in Stirling, Scotland, photographed at sunset. Lamont used the telephoto camera on a DJI drone to compress the perspective and isolate the figure within the monument’s architecture.
Kit: DJI Mavic 4 Pro, 168mm-equivalent telephoto camera.
Settings: 1/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400.
Fine Art – Pan by Jef Gilgannon
Titled Pan, this photograph was taken in Liverpool and described by the photographer as “Street Ballet”. The image was captured using a compact Ricoh camera.
Kit: Ricoh GR III.
Fashion – Red Delight by Natasha Everson-Williams
Photographed in Manchester, Red Delight uses crimson fabric and movement to create a fashion image centred on colour and form. The flowing material is a defining part of the composition, giving the photograph a sense of motion.
Kit: Nikon D750 and 24–70mm lens.
Architecture – Sinking Bunker by Matt Emmett
Taken at Warden Point on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, this photograph looks out from inside a former concrete radar station that once stood on the nearby cliffs. Coastal erosion has left the structure sinking into the sand, approximately 30 feet from the cliff edge. Rather than photographing the tilted bunker from outside, Emmett chose an interior viewpoint to frame the changing coastline.
Kit: Pentax K-3 II, Pentax DA 20–40mm Limited lens and Manfrotto tripod.
Event – Where’s Bald-E by Connor Baker
Photographed during Pitbull’s headline performance at the BST festival in Hyde Park on 10 July 2026, this image captures a crowd of 22,141 people taking part in a world-record attempt for the largest gathering wearing bald caps. Baker photographed the scene from a cherry picker, using the elevated viewpoint to create a crowded composition reminiscent of a Where’s Wally? illustration.
Kit: Sony A7 IV and 70–200mm lens.
Documentary – The Daughters of the Trees by Andreea Selagea
Two young girls peer from behind the distinctive dragon’s blood trees of Socotra, their expressions contrasting with the unusual landscape. Selagea used the trees’ umbrella-shaped canopies and twisting trunks to frame the subjects, capturing a quiet moment of curiosity within the island’s distinctive environment.
Kit: Sony A7R V and Sony FE 16–35mm F2.8 lens.
Commercial: Product – Christmas with Honda by David Gilliver
Created at Tannery Studios in Woking for Honda’s 2025 Christmas campaign, this photograph uses light painting to illuminate a Honda CR-V in festive colours. Gilliver worked in a darkened studio alongside a film production crew, using a long exposure and coloured light-painting tools to create the final image in-camera.
Kit: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM lens, Manfrotto tripod and cable release.
Settings: 118 sec, f/8, ISO 100.
Birdlife – Flight of Icarus by Julie Smith
Photographed near Whitfield in Northumberland, this image captures two kestrels interacting in flight during the early morning. Smith waited for the birds to move in front of the rising sun, allowing the backlighting to illuminate their feathers. The photograph was taken handheld at the longest focal length of her telephoto zoom.
Kit: Sony A1 and Sony 200–600mm lens.
Settings: 1/2000 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100, 600mm.
Food & Drink – Red Hot by Daisy May
Titled Red Hot, this Food & Drink People’s Choice winner was photographed in East Yorkshire. The photographer has not supplied a fuller description of the image.
Kit: Nikon Z8.
The winning photographs and further details about the competition can be found on the British Photography Awards website.
Press release
WINNERS FOR BPA 2026 ANNOUNCED
London: UK.
The judges and BPA staff have announced the Overall and People’s Choice winners from their 500 picture shortlist at the annual gala. The vast variety of imagery, covering 20 categories, showcases the best up-and-coming and established image-makers (of any naHonality) based in the UK, and Brits further afield.
Held at the at the Royal Lancaster, London. The naHonal black-He gala dinner was aPended by 280 photographers, judges, collectors, criHcs and journalists. Awards Director Hugo Donnithorne-Tait said: “We had a monumental year, with now over 40,000 registered photographers in our community. So many arHsts chose to support our chariHes though the compeHHon, even in these tough financial Hmes – which is incredibly touching. The standard of photography, the variety and creativity showcased on the shortlist made the gala so special for everyone.”
The global vote held to choose the People’s Choice winners tallied over 800,000 votes across all categories – nearly doubling from last year’s engagement.
All 500 images on the shortlist are available directly from the website, clicking ‘into’ each image allows downloading desired files. All credit informaHon and capHoning can be accessed from there too. For an entire 6gb file of the entire shortlist, you can reach out to office@briOshphotographyawards.org
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