This year marks the 40th anniversary of the acclaimed AOP Photography Awards, celebrating excellence in the creative photography and image-making industry. Sponsored by MPB, this year’s awards focus on human creativity and professional practice. The finalists have been announced ahead of the live presentation of the winners.
The Gold and Silver winners will be announced live at the AOP Annual Showcase event in London on 9 October 2025.
Awards that stand the test of time
Isabelle Doran, CEO of the Association of Photographers, says of the 40th anniversary AOP Awards, “Given the plethora of photography awards across our industry today, it’s even more special that the AOP Photography Awards has stood the test of time, celebrating 40 years of professional practice, in which we have seen many photographic styles and trends come and go over four decades.
“It’s both positive and rewarding to see the continuation of visual rigour from this year’s finalists’ entries, from profound realism to highly conceptual imagery, each sharing a multitude of facets spanning the lives humans lead, whether captured in the format of stills or moving images.”
Categories
The AOP Photography Awards comprises ten individual subject categories, plus additional awards for Best Commission, Best Personal, and Best Moving work, which are considered by key industry figures from all the selected finalists.
Qualifying
These professional awards are open to all APO Accredited Photographer and Assisting Photographer members. As in previous years, stills, moving image and innovation can be entered into each category. All still and moving images have been created by an individual or published as new from January 2024, except for the Project category, which as no date limitation but must be a proven ongoing project.
Finalists
Full lists of finalists in the categories, together with examples of their work, are availably by following these links to the respective sections:
- Documentary
- Environment
- Fashion and Beauty
- Food and Drink
- Lifestyle
- Portrait
- Spaces (interior space and decoration)
- Sport
- Still Life and Object
- Project
The feature image at the top of this article is by © Joseph Ford. Gold Winner, Spaces, 39th AOP Photography Awards. Courtesy of AOP Awards.
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