Meet the 2019 World Press Photo Contest Jury

The World Press Photo Foundation is pleased to introduce the members of the 2019 Photo Contest juries.

The judging will take place in several rounds over a three-week period in January 2019. Whitney C. Johnson, 2019 Photo Contest Jury Chair, will be joined by 18 professionals from all around the world to select the best images contributing to the past year of visual journalism.

Anna Lena Mehr, director of contests at the World Press Photo Foundation, says:

“We are very excited about the different perspectives and expertise that the jury will bring to the 2019 Photo Contest. We have individuals coming from all kinds of photography backgrounds, there is an equal number of women and men, with representation from five continents. This will allow us to acknowledge a diversity of visual approaches and cultures equally, and to showcase a more comprehensive representation of our world. We are looking forward to the choices the juries will make.”

The 2019 Photo Contest Jury

Judging the World Press Photo Contest is an intensive process taking place in several rounds over a three-week period, starting on 12 January 2019.

In the first week, the work is done by four independent specialist juries, who judge eight categories. Each jury has a chair responsible for maintaining the integrity of the process, ensuring the deliberations are conducted in accordance with the highest standards, and ensuring that all jury members are fully involved in the judging process.

The News and Documentary Specialist Jury (General News, Spot News, Long-Term Projects and Contemporary Issues)

Chair: Whitney Johnson, vice president, Visuals and Immersive Experiences, at National Geographic, United States
Christoph Bangert, photographer and teacher, Germany
Denise Camargo, photographer, professor, researcher, and cultural project manager, Brazil
Davina Jogi, photographer and co-director, Zimbabwe Association of Female Photographers, Zimbabwe
Ahmed Najm, managing director of Metrography Agency, Iraq

Portraits Jury

Chair: Paul Moakley, editor at large for Special Projects at TIME, United States
Lekgetho Makola, head of Market Photo Workshop, South Africa
Adriana Zehbrauskas, independent documentary photographer, Brazil

Nature and Environment Jury

Chair: Neil Aldridge, conservation photographer, South Africa
Barbara Stauss, photo director and founding member of Mare Magazine, Switzerland
Xi Zhinong, wildlife photographer, China

Sports Jury

Chair: Maye-E Wong, photojournalist and editor, Singapore
Olivier Michon, managing director of Presse Sports / L'Equipe, France
Marguerite Schropp Lucarelli, director of photography Sports Illustrated, United States

General Jury

In the second week of judging, an independent general jury consisting of the chairs of the specialist juries, plus three new members, will choose the nominees:

Chair: Whitney Johnson, vice president, Visuals and Immersive Experiences, at National Geographic, United States
Neil Aldridge, photographer, South Africa
Yumi Goto, independent photography curator, Japan
Nana Kofi Acquah, photographer at Getty Images, Ghana
Paul Moakley, deputy director of Photography and Visual Enterprise at Time Magazine, United States
Alice Martins, photojournalist, Brazil
Maye-e Wong, photojournalist at Associated Press, Singapore

Secretaries

Each jury is assisted by a secretary, who is responsible for all procedural matters and ensures the rules are fairly and properly applied. The secretaries do not contribute to debate on the merits of any entry and have no vote in the process.

The 2019 Photo Contest secretaries are:

Kaat Celis, managing director of Sluitertijd and director of AntwerpPhoto, Belgium
David Griffin, owner of DGriffinStudio, United States

Winners will be announced in April 2019

On 20 February 2019, the six nominees for ‘World Press Photo of the Year,’ and the three nominees for the new ’World Press Photo Story of the Year’ award will be announced. The winners of these awards, as well as all the categories, will become known at the Awards Show taking place on 11 April 2019 in Amsterdam.

The winners of ‘World Press Photo of the Year,’ and 'World Press Photo Story of the Year’ will receive €10,000 each. All winners will be invited to the Awards Show. Their work will be showcased in the World Press Photo Foundation global exhibitions and yearbook. This means all contest winners will share in prizes totaling more than €130,000 in value.