Lars Boering, managing director of the World Press Photo Foundation:
“Today the World Press Photo Foundation presents the best pictures and productions contributing to the past year of visual journalism, and with them, the stories that matter. As the need for images and stories we can trust has never been greater, we are proud to recognize these visual journalists and digital storytellers, and look forward to sharing their work with the world in our World Press Photo Exhibition 2019.”
Access the media kit to see the nominees, download high-resolution images and find out more about the 2019 Photo Contest and the Digital Storytelling Contest.
Since 1955 the World Press Photo Contest has recognized professional photographers for the best pictures - presented as singles or in stories - contributing to the past year of visual journalism. This year, the contest saw 4,738 photographers from 129 countries enter 78,801 images. An independent jury comprising leading photography professionals selected the winning pictures and the stories that matter.
The 2019 World Press Photo Contest nominees are 43 photographers from 25 countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela. Of these nominees, 14 photographers are women (32%), which means a significant increase from the 2018 Photo Contest, when 12% of the nominees were female photographers.
For the 62nd edition of the Photo Contest, the World Press Photo Foundation introduced a major new award: the World Press Photo Story of the Year. On a par with the World Press Photo of the Year, this new award honors the photographer whose visual creativity and skills produced a story with excellent editing and sequencing that captures or represents an event or issue of great journalistic importance in 2018.
The three nominees for World Press Photo Story of the Year are: The Lake Chad Crisis by Marco Gualazzini (Italy), shortlisted in the ‘Environment’ category; The Migrant Caravan by Pieter Ten Hoopen (Netherlands/Sweden), in the ‘Spot News’ category; and Yemen Crisis by Lorenzo Tugnoli (Italy), in the ‘General News’ category.
The independent jury also shortlisted six nominees for World Press Photo of the Year: Victims of an Alleged Gas Attack Receive Treatment in Eastern Ghouta by Mohammed Badra (Syria), nominated in the ‘Spot News’ category; Almajiri Boy by Marco Gualazzini (Italy), in the ‘Environment’ category; Being Pregnant After FARC Child-Bearing Ban by Catalina Martin-Chico (France/Spain), in the ‘Contemporary Issues’ category; The Disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi by Chris McGrath (Australia), in the ‘General News’ category; Crying Girl on the Border by John Moore (United States), in the ‘Spot News’ category, and Akashinga - the Brave Ones by Brent Stirton (South Africa), in the ‘Environment’ category.
The jury also nominated three single images and three stories in each of the eight categories of the 2019 Photo Contest: Contemporary Issues, General News, Environment, Nature, Long-Term Projects, Portraits, Spot News, and Sports.
See the 2019 World Press Photo Contest nominees gallery.
An independent jury covering a wide range of photography backgrounds–from six global regions, with an equal number of men and women–selected the 2019 World Press Photo Contest nominees. Whitney C. Johnson, vice president, Visuals and Immersive Experiences at National Geographic, is the chair of the 2019 Photo Contest’s general jury. Read interview with Whitney C. Johnson on Witness to discover the photos that stayed with her.
The World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest rewards the best forms of visual journalism enabled by digital technologies. For its 9th edition, the World Press Photo Foundation introduced two headline awards: World Press Photo Interactive of the Year and World Press Photo Online Video of the Year. These awards are on a par with World Press Photo of the Year and World Press Photo Story of the Year, and will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euros each.
This year, 300 productions were entered to the contest: 77 Interactive, 140 Short, and 83 Long. An independent jury comprising digital storytellers and multimedia editors from around the world selected the nominated productions and the stories that matter.
The 2019 Digital Storytelling Contest nominees are nine productions from nine countries. Of these nominees, 53% are women, and 47% are men.
The three nominees for World Press Photo Interactive of the Year are: Flint is a Place, produced by Screen; Notes From Aleppo, produced by Paradox; and The Last Generation by produced by Frontline.
The three nominees for World Press Photo Online Video of the Year are: In the Abscence, produced by Field of Vision, nominated in the ‘Long’ category; The Legacy of the ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy: Traumatized Children With No Access to Treatment, produced by Univision News Digital, nominated in the ‘Short’ category; and Unprotected, produced by ProPublica, nominated in the ‘Long’ category.
The jury also nominated three productions in the Short and Long categories. Whilst the Long and Short categories reward winners with first, second, and third prizes, recognition in the Interactive category is achieved differently. The constant development in media and technology is celebrated through three equally-weighted awards, and given the diversity of interactive formats, the jury chooses the approaches they wish to acknowledge as outstanding.
See the 2019 World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest nominees gallery.
An independent jury comprising five female digital storytellers and multimedia editors from all around the world selected the nominated productions. This year, Zahra Rasool, head of Contrast VR—Al Jazeera’s immersive media studio, was the 2019 Digital Storytelling Contest Jury Chair. Read interview with Zahra Rasool on Witness to find out why the jury chose the nominated images.
The winners of the 2019 Photo Contest and the 2019 Digital Storytelling Contest will be announced at the Awards Show taking place on 11 April in Amsterdam. All nominees will be invited to attend the ceremony, as well as the World Press Photo Festival 2019, taking place on 12-13 April in Amsterdam.
Media are invited to attend the World Press Photo Awards Show by registering here: bit.ly/WPPh2019-Awards-Show. Deadline for registrations is 20 March. Please note: there is very limited capacity for this event. We’ll process all requests and contact all registered journalists to confirm/decline their accreditation by email before 1 April. Same applies for the World Press Photo Festival 2019. You can register for the festival here: bit.ly/WPPh2019-Festival-Media.
Request the media kit here to see the nominees, download high-resolution images and find out more about the 2019 Photo Contest and the Digital Storytelling Contest.