Carl Doghouse | 1st Place | Carl Doghouse is a portrait photographer based in the heart of London. For as long as he can remember, he has been driven by an insatiable urge to capture the true essence of people through his lens, a deeply personal mission. Throughout his journey, he has had the privilege of connecting with individuals from all walks of life. Each person he photographs carries their own unique story, and he considers it a great honor to help them share that story with the world through his photography.

Salvatore Montemagno | 2nd Place | Salvatore Montemagno was born in Gela, Sicily, on January 4, 1962. Since 1984, he has lived in Montichiari (BS). He has been taking photos for more than 30 years. He still remembers when he took his first photo with a reflex camera, a Cosina CT1, lent to him by a work colleague in Rome, from the window of their office. It was a very banal photo, but for him, it was very important. It marked the zero point of a great passion that has never abandoned him since then. He still has that photo.

Mariëtte Aernoudts | 3rd Place | Mariëtte Aernoudts began her photographic journey 14 years ago, initially focusing on portrait photography to capture the unique personalities of subjects. As her interests developed, she shifted to telling stories through images. The challenges of the pandemic led her to explore nature photography in an abstract and mystical way, adding a new artistic dimension to her work. Mariëtte’s dedication has earned her recognition in national and international competitions, including a 5-month exhibition in Tuscany, Italy.

Luca Ianelli  | Honarable Mention | Luca Ianelli is a 23-year-old art director, photographer, and filmmaker. He is a student at the Penninghen school in Paris. He discovered art through his Nonna (Italian for grandmother), who was an amateur painter, and he was always in her studio drawing and creating with her. He discovered dance at the age of 2, but also dabbled in drawing, graffiti, and photography, as his parents used to buy him little disposable cameras when they went on vacation. “I’ve always been a creative bulimic, but I came to the ‘digital arts’ rather late because I was epileptic until I was 10, which prevented me from looking at screens.” Luca Ianelli was able to collaborate fairly quickly with luxury brands such as Lancôme, Prada, L’Oréal Paris, and Valentino. Then with the Festival d’Automne in Paris and the Montpellier Danse Festival in the cultural world. His work was exhibited at Milan Fashion Week in 2023, in Arles in 2024, and at the ImageNation Paris event.

Alain Schroeder  | Honorable Mention | Belgian photojournalist Alain Schroeder has been working in the industry for over four decades. First as a sports photographer in the 80s, then shooting books and editorial pieces in art and human stories. In 2013, he uprooted his life, trading-in his shares in Reporters (a Belgian photo agency), to pursue life on the road with a camera. He now travels the world shooting stories focusing on social issues and people. He has won many international awards including Nikon Japan, Nikon Belgium, TPOTY, Days Japan, Trieste Photo, PX3, IPA, MIFA, BIFA, PDN, the Fence, Lens Culture, Felix Schoeller, Istanbul Photo Awards, Siena, POYI and World Press Photo.

TEODELINA DETRY, TETIANA TRYFONOVA, VÉRONIQUE L’HOSTE, THAHNAN FERDOUS, LARRY LOUIE, SUSANNE MIDDELBERG, OLIVER KLINK, SALEM MCBUNNY, LEX LUCAS, JIŘÍ ŠNEIDER, JEFF SCHEWE, ALESSANDRO CELANTE, FRANCE LECLERC, CHESTER NG, ANDREA LONDON, VITTORIA SALVO, ANTONIO RACITI, ANNEMARIE JUNG, FRANÇOIS MAUREL, HELGA BAHMER, LILA ROSE CUSSONNIER, ALVA MARTÍN, GARY WILLIAMS, DANNY VAN DER ELST, JON WOLLENHAUPT, LOÏS KOELEWIJN, MIMMA PETARRA, MIKE EUBANKS, JACQUE RUPP, DIMITRIS SIDERIDIS, RAY ROGERS, ROBERTO A. CABRERA, HUA CAI-PROSSÉ, HIRAK BHATTACHARJEE, HERMINE PATCH, APOSTOLOS KALOUDIS, MARLIES GETZ, STÉPHANE BIENFAIT, OLIVIA VIVANCO TORRES, JOSEPH O’NEILL, ATTILA ATANER, NIKKI KELLOGG, BRIAN CASSEY, KAREN COX, STEVE HOFFMAN, SARAH BALDO, IAN PETTIGREW, KARINEH GURJIAN, SARAH HASKELL, MATTHIAS FROMMHERZ, DAVID BONI, ERIKA G. ROBLEDO, IVAN FERRER, ALINE SMITHSON, FERNANDA SOTO MASTRANTONIO, TODOR TILEV, MARYNA KOSTIUKEVYCH, MICHAEL POTTS, IRINA VOVK, DAVID MATHE, JO ANN CHAUS, KARINE COLL, DAVID SHEDLARZ, ROBIN SCHALK, LYNNE GREENAWAY, RON COOPER, DANA HANLEY, ANDREAS EGGLER, PETER HICKSON, ERIC BRUNELLE, ANTONIO SCHIAVANO, PEKKA INNANEN, TREVOR COLE, ALAIN SCHROEDER, OLGA STEINEPREIS, NINA KATZ, PAUL ITALIANO, LORI POND, PAULINE THOMAS, MARIA OLIVEIRA, LUCIA PIANTA, RODRIGO IZQUIERDO, KAREN CONSTINE, PIERRE-YVES CRUAUD, KONSTANTIN MUSINYAN, ANTOINE BUTTAFOGHI