Editors' Picks Portrait Award

“It’s a world, someone’s face. When I capture it, I see the future of the world.” – Malick Sidibé

Following the results of last month’s Portrait Photography Award, judged by British photographer Jimmy Nelson, we want to share some of the competition entries that didn’t make it to the final selection round but impressed by their overall quality and stayed with us.

The competition was a great success and we received an incredible range of excellent materials, and although we couldn’t give an award to every entrant, we want to share some of the many talented photographers whose images struck us and are well worthy of exposure.

Thanks again to all of you for taking part and sharing your beautiful work with us!

From 'EHA' - a series of portraits of my mother, portrayed in a series of unusual situations, poses and attire.
© Sirli Raitma
'Majorettes' - Majorettes wait for the start of the Bermuda Day parade, Hamilton, Bermuda
© Meredith Andrews
'Liberation' © Lia Bekyan
Benedetta, 2014 © Carlotta Valente
Black Mamba Zenzele, 2017
The Black Mambas are an almost exclusively female anti poaching unit which operates, unarmed, in Balule Nature Reserve, near Kruger National Park, in north-eastern South Africa. They are trained in anti-poaching and survival skills and are taught to identify and track humans and animals, how to blend in with their surroundings and how to avoid confrontations.
© Julia Gunther
‘ELLIE’ model, dancer and performer of Culture Device.
Culture Device is a group of dancers, performers and artists with Down Syndrome, who are ready to both challenge prejudices and also change attitudes towards people with an extra chromosome.
© Evelyn Bencicova
Hadzabe Teen - Tanzania © Guy Needham
Portrait of Veronica Yoko Plebani - Italian Paralympian athlete.
Eight years ago, Italian paralympian Veronica Yoko Plebani found a new beginning. At 15, Plebani, now 23, contracted an acute case of bacterial meningitis that left her body, particularly her arms and legs, severely scarred and impaired. despite stacked odds, Plebani, a lifelong athlete, adapted to her new body and took her athleticism to a new level, joining the nearby Kayak Canoa Club Palazzolo in her Northern Italian hometown of Palazzolo sull'Oglio.
© Alexandra Von Fuerst
Bulgarian Shepherd
A Bulgarian shepherd keeps a watchful eye on his herd of goats.
© Kristyn Taylor
‘Our Lady of Plaster’ - Bolivia
This is an Andean Virgin, a dark Mary. She represents the rupture and continuity between native Bolivian female deities and inherited Catholic traditions. In her we perceive the collision of two worlds, that of mother earth and that of a celestial guardian. She is a symbol of the sacred and the profane, the humble and the majestic, the fertile and the ethereal.
© Marisol Mendez