By Asiye Latife Yilmaz
ISTANBUL (AA)—The jury for the İstanbul Photo Awards 2026, the international news photography contest organized by Anadolu, began evaluating entries to select the year's best photos on Monday.
During online sessions monitored through a special evaluation platform developed by Anadolu for the contest, jury members from seven countries will select the best photographs of the year over two days.
The experienced jury includes prominent names from the photography world, including National Geographic photographer and producer Ami Vitale, photojournalist Carol Guzy, NOOR agency member Yuri Kozyrev, The Globe and Mail photojournalist Goran Tomasevic, Getty Images Chief Sports Photographer Cameron Spencer, and photojournalists Ahmet Sel and Firat Yurdakul.
Photojournalists Nicole Tung and Muhammed Muheisen, who have recently drawn attention with their projects, also joined the jury this year.
Professional photographers submitted their entries between Nov. 13, 2025, and Jan. 13, 2026, with photos covering major global events from the past year.
The contest, organized to support press photography worldwide, received nearly 19,000 photographs from 1,587 photographers representing 113 nationalities.
Submissions were accepted in 10 categories, including Single News, Story News, Single Sports, Story Sports, Single Nature and Environment, Story Nature and Environment, Single Portrait, Story Portrait, Single Daily Life, and Story Daily Life.
The contest accepts photographs taken within the year that carry news value. Three awards will be given in each category, while the Photo of the Year grand prize in the Single News category will receive $6,000.
In total, $58,000 in prizes will be distributed, with $3,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place, and $1,000 for third place in each category.
The winners will be announced at the end of March, and Turkcell continues to support the contest as the contest's communication sponsor this year.
Since its launch, İstanbul Photo Awards has grown into a platform involving more than 20,000 participants, contributing to photography not only through awards but also through exhibitions and photo albums featuring winning works.
The contest attracts photography professionals from around the world, and award-winning photos from previous years can be viewed at istanbulphotoawards.com.
