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There was no single definitive “best photo of 2021.” The clearest single-image answer is Mads Nissen’s The First Embrace, named World Press Photo of the Year in 2021—but it was made in 2020. Other notable selections include Antonio Faccilongo’s winning photo story Habibi, the Sony World Photography Awards winners, and editorial roundups published by TIME and National Geographic.
What was the photo of the year in 2021?
The First Embrace by Mads Nissen won World Press Photo of the Year in 2021. The photograph shows 85-year-old Rosa Luzia Lunardi being embraced by nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza in São Paulo on August 5, 2020. Its award year and image date are different: the image was made in 2020, then selected as the 2021 contest winner.
Kevin WY Lee, a photographer and member of the 2021 contest jury, described it as “This iconic image of COVID-19 memorializes the most extraordinary moment of our lives, everywhere.”
Which other 2021 photography selections are worth knowing?
World Press Photo’s story winner
Antonio Faccilongo’s Habibi won World Press Photo’s Story of the Year. It is a photo story rather than a single winning image, so it is a different kind of selection from The First Embrace.
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Sony World Photography Awards
The Sony winners included Tamary Kudita in Open, Coenraad Heinz Torlage in Student, and Pubarun Basu in Youth. These are category winners, not a single overall “photo of the year” designation.
Editorial roundups
TIME published its Top 10 photos of 2021 on December 27, 2021. National Geographic also linked collections focused on animals and families. These editorial selections offer another way to explore the year, distinct from a contest result.
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How should you compare “best photos of 2021” lists?
Check who made the selection and what the list is selecting. A contest winner, an editorial top-ten list, and a thematic collection answer different questions. Also check whether a result honors one photograph or a longer visual story, and whether “2021” refers to the award or publication date rather than when the photograph was taken. Those distinctions explain why the best-known 2021 award winner, The First Embrace, is a 2020 photograph.
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How many images did the World Press Photo jury review?
National Geographic reported in 2021 that the World Press Photo jury reviewed nearly 75,000 images. That figure describes the contest’s review process, not a ranking of every photograph made around the world that year.
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Where can you explore the winning work?
The World Press Photo Yearbook is a 240-page hardcover featuring the contest’s work. It is a way to browse beyond the headline-winning image and encounter the awarded photographs and stories together.
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