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There’s something electric about these 23 images—you feel it before you can explain it. The Female in Focus x Nikon 2025 Winners aren’t just photographs; they’re mic-drops. Raw, intentional, and emotionally sharp, this year’s winning works prove that when women control the frame, the story hits different. Partnering with Nikon for the second year, Female in Focus continues to push past industry lip service and put real weight behind women photographers who deserve the spotlight.
The numbers still sting. Women in photography earn about 30% less than men, more than half report gender discrimination, and only 34% of major photography awards over the last five years went to women. That’s not a vibe—it’s a problem. This is exactly why Female in Focus matters. It’s not about trends or token wins; it’s about changing who gets seen, funded, and remembered.
Judged by an all-star panel including Vogue Italia’s Alessia Glaviano, Julia Gelezova, and Louise Fedotov-Clements of Photoworks, the 2025 edition asked photographers to respond to the theme On the Cusp. Think revolution, ageing, climate anxiety, tech shifts—those in-between moments where everything feels fragile but full of potential. The results? Visually bold, deeply human, and quietly fearless.
The two winning series and 20 single images will hit the walls at 10.14 Gallery and later at the International Centre for the Image, giving these stories the physical space they deserve. And with the People’s Choice vote now open, the conversation keeps rolling—one frame, one voice at a time—on 1854.photography.
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#1. Series Winner: "New Scramble 2020-2025" by Giya Makondo-Wills
"In 2017, data overtook oil as the world’s most valuable commodity. The work sits in the void between departure of information and arrival in a server. The space between night and dawn, the air that falls between the lips of the storyteller and ear of the receiver, the abyss that we must cross when the old world is dying and the new one is not yet born."
#2. Series Winner: "The Other Battlefields" by Laetitia Vançon
"The Other Battlefields explores the profound imprint of war on Ukrainian youth, offering a glimpse into what it means to grow up and live in a country at war, more than three years after the Russian invasion. The years of youth are normally synonymous with widening horizons, the weaving of friendships, and the promise of adventure. But for many young Ukrainians, those expectations have been shattered, replaced by fear, loss, depression, and exile."
Single Image Winners
#3. "Paterfamilias" by Ada Marino
"This image is part of Paterfamilias series. Paterfamilias is an autobiographical project, exploring the theme of oppression in the domestic sphere, bringing to light the consequences of deteriorated relationships in male-dominated families. The project narrative stirs memories by virtue of its rawness. Feelings and resentments, as the fruit of this experience, work to raise awareness of a deviant cultural aspect that continues to demean the dignity of women."
#4. "Claudia, Darleine, Marthe, Victorie and Maryline" by Ana Margarita Flores
"This image is from my series called “Je te connais de demain” (I know you from yesterday). I photographed Claudia, Darleine, Victoire, Marthe, and Maryline during my recent trip to Togo in May. It was a special moment; these women are part of the community that my dearest friend and photographer Delali Ayivi supports through her work, and being welcomed into her world, her homeland, was a rare and meaningful experience."
#5. "Crush" by Andrea Marti
"Crush is the second chapter in a larger body of work composed of staged images of couples kissing. The series adopts a pseudo-documentary approach, blurring the boundaries between reality and construction. Through stylized compositions and character-driven narratives, Crush explores the intersections of intimacy, identity, and performance drawing inspiration from fantasy, fleeting encounters, and desire."
#6. "Unbraiding" by Angela Cappetta
"Glendalis’ sisters unbraid her hair as she does her homework."
#7. "Mama´s rebirth" by Anna Zeigler
"My mother a couple of months after her stemm cell transplantation procedure. She suffers from PPMS. After trying numerous other treatments her last hope to hold of the deterioration of the nerve cells for as long as possible was to undergo an autologous stemm cell transplantation. And as spring hit I though it was the perfect time to celebrate her new birth with a portrait shoot to celebrate her bravery, perseverance and will to fight."
#8. "Deep Fake – Cher" by Cybele Malinowski
"Annika, a Swedish singer and dancer, has constructed an entire career around inhabiting Cher—transforming her voice, body, and identity into one of pop culture’s most enduring icons. In this frame from DEEPFAKE, we encounter her on all fours outside a suburban Las Vegas house, a position of vulnerability that strips away the goddess-like power Cher embodies. The image confronts us with uncomfortable questions: Who is performing for whom? What psychological space does Annika occupy when she’s neither fully herself nor fully Cher?"
#9. "The heirs of silence" by Esther N’sapu
"In Burundi, many women keep their hair naturally curly, not because it is fashionable, but out of necessity, simplicity, and loyalty to who they are. They tell me that all they have to do is wake up, comb their hair, put on a little pomade, and the day can begin. Whether they go to the market, home, or the fields, their hair accompanies them like an extension of themselves, without artifice."
#10. "Rae – Cornish Maids" by Fran Rowse
"In a country where poverty affects the majority of the population, maintaining natural hair becomes a way of living within one’s means. Hair relaxers, wigs, and salons are often too expensive or inaccessible. But it’s not just a question of money : it’s also a way of staying close to traditions, showing simplicity, and honoring beauty in its truest form."
#11. "4ever &ver &ver" by Jip Schalkx
"This work is part of my ongoing research into how young people navigate a world where the boundaries between online and offline are constantly blurring and explores how young people navigate a new social reality shaped by visibility, performance, and platform logic. Communication today is no longer just about connection, it’s deeply influenced by revenue-driven platforms and the commodification of self-expression."
#12. "Damián y el espejo del lago" by Karen Paz Gonzalez
"In Xochimilco wetlands, Damián floats on the water in a moment of calm. He lives in the chinampas, where daily life blends with the rhythm of the lake. As the reflection envelops him, his body seems to become part of the landscape. The image seeks to portray the connection between childhood, nature, and the stillness that exists in territories where water remains a memory."
#13. "Mariscadoras-humans of the sea" by Kinga Wrona
"Mariscadoras — mostly women over 40 who work as shellfish gatherers, carrying forward one of Spain’s oldest coastal traditions. For decades, they have harvested clams and cockles from the Galician estuaries (North of Spain) , their rhythm bound to the sea’s ebb and flow. But the tides are shifting. Rising water temperatures, disrupted salinity, and invasive species brought by climate change are altering the balance of life in the estuaries. What once nourished their communities now demands painful adaptation and resilience."
#14. "Reflection of the Past" by Kseniya Halubovich
"Ukraine, Kharkiv, 20 km from the frontline. Alla lives in a hospice for displaced people from occupied or dangerous areas. She is already struggling to stay oriented in reality, but she loves to talk about her family."
#15. "Gaza remains in our hearts" by Laila Sieber
"Ahmed, Aseel, Samar and Joudi, four siblings from Gaza City, have found refuge in Cairo. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, more than 100,000 Palestinians have fled to Egypt. However, without residency status, the siblings cannot attend school or work. As they try to cope with this new situation and learn online, their thoughts are often with those left behind in Gaza. They miss their home and have lost loved ones due to attacks from the Israeli military. More than 70.000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7th 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It is estimated that 80% of them are civilians."
#16. "Anna" by Laila Sieber
"Even though Anna can’t speak, you can tell when she’s relaxed. My niece Anna loves to be bathed. In this photo, she is four years old, but she will always need round-the-clock care, more than a baby would. Six weeks after her birth, an infection damaged large parts of her brain, meaning she will never be able to see, hear, eat, talk or walk like other children."
#17. "Ilhan" by Lina Maria Sanchez
"This photo was taken from my project "Ilhan", in which I portray Ilhan, a non-binary Muslim person in Buenos Aires, who kindly and respectfully allowed me to photograph them wearing their mother’s wedding dress and their trans hijab on an autumn day. I feel a deep affection for this project because it allowed me to connect and see another way of looking at the world."
#18. "Baba – بابا" by Nayra Aly
"This photograph is part of my hybrid memoir “Longing for belonging” reflects my evolving relationship with my father. His long absence during my childhood left me grieving a presence I feared losing altogether, shaping a distance between us. Today, we’re learning to rebuild as two adults. His traditional Egyptian thawb contrasts with my jeans and white t-shirt, embodying generational divides: between tradition and modernity, presence and absence, and the complex ways love is understood."
#19. "Whale belly in ice" by Oda Fjellang
"This whale died in the fjord of Oslo and floated up to the surface just at the same time as the ice trapped it. It stayed in that positition for months. In pre-industrial times whales in the fjord was normal and a big source of food for humans, but these days it´s almost a death sentence when big animals enter the fjord because the fjord itself is slowly dying so there is less and less food there for the animals to eat, and more and more polution, noise and ships."
#20. "When It’s All Said N done II" by Olivia Morgan
"There is tension, there is ease, there are these moments in between where time is lost and the word masculinity and femininity don’t easily exist, there is only gentility and care moments where we feel bare and full all at the same time! When it’s all said and done we just screaming and reaching to be felt, reaching for some sense of our unbiased selves,pure and enthralled in love.".
#21. "Kid’s Birthday Party" by Paloma Gonzalez
"The image is part of an ongoing series about memories, personal history and grief. My mom died a year ago and the series was born as a way to process the loss and grief, while celebrating our shared history by constructing characters using familiar objects."
#22. "A Mother’s Care" by Rayna Carruthers
"In their tent in the informal settlement of Amsha camp, Bushra takes trash from her son, who helps her prepare lunch for the family. The shelter was built by Bushra and her husband, with help from other camp residents. Bushra had worked for the past 12 years at a local refugee educational centre, a job that allowed her to provide for her family. But as Syrians are now being encouraged to return and the centre has shut down, she has lost her income. With rising challenges to pay for food, rent, and other essentials, the family is preparing to return to Syria soon."
#23. "Untitled (tillsammans och isär/together and apart)" by Teva Cosic
"A portrait of my mother and me. Together and apart, obscured by the paper that we are also breaking through, a small gesture to the hidden and the visible. From my ongoing body of work Tillsammans och Isär (together and apart) which contemplates the nature of home and how our cultural inheritances shape the ways we navigate what it means to belong. Responding to my own mixed Swedish heritage, the work negotiates between memory and fabulation. It seeks to address the intimate strangeness of being both at home and removed from it."
In Summary
What is Female in Focus x Nikon 2025?
An international photography award celebrating and supporting women photographers worldwide.
How many winners were selected?
Two winning series and 21 single images, making 23 powerful winning works.
What is the 2025 theme?
On the Cusp—exploring personal and global turning points and moments of change.
Where will the winning photos be exhibited?
At 10.14 Gallery in London and the International Centre for the Image in 2026.
Can the public participate?
Yes. The People’s Choice award is open for voting, with the winner featured on 1854.photography.
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