30 Delicious Photographs From The 2023 Pink Lady® Food Photographer Of The Year Awards

Bored Panda reached out to Caroline Kenyon, Founder and Director of the Pink Lady® Food Photographer Of The Year Awards, to find out about this unique contest. First, we wanted to know what criteria the judges consider when evaluating the submitted food photographs and films. Kenyon told us: “Our Chair of Judges, legendary food photographer David Loftus, will give some guidance, which will, of course, cover composition, technique, story-telling, impact, emotion, and ethics. But our judges are drawn from many fields but all very experienced at considering food and photography in different contexts, so they bring their own distinctive take as well.”

Next, we asked how the competition has evolved and grown since its inception in 2011. Caroline said: “When we launched, we had 12 categories, 20 judges, and entries from 30 countries. Now we have more than 50 judges on our global panel, ambassadors, an advisory board, almost 30 categories, and have had entries from just under 100 countries.”

Asked about the different categories in the competition and how they reflect the cultural diversity of food depiction, the founder of the awards explained: “There are so many! But our aim is to show how food touches every aspect of our lives across the world. World Food Programme Food for Life shows the humanitarian side of food, while Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration shows how food is so often at the heart of celebratory events. Bring Home the Harvest is about gathering in food and the Philip Harben Award for Food in Action shows people preparing and cooking food in any setting.”

We were wondering if Caroline could share any success stories or notable achievements of past winners of the competition. Kenyon told us: “Our entrants tell us that even just being shortlisted changes their life. Donna Kraus went from being a keen enthusiast to shortlisted, to Finalist, which gave her the confidence to go professional - and became an Ambassador for Nikon! During the lockdown years, we had many messages from photographers saying that hearing they had been shortlisted had made them so happy in times of so much sadness and pain.”

Then, we were interested if the director of the awards has noticed any specific trends or themes that have emerged in food photography and filmmaking over the years. Caroline Kenyon said: ”I would say there is more and more storytelling in food photography - but when I’m asked if I see particular fashions or trends, I’m inclined to respond saying that almost anything and style goes, so long as it is superbly executed. We live in a very catholic age.”

Lastly, we asked Caroline in what ways the competition contributes to the recognition and promotion of food photography as an art form. We learned that: “We always recall in the early years of the Awards, a German photographer and filmmaker called Klaus Einwanger from Berlin came to the Awards ceremony in London. He thanked us for the Awards, saying, 'You have made food photography important.' The Awards are unique in their content and reach. That means so much to us.”