Each year, the International Photography Awards (IPA) honors outstanding photographic work from around the world—and in 2024, the "People" category continues to shine as one of the most powerful and emotionally resonant sections of the competition.
This category is dedicated to capturing the essence of the human experience, whether through intimate portraits, street scenes, cultural traditions, or everyday moments.
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#1 "Eagle Hunter" By Yu Ching Huang
1st Place / People /Traditions / Culture
Eagle Hunter in Kyrgyzstan. This is an ancient traditional Kyrgyzstan culture. Eagles help humans hunt and have a close relationship like family. This tradition is passed down from father to son, who is also an eagle hunter. The eagle is about 17 years old. He will return to nature when he is 20 years old and continue to pass on the story between the Kyrgyzstan people and the eagle.
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22points
Spanning ten subcategories—including Children, Culture, Family, Lifestyle, Newborn/Baby, Portrait, Self-Portrait, Street Photography, Wedding, and Other—this diverse category celebrates photographers who focus their lens on the people and stories that define us. From quiet expressions of familial love to dynamic snapshots of life in motion, the winning images reveal just how deeply photography can connect us across cultures and continents.
#2 "The Mystery Of Hrafndís" By Jaqueline Vanek
1st Place / People /Self-Portrait
These images are part of a narrative photographic series of self-portraits taken in various locations in Iceland during February 2024. Synopsis: In the vast, lonely landscapes of Iceland, an enigmatic figure known as Hrafndís, whose name means "crow goddess," embarks on a solitary and silent journey in search of the secrets hidden among the glaciers. Accompanied only by a raven as her guide and confidant, Hrafndís immerses herself in the icy tranquility in an attempt to merge with the very essence of the land. During her journey she discovers the secrets of nature and her own being.
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19points
#3 "Night Sky Moment" By Domingo Cabrera
1st Place / People /Wedding
A couple embracing under a starry sky with a dry tree in the background.
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17points
IPA welcomes submissions from both professional and amateur photographers alike. Whether you are just starting out or an established name in the field, this is your chance to share your work with a global audience and gain recognition for your creative voice.
#4 "Locked-In" By Susan Borowitz
2nd Place / People /Self-Portrait
The series “Locked-In” explores the phenomenon of feeling stuck and the failure to choose to move forward. Using metaphor and imagery that suggest the inability to move on or to complete a task, the series evokes the absence of agency particularly by women, who feel consciously aware of what they should pursue or speak up about but feel impotent in the face of a dominant power: unequal relationships, societal expectations and especially the disappearance of relevancy with encroaching age.
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16points
#5 "Ritratto Ragazza Turkana" By Caterina Romeo
1st Place / People /Portrait
La tribu'dei turkana,in kenya, come qualsiasi altra tribu'si distingue per gli ornamenti e le collane. Qui ho voluto eliminare qualsiasi ornamento per evidenziare una bellezza tipica, che se vivesse altrove sarebbe su qualsiasi rivista glamour.
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16points
Don't miss your opportunity—submissions for the 2024 IPA Awards are still open, with the Extended Deadline set for May 30!
#6 "Men Of Steal" By Nader Saadallah
2nd Place / People /Lifestyle
Men of metal
Metal Casting has been in Alexandria, Egypt for about one hundred years. It is the process of melting scrap metal and transforming it into useful industrial parts. Some are sold for consumers directly; like Darbuka drums “Musical instrument" and home accessories, while others are used by factories to produce high precision products and tools like spare parts of machines and ships.
There are many stages that the metal goes through in order to reach its final form. The whole process could take a duration between 1 and 3 days; depending on the needed final product. Firstly, scrap me
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13points
#7 "Giovanni's Room" By Angharad Bache
3rd Place / People /Other
This photograph is titled after James Baldwin's novel, Giovanni's Room. The night was drawing to a close for Aberystwyth University students as they indulged in a defiant but quick embrace. The Welsh town is famed for capturing graduates forever in its idyllic bubble, for they struggle to find a sense of hiraeth (deep longing for something, especially one's home) elsewhere. The novel tackles an exploration of LGBTQ+ identity, the concept of belonging, and societal expectations. At progressive institutions, one can create sanctuary in a public setting and reflect the struggle for acceptance.
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13points
#8 "Ari Tribe" By Marian Plaino
1st Place / People /Children
Catching frames in a different perspective can show a completely different story. These Ethiopian kids were playing on their stilts, so I captured them while crawling, trying to emphasize their positions. They liked my game so they circled me, revealing beautiful painting design next to their carved stilts.
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13points
#9 "The Procession Of Sant’efisio, Cagliari, Sardinia" By Frank L***h
2nd Place / People /Children
Sardinian child at the procession of Sant’Efisio in Cagliari. The procession is the longest in Europe. It lasts for 4 days at a distance of 65 km from the Cagliari church of Stampace, to that of Nora, where the saint was martyred, and returns to Cagliari. It is one of the oldest processions of Sardinia and has taken place every year since 1656.
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12points
#10 "Living Amidst War" By Mouneb Taim
1st Place / People /Other
The young man, Muhammad, also known as the "Peace Player," performs music for people amidst the destruction and in refugee camps, while the sounds of shelling are heard nearby and warplanes roar overhead.
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12points
#11 "In The Shadows Of Silent Women" By Maryam Firuzi
People Photographer Of the Year
I started a journey to find my roots as an Iranian woman in this project, I drove more than 50 thousand kilometres in different parts of Iran to find women who live in intertwined communities. A journey into the history of Iranian women's life, which is a combination of tradition and patriarchy, and at the same time, linguistic and cultural diversity. Women who, despite the limitations, with solidarity and interweaving in women's groups strive for education of their children and at the same time, they want to preserve their ancestral identity.Some of these women are the last generation.
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11points
#12 "Humans Of War" By Zoya Shu
3rd Place / People /Portrait
Each person is a universe. Every life is priceless. The photographs of the a*****t soldiers of the 24th A*****t Battalion "Aydar" were taken in the spring of 2024 near Kramatorsk, Ukraine. These individuals embody a myriad of diverse experiences and a concentration of life. Among them are a lavender field owner, a foreman, an artist, a tradesman—people from various walks of life and professions, now defending their country, which faces the challenge of survival. Everyone dreams of victory, the end of the war, and returning to their families to live a peaceful life with their loved ones.
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11points
#13 "Reading A Book." By Refat Mamutov
3rd Place / People /Self-Portrait
Despite the huge technological progress that has covered all spheres of modern human life, the book remains an unchanging source of human communication with his past, present and future.
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10points
#14 "Scotland's First Baby Of The Year" By Lynne Harper
2nd Place / People /Newborn / Baby
A celebration of Scotland's first baby born in 2023. Baby Moffat was Scotland's first baby born at 00:06 in January 2023. I had the honour of photographing him at 9 days old, dressing him in his family clan Moffat tartan, along with the Moffat crest kilt pin.
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9points
#15 "Unique Families Of The Roma Community Of Keldelari." By Michael Dorohovich
1st Place / People /Family
These mysterious g***y families live in the villages of Korolevo and Podvinogradovo in the Transcarpathian region and are one of the most closed communities in Ukraine.There is a strict law here that women must wear long skirts or dresses. Skirts are often made up of so many layers and padding that they can weigh up to ten kilograms. Girls get married at 12-13 years old and have children. Their clothes, culture, traditions immerse you in a completely different amazing world.
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9points
#16 "Every Step Counts" By Kelly Conlin
1st Place / People /Street Photography
New York City
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7points
#17 "Under The Sand" By Jaan Albalushi
3rd Place / People /Lifestyle
This is a heartfelt photo that explores a community in Balochistan province grappling with their homes being engulfed by sand, and delves into the everyday struggles of the residents as they navigate life in a challenging, sandy landscape. This is a window into the daily realities and hardships faced by the people of this region.
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7points
#18 "Wee Muckers – Youth Of Belfast" By Toby Binder
1st Place / People /Children
»If I had been born at the top of my street, behind the corrugated-iron border, I would have been British. Incredible to think. My whole idea of myself, the attachments made to a culture, heritage, religion, nationalism and politics are all an accident of birth. I was one street away from being born my ‘enemy’«. Paul McVeigh, Belfast-born novelist I have been documenting the daily life of teenagers in British working-class communities for almost two decades. After the Brexit referendum I focussed this work on Belfast in Northern Ireland.
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7points
#19 "First Bath" By Danielle Brown
1st Place / People /Newborn / Baby
I wanted to photograph our 4 day old son's first bath and ended up capturing the beautiful calmness he felt in our presence. Bodhi unknowingly embraces the eponym of enlightenment in this moment - a state of awakened understanding and trust between father and son.
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6points
#20 "You've Got This" By Nika Belianina
2nd Place / People /Self-Portrait
When I was going through fertility treatments, everyone was always so cheerful and optimistic. They all said - "you've got this!" But very few actually took the time to understand, let alone care about the sheer volume of medication, mental and physical work it takes to go through it. These are the pills and injections I had to take in the course of two treatment cycles, with the medical bills piled up above me. My journey was unsuccessful. Now one talks about failed fertility treatments and with this work I want to break the silence.
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6points