Burn survivor’s photo wins Taylor Wessing Photography Award | Taylor Wessing Photography Award

A photo of a burn survivor staring thoughtfully out a window has won one of the world’s most prestigious photography awards.

The National Portrait Gallery has selected Martina Holmberg, a Stockholm-based photographer, to win the 2025 Taylor Wessing Photography Prize for her photograph Mel. She won £15,000.

Holmberg’s portrait shows Mel, looking lost in a daydream as cold light caresses her repaired skin.

When Mel was two years old, her mother left her and her sister in the car while she went to make a quick purchase at a convenience store, and when the mother returned, the car caught fire. Mel’s sister died while Mel survived with severe burns.

Holmberg’s interest in photography was sparked at an early age by accompanying her father when he was developing his own prints and photographs.

Mel’s photo is part of a larger series called “Outside Within,” in which Holmberg documents people with facial and body differences. NPG said the photographer praised the rich diversity of appearances and further highlighted the discrimination faced by people with physical differences.

The judges praised Mel for her combination of compassionate approach and artistic skill, noting how thoughtful lighting and posing drew viewers into the sitter’s story.

Second prize of £3,000 went to Luan David Gray, a fine art photographer based in London, for We Dare to Hug, a black-and-white portrait of two men in their 60s sharing an affectionate embrace.

The image, which evokes sculpture through its composition and use of light and shadow, shows a man quietly holding another’s bare chest and kissing him gently on the cheek.

Gray holds a degree in Visual Communication from the University of Brighton and has over 20 years experience as a hairdresser and creative image consultant.

The photo, which is part of a larger series, Call Me By Your Name, captured a moment of mature intimacy that challenged traditional representations of physical closeness, NPG said.

The third prize of £2,000 went to Byron Mohamed Hamza, NHS consultant and photographic artist, for his painting Jedi Playing. Part of the series Bunga dan Tembok (Flower and Wall: Semporna’s Stateless Youth), the image depicts baby Jade, cradling his head in the hands of another baby.

Hamzah has spent the past two years working as a volunteer art and photography teacher at an NGO based in Sabah, East Malaysia, that provides free education to stateless and marginalized youth, particularly from the Bajau Laut ethnic group.

Al-Jaidi is one of these children. NPG said the photo captured a moment of calm in a turbulent and uncertain existence. The judges were drawn to the way the image depicts a moment of youthful connection while asking questions of the details it excludes.

The £8,000 photography commission to create a new work for the NPG has been awarded to Holly Fernando, a photographer and director based in London and Brighton, for her image Boss Morris, from the Hoydenish series.

The image explores the shift in gender equality in Morris dancing. Boss Morris is a young, all-female Morris team based in Stroud. The dancers wear folkloric clothing and makeup as they group together for a group photo. The judges praised the picture for its stunning and otherworldly qualities.

The winning photographs will be on display at the NPG as part of the 2025 Taylor Wessing Photography Prize exhibition, open from November 13 to February 8, 2026. The exhibition also includes a new portrait by gay rights activist and advocate Lady Fell, full name Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah, by last year’s Taylor Wessing Photography Prize winner, Jessie Navarre Foss.

The 2025 judging panel included photographer and educator Sunil Gupta, art historian and curator Katie Hessel, photographer Tim Walker, and Sabina Jascott-Gill, senior curator of photography at NPG.