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Check out these creative ways to use shapes in photography! These photo competition highlights are truly inspiring

This milestone 50th edition of All About Photo Magazine invited creatives to submit photographs that reveal how geometry, balance and abstraction transform everyday scenes into extraordinary images. The winners have been announced, showcasing powerful ways to use shapes to capture attention, alienate the subject and underline visual storytelling.

Selected from hundreds of submissions across eleven countries and four continents, this collection highlights a wide variety of approaches – from minimalism and architectural details to bold, inventive perspectives. They really demonstrate how shape can be both an anchor and disrupt composition, pushing the boundaries of creativity.

Through these striking images, the ordinary becomes captivating, inviting us to look deeper and appreciate the language of shape. If you want to discover all 25 winners, visit the AAP Magazine’s website.

Winner Gallery

Sepia-toned image of poppy seed pods against a blurred background. The mood is serene and enigmatic, emphasizing natural shapes and textures

Echoes of Sepia (Image credit: Julie-Wang, Courtesy All About Photo)

First Place
Series The Illusion of Poppies by Julie Wang

“In this photograph from the series The Illusion of Poppies, the fragile forms drift between presence and shadow. Seed pods linger like echoes of blossoms once in bloom, their outlines fading as if memory itself were dissolving into silence.

“What remains is neither beginning nor end, but a quiet trace of time’s passing – tender, elusive, and ungraspable.”

Abstract image with tangerine slices casting shadows on a surface divided by orange and yellow panels. Colorful geometric frame adds a modern feel

Mandarins Bathed in Periwinkle Violet (Image credit: JP Terlizzi, Courtesy All About Photo)

Second Place
Series Tangled in Blue by JP Terlizzi

“As an artist with red-green color blindness, my work investigates the complexities of color perception – how those with this condition experience, interpret, and understand color.

“It examines the differences between what we see, what we believe we see, and how we learn to recognize and understand color. When paired with colorblind eyewear, the work also enables individuals with the same color deficiency to perceive a broader spectrum of hues.”

A lone figure walks through thick fog obscuring traditional Asian-style buildings, creating a mysterious and tranquil atmosphere on an empty stone plaza

Emei Mountain (Image credit: Jingyi Zhang, Courtesy All About Photo)

Third Place
Series Vacuum World by Jingyi Zhang

“In my work, Emei Mountain, I depict a figure journeying toward nothingness and a dreamscape—the distant temple appears both realistic and like a mirage.

“In the chaotic material world, vacuum represents a state approaching the limit– an existence that is invisible and often overlooked. Within a vacuum, all sound and substance are stripped away, leaving only the faintest fluctuations.”

Merit Award Gallery

A black and white image featuring large, cone-shaped tents in the foreground, set against a backdrop of industrial chimneys under a cloudy sky. The scene feels serene yet industrial

Chimney (Image credit: Ralf Dreier, Courtesy All About Photo)

Merit Award
Series In the city by Ralf Dreier

“The image Chimneys was created in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. At the end of a photo excursion, on the way to the car, I passed this scene. The image literally demanded to be photographed.

“The project In the city shows minimalist views of the city. Mostly buildings are shown, or rather only parts of them. The main focus is on graphic elements, forms, structures and textures. “

Aerial view of a vast suburban neighborhood with rows of identical, colorful square houses, separated by neatly arranged roads, creating a geometric pattern

Suburban Dystopia (Image credit: Florian Kriechbaumer, Courtesy All About Photo)

Merit Award
Series Symbolic Shapes by Florian Kriechbaume

“A purpose-built villa community on the outskirts of Dubai utilizing identical designs for the houses, with a two-color pattern and a rectangular access street system. The result is a visually striking but eerily uniform grid.”

View through colorful playground tunnel framing a couple with a dog on dunes under a blue sky. Bright, playful, and serene atmosphere

3 Windows (Image credit: Cristiano-Bartoli, Courtesy All About Photo)

Merit Award
3 Windows by Cristiano Bartoli

“The image was taken on the winter beach of Riccione (Italy). I entered a children’s play structure, hiding in its shelter, to see the world of adults through their eyes.”


Author: Kim Bunermann
Source: DigitalCameraWorld
Reviewed By: Editorial Team

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