Unsplash
Awards 2018

The Unsplash Awards were created to recognize the powerful impact Unsplash contributors have made through their generosity and artistry. We’ve created 12 photography categories to feature their work.

View finalists  →

Mads Schmidt Rasmussen

Selected in
Diversity
Unsplash Awards 2018

This photo encourages diversity and places a person of a diverse background in a more powerful position. The angle at which it is shot at, and the composition elevate the subject in a way that none of the other images are able to do.

Esteban Arturo
Designer — Global Citizen

Mat Reding

Selected in
Earth
Unsplash Awards 2018

When I think of earth I think of the vast landscapes and incredibly diverse & unique terrains. This shot captures a tremendous & treacherous landscape. Its sheer size and danger is truly put into perspective with the people off in the distance tackling it head on as they climb the trails. This image just really caught my eye. I felt the cold, I felt the magnitude, I felt the danger… Beautiful capture!

Jakob Owens
CEO/Director — BuffNerds Media

elCarito

Selected in
Entrepreneur
Unsplash Awards 2018

This image feels like it reflects the entrepreneurial spirit at its core. I don’t need to know his name or where he’s from to see that he’s a craftsman who takes pride in what he makes and works hard for the money he earns. With simple but beautiful tools he shows us what hard work is all about.

Amy Feitelberg
Photography Art Director — Square

Jeremy Bishop

Selected in
Experimental
Unsplash Awards 2018

A great photo for me, triggers connections with a myriad of possible stories one could perceive. The more we can see ourselves and our stories in a photo, the more we can receive from it. Additionally, allowing the ripples to warp the appearance of the face, creates a more ambiguous face that instead of being this woman, could be a lot of women. The dying leaves, the mixture and juxtaposition of life and death, and even the signal of bubbles/life underneath a limited color underwater scene (could be death) helps tell the story of pain and joy that are wrapped up into this thing called life. This photo connects with me in many ways and there are many lessons, stories and perceptions within it.

Rogie King
Lead Product Designer — Dribbble

Taneli Lahtinen

Selected in
Food & Wellness
Unsplash Awards 2018

What I look for in great photography is a connection. This image instantly transported me to their destination and made me feel the moment. There was a sense of freedom and calmness that not only spoke to me but demanded my attention.

Sai De Silva
Creative Director & Founder — Scout the City

Adrien Olichon

Selected in
Interiors & Architecture
Unsplash Awards 2018

Pure and effortless. Little to no distracting fingerprints of over-editing. The black and white puts a clear focus on the shapes and tension in the composition. There’s some mystery, as though we’re peeking through a keyhole. It’s an unexpected approach for architecture photography. I’d hang on my wall.

Tobias van Schneider
Co-founder — Semplice

Vince Fleming

Selected in
People & Relationships
Unsplash Awards 2018

Your first instinct when imagining a picture that would fall under the ‘People and Relationships’ category might be to envision a photo with multiple subjects, most likely interacting with one another. For that reason, I love the fact that instead of capturing a typical scene of people together, Vince broke convention and still managed to create a strong sense of connection with the viewer of the photo. He captured the gaze of the photo’s subject through the reflection of a mirror, and it feels like the person in the picture is staring right back at you as a viewer. Through capturing only a fraction of the subject’s face, Vince creates a sense of mystery around the subject, whose direct eye contact with the viewer is extremely powerful.

Andre Felipe Ribeiro
Design Manager — Squarespace

Johanna Buguet

Selected in
Photojournalism
Unsplash Awards 2018

This powerful photograph can be interpreted in many different ways by the viewer. It evokes emotions and makes you feel like you are a part of a historic moment.

Joel Tellier
Design Director — Vice

Pablo Merchán Montes

Selected in
Product Photography
Unsplash Awards 2018

A good product photograph should show off an item in its very best light and entice to you to take action—in this case eat.

This image does exactly that. This card-trick of a photo reminded us just how magic the perfect burger can be.

We love the colour contrast, composition and playfulness too.

Kate Allchin
Content Marketing Manager — Pinterest

Taneli Lahtinen

Selected in
Shapes & Textures
Unsplash Awards 2018

For me, composition is the most important part of any image and this shot is living proof of that. The texture and unconventional perspective of this shot transform this natural landscape into something beautifully abstract.

Emanuel Sá
Co-founder — Sketch

Ryoji Iwata

Selected in
Street Photography
Unsplash Awards 2018

There’s something remarkably intriguing and voyeuristic about this shot. The meticulously framed, homogeneously stark concrete backdrop paired against the warmth of a family on the move, shielding their youngest from the beaming rays of sun leaves the viewer with so many unanswered questions. Where are they headed? Why are they the only ones on the street? Do they know they’re being watched? Where was the photographer hiding out? How long did he wait to capture this moment? In short: Beautifully composed and captured.

Wesley Yendrys
Creative Technologist — SSENSE

Unsplash Community

Selected in
Unsplash Community
Unsplash Awards 2018

This is a special category, nominated by the Unsplash community to recognize members for their stand-out involvement in the Unsplash community. Unsplash is built by the community, and for the community, and we want to take the time to share our appreciation.

Aaron Burden

Aaron has been generously sharing his different styles of photography since 2015. Always a positive presence in the community, encouraging others in their creative work.

Paweł Czerwiński

Paweł generously shares so many beautiful photos and is active in the Unsplash Slack community, always helping other people with questions and feedback.

Matt Seymour

Matt always adds a story to the photos he shares, helping others connect to his work more. Always friendly and proactive, Matt’s enthusiasm to set up some Southern UK events in 2019 is going to bring lots of online friends together!

Susan Wilkinson

Susan is a much-loved pillar of the Unsplash community who expresses gratitude, thanking photographers from her social accounts and creates useful collections to help others.

Thank you 🎉

Congratulations to all the Selected photographers of this 2nd edition of the Unsplash Awards. To every member of the Unsplash community, thank you for everything.

A special thank you to our Judges and Partners for helping us celebrate the open photography movement.

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