Skip to Content

2019 iPhone Photography Award Winners Announced

The winners of the 12th annual iPhone Photography Awards were unveiled today.

This year's recipients were selected from thousands of entries from over 140 countries around the world, including Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Peru, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

big sister iphone photography award

"Big Sister" shot on an iPhone X by Gabriella Cigliano of Italy

The grand prize winner is Gabriella Cigliano of Italy for her entry "Big Sister," shot on an ‌iPhone‌ X in Zanzibar, Africa:

Last year I spent a month in Wasa, Tanzania, teaching a class of young, curious and amazing guys. Before heading back to Italy we stopped in Zanzibar, where this photo was taken. I still wonder how could I capture that exact moment in all its beauty. I was just observing, a few meters from them, but they were probably more curious about me than I was about them, and that's probably why the girl was looking at me. We couldn't talk much, except for a few words in Swahili I had learned in the previous weeks, but those kids could definitely talk with their eyes. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen in my life, and I'll keep it in my memories forever. The best part was showing them and their mums the photos, for some it was the first time they were seeing their faces, and their excitement was unexplainable, unfortunately my iPhone was in their hands and I couldn't capture that!

A few more winning photos:

diogo lage iphone photography award

"Sea Stripes" shot on an ‌iPhone‌ SE by Diogo Lage of Portugal

peng hao iphone photography award
"Come Across" shot on an ‌iPhone‌ X by Peng Hao of China

Head over to the ‌iPhone‌ Photography Awards website for the full lists of winning photos and winning photographers.

Apple CEO Tim Cook congratulated last year's winners on Twitter.

Popular Stories

MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

First MacBook Neo Benchmarks Are In: Here's How It Compares to the M1 MacBook Air

Thursday March 5, 2026 4:07 pm PST by
Benchmarks for the new MacBook Neo surfaced today, and unsurprisingly, CPU performance is almost identical to the iPhone 16 Pro. The MacBook Neo uses the same 6-core A18 Pro chip that was first introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro, but it has one fewer GPU core. The MacBook Neo earned a single-core score of 3461 and a multi-core score of 8668, along with a Metal score of 31286. Here's how the...
imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils Seven New Products

Friday March 6, 2026 11:48 am PST by
Apple this week unveiled seven products, including an iPhone 17e, an iPad Air with the M4 chip, updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, a new Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, and an all-new MacBook Neo that starts at just $599. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as the iPhone 16e, but it gains Apple's A19 chip, MagSafe for magnetic wireless charging and magnetic...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Apple Planning 'MacBook Ultra' With Touchscreen and Higher Price

Sunday March 8, 2026 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch an all-new "MacBook Ultra" model this year, featuring an OLED display, touchscreen, and a higher price point, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Gurman revealed the information in his latest "Power On" newsletter. While Apple has been widely expected to launch new M6-series MacBook Pro models with OLED displays, touchscreen functionality, and a new, thinner design...

Top Rated Comments

iRutherford Avatar
87 months ago
as a photographer my self them shots are really nothing special
The last Motiv is cool at least.
But the 1st price shot... no. The girl is not looking at the photographer as he or she is kneeing. And the girls eyes are not looking curiously but suspiciously at someone near the photographer. The whole story... yack.
I'm sure it won because it's diverse and cultural.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
87 months ago
I was contacted by Apple about this photo tagged #ShotOniPhone back in 2014 with an iPhone 5 in Barcelona. They asked for the original file to confirm that it was shot on iPhone and presumably to get the full resolution. I don't know if it was ever published but I assume they would have let me know.



Attachment Image
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
87 months ago
as a photographer my self them shots are really nothing special
For future reference: when dissing someone, you want to demonstrate your superior qualifications to make the assertions you do. Maybe you could demonstrate the awards that you have received, or the galleries where you have pictures on display, that would work!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
87 months ago
as a photographer my self them shots are really nothing special
Glad you aren't one of the judges. Looking at your instagram all the winning shots would just be your endless selfies.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roguedaemon Avatar
87 months ago
Been an amateur photographer for over 20 years don't see what's so special about these photos....lol

I think Apple is letting their emotions decide what constitutes a good photo.
as a photographer my self them shots are really nothing special
What the **** is with everyone in this ****ing thread? Can’t you all just enjoy some nice pictures? It makes no ****ing difference how much of a photographer you are, I don’t see your pictures in the awards.
And these are exceptional pictures. What is the job of a picture? To capture a moment, to tell a story and to above all evoke an emotional response. For the judges at Apple these pictures hit those points!

y’all need to just chill man and learn from the dude, Jeff bridges. Take it easy man.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GtrDude Avatar
87 months ago
Been an amateur photographer for over 20 years don't see what's so special about these photos....lol

I think Apple is letting their emotions decide what constitutes a good photo.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)