16 Award-Winning Photographers Showcase the Power of iPhone
The 2026 iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) announced its winners for the 20th annual competition. Robyn Jensen from the Cayman Islands won the Grand Prize with a stunning volcanic eruption shot, while Gold winner Gellert Gombai proved you don't need the latest iPhone — using a 2017 iPhone X.
This article was originally published by PetaPixel. Republished here with credit to the original publication.
The 2026 iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) has announced the winners of its 20th annual competition. This year, thousands of photographers from more than 140 countries showed just how powerful an iPhone can be in the right hands and how great photos don't always require high-end, dedicated camera equipment.
This year's overall winner is Robyn Jensen from the Cayman Islands for an incredible shot of a volcanic eruption shot on an iPhone 15 Pro using its main camera (24mm equivalent). The shot combines a starry night sky with vibrant, glowing lava to great effect.
Grand Prize Winner — Robyn Jensen (Cayman Islands), 2026 iPhone Photography Awards
Beyond Jensen's Grand Prize victory, the iPhone Photography Awards also selected Gold, Silver, and Bronze “Photographers of the Year.” These winners — Hungarian photographer Gellert Gombai, American Arnold Plotnick, and American Catherine Wang — each delivered very different but equally excellent photos. They also showed that photographers don't necessarily need the latest and greatest iPhone models to capture incredible photos, as Gold Prize winner Gellert Gombai used an iPhone X for their winning shot. This phone came out in 2017, and its main camera image sensor is so small that it has a 7x crop factor.
Gold Prize Winner — Gellert Gombai (Hungary), 2026 iPhone Photography Awards
Silver Prize Winner — Arnold Plotnick (United States), 2026 iPhone Photography Awards
Bronze Prize Winner — Catherine Wang (United States), 2026 iPhone Photography Awards
Category Winners
Alongside the overall winners above, the iPhone Photography Awards also celebrate great photos across specific categories, including Abstract, Animals, Landscape, Nature, Portrait, Street, and more. Only the category winners are featured here, while the runners-up and third-place winners can be seen on the iPhone Photography Awards website.
- Abstract Winner — Barry Mayes (United Kingdom)
- Animals Winner — Peter Crome (United Kingdom)
- Architecture Winner — Ziwen Chen (China)
- Children Winner — Krystal Rountree (United States)
- Cityscape Winner — Adrian Beasley (United Kingdom)
- Landscape Winner — Anthony Ginns (Australia)
- Lifestyle Winner — Bertram Greenhough (United Kingdom)
- Nature Winner — Tianjiao Zhang (China)
- Other Winner — Deniss Aksjonovs (Denmark)
- People Winner — Jenny Dang (United States)
- Portrait Winner — Brice Picard (France)
- Series Winner — Lasda Takbanuaz (Taiwan)
The complete gallery of award-winning photos, including hundreds of Honorable Mentions, is available on the iPhone Photography Awards website. It is often said that the best camera is the one a photographer has with them. In many cases, that's a smartphone. As the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards winners demonstrate, a phone can be an extremely good camera.
Image credits: iPhone Photography Awards. Individual photographers are credited above. Originally published by PetaPixel.