The twelfth annual Event Photography Awards culminated in an enormously enjoyable event at the Central Hall Westminster with over 250 guests enjoying superb catering by Green & Fortune while perusing an extensive gallery of some 140 short-listed shots, expertly printed and presented by the EPA’s production partner, Visions Group.
The not-for-profit competition was founded to highlight the importance of great photography to the sustenance of the events industry by Philip Atkins, CEO of event staffing and recruitment agency Off To Work. It attracted over 2,300 images of events held all around the world from photographers in over 20 countries.
The awards featured 18 core categories plus a new Black & White Award, sponsored by the UK’s best-selling photography publication, Digital Camera magazine. However, the big new element of this year’s ceremony was the additional accolade of Event Photographer of the Year, which was bestowed in conjunction with the Best Portfolio award and won by first time entrant, Marc James, who along with the new trophy received a cheque for £1,000.
The prestigious Overall Winner trophy, which also came with a cheque for £1,000, was won by last year’s Overall Runner-Up, David Parry, whose joyous shot Train to Glastonbury captured Sam Ryder performing an impromptu gig onboard a service travelling from Paddington to Glastonbury, ahead of his Saturday set at the music festival. The surprise performance was part of the ‘I came by train’ campaign supported by Trainline, which encouraged sustainable travel to the festival.
Marc James provided the perfectly titled Overall Runner-Up shot came from the insightful Behind the Scenes category and depicted a ‘Headless Chicken’ performer getting relief from the heat of an event and his mascot costume by cooling off in a back of house refrigeration truck.
The two Overall Highly Commended images were the winners of the of the highly-competitive Music Events – Category and always popular Wedding categories. The first by twice past Overall Winner (2022 & 2025), Luke Dyson, with a spectacular image skilfully captured in the Royal Albert Hall, the second was also by a past Overall Winner (EPA 2024), Steve Grogan, who great fun shot is appropriately entitled Bounce!
The sort-after Best Amateur trophy was won outright by Anthony Black, who was one of the joint winners last year and entered a commendable range of excellent images across several categories. While the Peoples’ Choice Awards, which is voted for guests at the awards event, was won by Mac Praed’s Leap of Faith, which was also runner-up in the Music Events – Audiences category.
Competition founder, Philip Atkins, CEO of event staffing agency Off to Work, commented: “Photography does so much to amplify, justify and sustain the events industry, which itself is an increasingly important element in marketing budgets, let alone economies and society as a whole! It was generally agreed amongst the judges that the competition was the toughest yet to adjudicate, as a plethora of inspiring, amusing and moving images encapsulated the importance and impact events.”
Competition & Event Director, Graham Hill, commented: “As ever, especially as a not-for-profit exercise, we owe huge debts of gratitude to our sponsors and event partners for making the competition possible and awards event enormously enjoyable, especially the new venue and catering partners. Central Hall’s adjacent Library & Lecture Hall worked perfectly for the event, while the venue’s in-house caterers Green & Fortune frankly knocked the food out of the park!
“Guests also enjoyed Petrossian Caviar, a Jellybean fountain care of Lick Me I’m Delicious and musical entertainment from Sternberg Clarke’s fabulous event troubadours Wandering Hands. Moreover, a slick new badging system was facilitated by One World Group.”
Author: Kizzy Allott
Kizzy Allott is Publisher at Event Industry News, where she has been a driving force behind the brand for over a decade. With a deep understanding of the events sector and a passion for storytelling, Kizzy leads the platform’s commercial and content strategy, connecting the industry through news, insights, and meaningful conversations. She is dedicated to championing innovation, amplifying industry voices, and ensuring event professionals stay informed, inspired, and future-focused.
