The recipients of the Royal Photographic Society Awards for 2024 have been announced. Rather than recognizing a single image, the awards celebrate the photographers and winners themselves; highlighting significant achievements, showcasing new and emerging talent and recognizing notable contributions of RPS members in a range of categories covering all genres and applications of photography, including moving image, new media , science and imaging, education, publishing and conservation.

The Royal Photographic Society Awards, now in their 146th year, are the world’s oldest and most prestigious photographic awards, recognizing people working in both the still and moving image.

Sir Brian Pomeroy CBE, ARPS chair of the jury, comments:

While the winners of the 2024 RPS Awards reflect the diversity and breadth of the international photographic community, they are all united in celebrating photography’s unique ability to challenge societal perceptions and make complex issues both relevant and urgent.

Dr Ingrid Pollard MBE, HonFRPS received the most prestigious distinction – The RPS Centenary Medal – in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the art of photography.

Founding member of Autograph ABP (the Association of Black Photographers), Pollards’ powerful photographer
photographic work evolved during the 1980s to use traditional genres such as portraiture and
landscape to explore conventions and social constructs – particularly around themes such as race
and identity.

Dr. Pollard has received numerous honors throughout his career, including previously receiving a
Honorary Fellow of the RPS in 2016, nominated for the Turner Prize in 2022, nominated
MBE in 2023 and recipient of the Hasselblad Prize in 2024.

A number of new categories have been introduced for 2024 to better reflect the international photographic community and the evolving focus and role of the RPS.

The RPS Photojournalism Prize (Samar Abu Elouf) Samar Abu Elouf is an award-winning Palestinian freelance photojournalist. She covers events where she lives, including stories about gender, the lives of women and children, and the aftermath of war. Since 2010, she has worked as a freelance photojournalist for Reuters, The New York Times and other media outlets. Abu Elouf documented the Gaza border protests from 2018 to 2019, also known as the Great March of Return. She too
worked with ZUMA Press to cover stories related to the COVID-19 pandemic for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and news agencies. In May 2021, on assignment for The New York Times, she covered the 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas that destroyed critical infrastructure and killed more than 230 people, including several of her own relatives.

The RPS Prize for editorial or documentary photography (Darcy Padilla) Darcy Padilla is an associate professor of art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a photographer member of Agence VU’ in Paris. Known for her narrative photography, Padilla focuses on long-term projects that explore themes of struggle and the transgenerational effects of socioeconomic issues.

The RPS Prize for Fashion, Advertising and Commercial Photography (Campbell Addy): Campbell Addy is a British-Ghanaian artist, photographer and filmmaker. Addy draws inspiration from her culturally diverse upbringing, which gave her complex self-discovery and a unique eye. Since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2016, Addy’s striking images have earned him international success and awards, including the 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 list and the British Fashion Awards in 2018 and 2019. His first monograph “Feeling Seen – the photographs of Campbell Addy” debuted in 2022 and received critical acclaim.

The RPS Prize for Photography with Young People (Carolyn Mendelsohn) Carolyn Mendelsohn is a portrait artist and photographer whose practice is rooted in telling stories and amplifying these quieter voices through co-produced portraits. She is internationally recognized for her portraits and work with young people, including her portrait series, exhibition and book Being Inbetween, a series of portraits and stories of girls aged 10 to 12. Carolyn founded Through Our Lens (initially in response to the pandemic and working with youth over Zoom), a workshop and mentoring program that enables
people to tell their stories through photography.

The new award categories demonstrate the evolution of the Royal Photographic Society and showcase the powerful range of work created within the photographic community. We are delighted to see such an impressive array of talent nominated and recognized across all award categories.

Simon Hill HonFRPS, President of the RPS,

Complete list of RPS Prize 2024 recipients: rps.org/awards

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Marc Westall

Mark Westall is the founder and editor of FAD magazine –