İstanbul Photo Awards 2026 features significant news, sports, nature and environment, daily life, and portrait photographs from the previous year that document striking events making headlines around the world. The book provides a compelling visual narrative of significant global events, including the deadly starvation caused by Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza, the wildfires in California, stories of animal rehabilitation and traditional sports rituals in Sudan, and an intimate relationship with an AI from Japan.
Powerful images also depict the struggles of Afghan children, building the life in Syria after the war, space debris as a new type of an environmental issue, portraits of Ukrainian cultural heirdom and dynamic daily practice of a Kenyan community. The album cover features the photograph titled "Desperate Plea Amid Hong Kong's Deadliest Fire," taken by Tyrone Siu for Reuters, that got second place in the Single News Photo category.