Discover 10 emerging photographers that will redefine visual storytelling by May 2025. This month’s spotlight features bold new voices from around the globe, each offering a unique perspective on culture, identity and the human experience.
These rising talents push the creative boundaries of photography, from powerful street images to thought-provoking fine arts and immersive travel images. They are reshaping our perceptions and changing how we look at the world.
We feature outstanding photographers every month. These are selected from our worldwide competitions and open calls. April’s featured artists represent the next generation of image-makers–innovative, diverse, and deeply in tune with the world around them.
Discover the latest perspectives in photography with this collection of photographers you must know.
United States
Patricia McElroy, born in Philadelphia but raised in Ireland, has shaped her work and life. She returned to the U.S. after graduating from Dublin’s National College of Art & Design and, together with her husband, built a successful design business. Although her career has been fluid, spanning art, design, and entrepreneurship, photography remains her most personal form of expression. It is a way for her to explore themes such as memory, place, and identity.
Patricia McElroy
Netherlands
Jan Janssen is a social photographer who captures moments that he recognizes in other people, particularly those from around the world. He finds that people have the same desires, fears, and pleasures in everyday life, even if they are expressed differently. Janssen’s photographic practice is not complete without travel. Travelling is a great way to learn about yourself. Jan travels to different places in order to find out what we all have in common. Janssen, in a world polarised by contrasts and polarization, often on the same continent, settles geographic and symbolic boundaries through his photographs of people. He captures the essence of human needs like family, freedom and security, or the lack of them. Janssen spends long periods on location to create his photos. During subsequent trips, he often returns to the same area. He builds relationships with locals based on respect and dignity. He can get closer to people by photographing them with an open heart. This is the only way he can capture their essence and bring it to life on camera.
Jan Janssen
Croatia
Tanja Durakovic, a self-taught Croatian photographer, is fascinated by solitude, introspection and the emotional traces that stillness leaves behind. She often uses herself as the subject of her images, which are atmospheric and quiet. Her photography is more intuitive and influenced by feelings than formal structure. She focuses on self-portraits and landscapes, looking for moments in which the visible world reflects inner states, such as uncertainty, longing or the feeling of being out of place.
All about Tanja Durakovic
China
Tianhu Yuan is a Chinese self-taught visual artist who lives in Chengdu, Chongqing. He has been interested in the generalized Nijigen community of ACG for a long time and wants to create a dialogue with mainstream society through his art. His work also explores the relationship between the current state of technology and the future. His work was exhibited at the 29th National Photographic Art Exhibition in China, RPS International Photo Festival, Galerie Huit Arles PHOTO IS: RAEL International Photo Festival, Jakarta International Photo Festival, PhEST Festival, Head On Photo Festival, and Lishui Art Museum. His work has also been awarded or shortlisted for the Sony World Photography Awards and Fine Art Photography Awards. He has also won Lucie Foundation Scholarships and BJP OpenWalls Arles.
Tianhu Yuan:
Israel
With a Pentax camera that his father had given him at the age of seventeen, he set out on a photographic journey. In 2019, he made a trip to Japan, where he eventually settled. Sela’s photos express magical and sentimental emotions. Sela’s photographs allow him to connect with a distant yet intimate Japanese reality. He captures the light touching the skin and pays attention to elements such as geometry, allusions, romance, and fragility. Aesthetics, humanity, etc. Text by Dr. Etty Gisis (Chief Curator, Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Haifa, Israel).
Michael Sela
Spain
Alvaro Vegazo was born in Sanlucar de Barrameda in southern Andalucia in 1977. Although he is a Civil Engineer, his true passion is photography. Since his childhood, he’s been involved in street and documentary photography. Alvaro’s photography is primarily about life on the streets in his immediate environment. He focuses mainly on “La Costa de la Luz” in Andalucia. In the past, he also practised in Portugal. He can take advantage of any opportunity he gets because he always has his camera. He does not exclude the use of black-and-white, but his work is more focused on colour. In his photographs, you can see that the colours take up a lot of space, and he intends to experiment with layers. Alvaro’s projects are two: “Transitos de Luz”, a book in which he shows his photos taken over more than three years on the streets. The second project, “Carmen de Bonanza”, is a four-year documentary that documents the religious events that take place in this coastal neighbourhood. It was displayed in various locations throughout Spain. The “Underxpose” publishing house published her 37th fanzine, dedicated to “That Time We Coincide”. His articles and photographs have been published in various media, such as Street Photography Magazine Inspired Eye, Lensculture, or “El Pais”. His photos were also shown in national and international collective exhibitions: Seville, Florence, Miami, Siena, New York, Warsaw, and Vienna. Among the most notable awards are: finalist at The Miami Street Photography Festival (MSPF, Miami 2019,) finalist at Street Photography International (SPI), London 2020, the finalist with a series in the Urban Photo Awards Contest (Triestre 2021), honourable mentions in Siena International Photography Awards, (SIPA Siena 2019,), and International Photography Awards, (IPA New York 2019), Juror’s Pick Lensculture 2023; finalist, gold medalist, Paris International Photo Awards, 2023; second.
Alvaro Vegazo
Japan
In 2009, I started exploring street photography. I was drawn to the spontaneity and moments unfiltered of everyday life. My practice has evolved to include documentary photography. This was especially true while I travelled across Asia. While there, I became fascinated by the subtleties of cultures, urban environments and human interactions. My work often focuses on the small, usually forgotten details that reveal broader social and emotional truths. Three solo exhibitions in Japan have featured selections of my ongoing photographic projects. These exhibitions provided an opportunity for me to share my perspective on local and international topics while inviting viewers to reflect upon the complexity of identity, place and narrative in modern photography.
All about Shinji Isobe
Turkey
I was born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1966. My career path led me first into engineering and then into business. After studying electrical engineering in the United States, I went on to work in the financial industry for nearly 30 years as both an executive and business owner. My passion for photography began in my teenage years. Around a decade ago, I decided to go back to photography with more intention. Since then, it has become an important part of my daily life. I now work professionally, focusing on street, travel, and documentary photography–capturing authentic moments that reveal the soul of people and places. My work has won numerous awards and recognitions in international photography competitions over the years. These awards have been both motivating and humbling, and they’ve encouraged me to keep telling stories visually with honesty and depth. I am always on the lookout for the subtle narratives and quiet poetry that are often overlooked.
Erhan Coral
Italy
Ludovica LIMIDO, born in Varese, Italy, in 1995, is a documentary photojournalist whose work focuses on countercultures, human connection, and social issues. Her travels in Australia and Southeast Asia after graduating from art school heightened her passion for photography. Ludovica received a scholarship for photography at the John Kaverdash Academy in Milan, Italy. This led to collaborations and recognition. Her projects cover a wide range of topics, including life in small Italian towns, European body suspension subcultures and folklore. They also explore the experiences of adolescents in rural settings. Her work explores the complexity of belonging, identifying, and the interaction between individuality, group dynamics, and folklore. She discovered an online community of love dolls in 2023. This inspired her project, The Doll Next Door, which explores the relationship between humans and their artificial counterparts. She has been recognized for her photography in several festivals and competitions. In 2024, Ludovica was a Finalist at the InCadaques Photo Festival and the Indian Photo Festival. She was also a finalist for the ND Awards. She also received honourable mentions for both the Passepartout Photo Prize and the International Photography Awards.
Ludovica Limido: All you need to know
Bangladesh
Mohammad Shahriar Foisal Jitu is my name. I am a photographer and visual storyteller, 34 years old, from Chittagong, Bangladesh. I used to take photos on my mobile while studying in college. What began as a hobby soon became a passion that defined every aspect of my existence. Now, photography has become my therapy. It allows me to transform pain into beauty and challenges into strength. Every time I press the shutter, I see a new world that illuminates even my darkest moments.