Portraits

This arresting portrait provides a masterclass in lighting and composition, but it's the girl's concentrated gaze, and the clever use of colour, that really make it stand out from the crowd. The rich ochre of the background complements the girl's skin colour perfectly, while the deep red braids of her hair are echoed in her necklace – and both provide a subtle frame for her very striking features.

There's very little information in the caption, but an image as strong as this speaks for itself.

Japanese Geisha are famed the world over for their poise and grace, and this portrait oozes both, thanks in part to its perfectly symmetrical composition. Such is the poise of the Geisha herself that it's impossible to tell that she's walking towards the camera. The red in her lips, in her elaborate hair clip and in the background tie the whole image together, and complement the green of her kimono, and she's perfectly framed by the blurred verticals behind her.

The skin tones in this portrait are wonderfully soft and shadow-free, ensuring our eyes are drawn inexorably to the subject's eyes and lips – which is exactly what you want when you're shooting promotional shots for a friend who's setting up a make-up business, as was the case here. The light cotton scarf adds to this sense of softness, and helps to frame the subject's face – and the fact that it isn't quite symmetrical only emphasises the near-perfect symmetry of her features.

This deceptively simple portrait of a Suri girl provides a masterclass in backlighting. The light, from the left and slightly above the girl, picks out just the very edges of her striking features, leaving the rest of her face in shadow. The exposure is spot on, her lips, nose and nearest eye are all pin-sharp, and the catchlights in her eyes bring the whole image to life. As with the 2nd place image, the tight crop adds to the intensity of the subject's gaze.

The sitter’s gaze is direct and very intense in this portrait, and the tight crop and almost black background add to this feeling of intensity. We love the muted colour palette and subtle lighting, and the way the rich red of the subject's headscarf matches the hint of red in his distinctly bloodshot eyes. The warm colours of the headscarf also complement the cooler greens of the scarf below, while the edges of both scarves frame his face perfectly.