Photographer of the Year 2019 overall winners revealed

By Niall Hampton
published

Winners crowned during The Photography Show at the NEC Birmingham, UK

PotY & YPotY 2019 logo composite 2
The overall winners of Digital Camera Photographer of the Year 2019 have been revealed

The wait is over – we reveal the winners of our prestigious Photographer of the Year awards for 2019.  

Marco Tagliarino, who topped the adult Travel category for his 'Gambling in Jianshui' image, is Digital Camera's Photographer of the Year 2019. The collection of images he submitted for the competition demonstrated a "unique style" with a facility for "intimate" images. 

Marco Tagliarino adult winner PotY image

Overall winner Marco Tagliarino collects his winner's plaque from sponsor MPB  

For entrants under 24 years old, Heidi Cohen from London was crowned Young Photographer of the Year for submissions including her two category wins, for Urban Landscape and Black & White. Her "great eye" and strong portfolio came in for particular praise. 

Digital Camera's annual photography competition is one of the most prestigious in the industry, and is hosted on leading photo competitions site Photocrowd (opens in new tab). 

Photographer of the Year is sponsored by MPB.com (opens in new tab), and the winners receive a prize pot worth over £7,100 from MPB and our awards partners Rohan (opens in new tab), Sony (opens in new tab), Rotolight (opens in new tab) and CEWE (opens in new tab). 

Young Photographer of the Year is sponsored by Affinity Photo (opens in new tab), and the winners receive a prize pot worth over £6,600 from Affinity Photo and our awards partners Rohan (opens in new tab), Sony (opens in new tab), Rotolight (opens in new tab) and CEWE (opens in new tab). 

We were delighted to welcome Marco to Birmingham for the ceremony, having flown in specially from Milan in Italy. 

“I’m really proud of this important award," he said. "This is certainly the biggest result I've achieved so far. 

"I have been a runner-up in other prestigious competitions but never the overall winner and this gives me energy to improve myself again.”  

Unfortunately Heidi was unable to join us for the ceremony – she's currently on an internship in Malaysia – but father Adam and sister Clara made the trip up from London on her behalf. 

Heidi Cohen winner of Young PotY 2019 image`

Clara and Adam Cohen represented Heidi Cohen at the Photographer of the Year 2019 ceremony 

Speaking from the Malaysian rain forest, Heidi said: "It’s incredible that I was chosen. There were so many strong photos and great photographers in the competition that it’s a real honour to have achieved this award. It definitely makes me feel more confident in my abilities as a photographer.” 

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Image of Gambling in Jianshui by Marco Tagliarino
'Gambling in Jianshui' by Marco Tagliarino (Image credit: Marco Tagliarino)

View Marco Tagliarino’s winning images

As for the next stage in his photographic journey, Marco recently became a father so will put his exotic travel plans on hold whilst the baby is still small. 

Saying that, however, he reveals that in 2019 he plans to visit Japan, New York, Turkey and hopefully make it to the far east next Christmas to continue his passion. 

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London through Bubbles by Heidi Cohen image
'London through Bubbles' by Heidi Cohen, winner of Urban Landscape in Young Photographer of the Year 2019 (Image credit: Heidi Cohen)

View Heidi Cohen’s winning Young Photographer of the Year 2019 images

When we asked Heidi about the future and where her photography may take her next, she is yet to decide. 

“My internship lasts for six months and for now I’m just trying out all different aspects of photography and filmmaking to get an idea as to what career I would like to pursue in the future,” she says.  

Photographer of the Year 2019 category winners 

Young Photographer of the Year 2019 category winners 

Click here (opens in new tab)to view all the category winning entries for Photographer of the Year 2019 and Young Photographer of the Year 2019. 

Photographer of the Year will return soon… 

Keep an eye on Digital Camera World (opens in new tab) and Photocrowd (opens in new tab) for details of next year's competition. We will be releasing details in due course. 

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Niall Hampton
Niall Hampton
Editor

Niall is the editor of Digital Camera Magazine (opens in new tab), and has been shooting on interchangeable lens cameras for over 20 years, and on various point-and-shoot models for years before that. 


Working alongside professional photographers for many years as a jobbing journalist gave Niall the curiosity to also start working on the other side of the lens. These days his favored shooting subjects include wildlife, travel and street photography, and he also enjoys dabbling with studio still life. 


On the site you will see him writing photographer profiles, asking questions for Q&As and interviews, reporting on the latest and most noteworthy photography competitions, and sharing his knowledge on website building. 

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