Army Photographic Competition 2025

This year’s contest didn’t disappoint – here are the winning shots from hundreds of entries

It's the first time the Army Photographic Competition has been run since before Covid in 2019 and hundreds of entries were submitted from across the Service, with a judging panel led by singer and keen photographer Bryan Adams and Assistant Chief of the General Staff, Maj Gen Paul Griffiths.

The latter said it had been a “really difficult” contest to decide.

“It’s so good that this event is back,” the senior officer told Soldier. “It was great to see some of the photographic talent in the Army on display.

“The standard was amazing, and the professional images were superb, really evocative.

“This competition is an excellent advert for attracting personnel into the trade and also the Service.

“Showing brilliantly creative images of our people is a perfect recruiting tool – from the tropical jungle to the Albert Hall, the entries reveal the breadth and depth of what we do.

“I felt really proud as I looked over them.” The general added that the standard of amateur entries had been surprisingly good.

Master Photographer WO1 Baz Lloyd – who was also on the judging panel – agreed.

“I was really impressed,” he said. “We are always on the look-out for talented photographers and hopefully some of the JNCOs who entered the amateur category will consider transferring in the near future.”

He said it had been reassuring to see how many images had centred on the Army’s greatest asset – its people.

The easy option would be to focus on equipment, but it’s by showcasing our soldiers and officers that we connect on a human level with our audiences,” he continued,

Judge and Soldier photographer Graeme Main agreed, adding that the professional category “left us in no doubt of the depth of talent we have in our defence photographers”.

The Judges

• Maj Gen Paul Griffiths, Assistant Chief of the General Staff
• Col Jacqueline Powell, Royal Logistic Corps Colonel,
• WO2 Baz Lloyd (RLC), Master Photographer
• Hilary Roberts, former Imperial War Museum Curator of Photography
• Graeme Main, Soldier magazine chief photographer
• Bryan Adams, acclaimed singer and award-winning photographer whose father and grandfathers served in the British Army

Image of the Year

Winner:

Sgt Donald Todd, RLC, with a mesmerising shot from behind the scenes with The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.

Runner-up:

Cpl Aaron Stone, RLC

Highly Commended:

LBdr Warren Mills, RHA
LCpl Taza Salamut, RY
Cpl Ross Gourlay, RE

Professional Portfolio

Winner: 

Sgt Donald Todd, RLC

Runner-up:

Cpl Aaron Stone, RLC

Highly Commended:

Cpl Becky Brown, RLC
(two portfolios)
Sgt Andy Grayson, RLC

Amateur Portfolio

Winner: 

LSgt Alisdair Szyszko, Gren Gds

Runner-up:

Rfn Dominic House, Rifles

Highly Commended:

LCpl Taza Salamut, RY

Sig Tanbir Hasan, R Signals

Cpl Ross Gourlay, RE

Smartphone Shot

Winner: 

WO2 Kayley Butler, RLC

Soldier magazine’s Instagram and Facebook followers voted top this super sunrise snap