A portrait capturing the quiet strength of a burn survivor has won one of the world’s top photography awards. The National Portrait Gallery has announced that Stockholm-based photographer Martina Holmberg is the winner of the 2025 Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize for her moving portrait titled Mel. The award comes with a £15,000 cash prize and international recognition for her sensitive and artistic work. Holmberg’s photograph shows Mel, a burn survivor, gazing softly out of a window as natural light falls on her skin. The image radiates peace and resilience, highlighting the quiet grace of someone who has endured deep physical and emotional pain. Mel’s story began with tragedy when, at just two years old, she and her sister were left in a car that caught fire. Her sister did not survive, while Mel lived through the accident with severe burns that changed her life forever. The winning portrait is part of Holmberg’s series The Outside of the Inside, which focuses on people with facial or physical differences. Through her work, Holmberg explores the beauty and individuality of each person, challenging stereotypes about appearance. The National Portrait Gallery said the series celebrates diversity and gives more visibility to those who often face discrimination or social stigma. Holmberg developed a love for photography as a child, inspired by her father, who would take her along when developing prints in his darkroom. Her creative journey led her to focus on portraits that reveal human emotion, truth, and dignity. Judges of the 2025 Taylor Wessing prize praised her for combining technical mastery with compassion. They highlighted how the soft lighting, careful framing, and emotional depth draw viewers to Mel’s story of endurance and recovery. The second prize, worth £3,000, went to London-based fine art photographer Luan Davide Gray for We Dare to Hug. The black-and-white portrait captures two men in their 60s sharing a tender embrace. One man holds the other’s chest and kisses his cheek, creating an image that reflects deep affection and vulnerability. The judges described it as a moment of “mature intimacy” that breaks traditional views of closeness between men. Gray, who studied visual communication at the University of Brighton, has spent over two decades as a hairstylist and image consultant before focusing on photography. His portrait, part of the Call Me By Your Name series, impressed the panel for its sculptural composition and delicate use of light and shadow. The third-place award of £2,000 went to Byron Mohammad Hamzah, an NHS consultant and photographic artist, for his work Jaidi Playing. The portrait shows a young boy, Jaidi, with his head gently held in the hands of another child. The image forms part of Hamzah’s series Bunga dan Tembok (The Flower and the Wall: The Stateless Youths of Semporna), which tells the stories of marginalized children in East Malaysia. Hamzah has volunteered for two years as an art and photography teacher with a local NGO that offers education to stateless and displaced youth, especially from the Bajau Laut ethnic community. Judges admired the calm beauty of Jaidi Playing, noting how it captures innocence and connection amid hardship. The £8,000 photographic commission for a new work to join the National Portrait Gallery’s collection was awarded to British photographer Hollie Fernando for her portrait Boss Morris, part of the series Hoydenish. The picture shows an all-female morris dancing group from Stroud, dressed in colorful folkloric outfits and huddled together in unity. The judges described the photograph as striking, imaginative, and a symbol of changing gender roles in traditional dance. The winning works will be displayed at the National Portrait Gallery from 13 November 2025 to 8 February 2026 as part of the Taylor Wessing photo portrait prize exhibition. Visitors will also see a new portrait of the LGBTQ+ activist Lady Phyll by Jesse Navarre Vos, last year’s winner of the Taylor Wessing photographic commission. The 2025 judging panel included photographer and educator Sunil Gupta, art historian Katy Hessel, photographer Tim Walker, and Sabina Jaskot-Gill, the gallery’s senior curator of photography. Together, they celebrated images that combine storytelling, empathy, and artistic vision — qualities that define this year’s remarkable winners.