Portrait/Personality
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First Place - T.J. Kirkpatrick, Freelance
Second Place - Sarah Silbiger, Freelance
Third Place - Andrew Harnik, The Associated Press
Award of Excellence - Gabriella Demczuk, TIME
Award of Excellence - Jahi Chikwendiu, The Washington Post
Pictorial
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First Place - Matt McClain, The Washington Post
Second Place - Patrick Smith, Getty Images
Third Place - Sarah L. Voisin, The Washington Post
Award of Excellence - Ricky Carioti, The Washington Post
Feature
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First Place - Kevin Lamarque, Reuters
Second Place - Ken Cedeno, Independent
Third Place - Jahi Chikwendiu, The Washington Post
Award of Excellence - Pete Marovich, Independent
Award of Excellence - Matt McClain, The Washington Post
Sports Feature/Reaction
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First Place - Kevin Dietsch, United Press International
Second Place - Kevin Dietsch, United Press International
Third Place - Andrew Harnik, The Associated Press
Award of Excellence - Matt McClain, The Washington Post
Sports Action
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First Place - Patrick Smith, Getty Images
Second Place - Patrick Smith, Getty Images
Third Place - Al Drago, Independent
Award of Excellence - John McDonnell, The Washington Post
Award of Excellence - Patrick Smith, Getty Images
Presidential
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First Place - Tom Brenner, Freelance
Second Place - Doug Mills, The New York Times
Third Place - Susan Walsh, The Associated Press
Award of Excellence - Tom Brenner, Freelance
Award of Excellence - Anna Moneymaker, Freelance
Award of Excellence - Doug Mills, The New York Times
Award of Excellence - Pete Marovich, Freelance
Award of Excellence - Tom Brenner, Freelance
On Capitol Hill
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First Place - Erin Schaff, The New York Times
Second Place - Stephen Voss, Freelance
Third Place - Jim Lo Scalzo, European Pressphoto Agency
Award of Excellence - Erin Schaff, The New York Times
Award of Excellence - Pete Marovich, Freelance
Award of Excellence - Caroline Brehman, CQ-Roll Call
Award of Excellence - Carolyn Kaster, The Associated Press
Insider’s Washington
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First Place - Jabin Botsford, The Washington Post
Second Place - Al Drago, Independent
Third Place - Jack Gruber, USA TODAY
Award of Excellence - Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Award of Excellence - Bill O'Leary, The Washington Post
Award of Excellence - Erin Schaff, The New York Times
Domestic News
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First Place - Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Second Place - Jack Gruber, USA TODAY
Third Place - Jabin Botsford, The Washington Post
International News
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First Place - Sarah L. Voisin, The Washington Post
Second Place - Cheryl Diaz Meyer, Freelance
Third Place - David Butow, Independent
Award of Excellence - Salwan Georges, The Washington Post
Picture Story/Politics
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First Place - Erin Schaff, The New York Times
Second Place - Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Third Place - Erin Schaff, The New York Times
Award of Excellence - Andrew Harnik, The Associated Press
Award of Excellence - Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse
Picture Story/Feature
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First Place - Gabriella Demczuk, The New York Times
Second Place - Matt McClain, The Washington Post
Third Place - Cheryl Diaz Meyer, Freelance
Award of Excellence - Gabriella Demczuk, The New York Times
Award of Excellence - Mary F. Calvert, Freelance
Award of Excellence - Ricky Carioti, The Washington Post
Picture Story/News
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First Place - David Butow, Independent
Second Place - Cheryl Diaz Meyer, Freelance
Third Place - Carol Guzy, Independent
Award of Excellence - Jahi Chikwendiu, The Washington Post
Award of Excellence - M. Scott Mahaskey, Politico
Picture Story/Sports
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First Place - Cheryl Diaz Meyer, Freelance
Second Place - Patrick Smith, Getty Images
Third Place - Jabin Botsford, The Washington Post
Award of Excellence - Matt McClain, The Washington Post
Political Portfolio
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First Place - Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Second Place - Erin Schaff, The New York Times
Third Place - Brendan Smialowsk, Agence France-Presse
Award of Excellence - Doug Mills, The New York Times
Portfolio
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First Place - Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Second Place - Erin Schaff, The New York Times
Third Place - Gabriella Demczuk, TIME
Award of Excellence - Melina Mara, The Washington Post
Top Honors
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Photographer of the Year - Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Political Photo of the Year - Erin Schaff, The New York Times
2020 Stills Contest Judges
Elizabeth D. Herman
Elizabeth D. Herman is a photojournalist based in New York City and a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work focuses on the politics of history, conflict, and group belonging; her dissertation research examines the ways in which trauma impacts intergroup relations and political participation. A regular contributor to The New York Times, she was previously a Fulbright Fellow to Bangladesh and has had her photography and research published in national and international outlets. Last year, she pitched and co-photographed “The Women of the 116th Congress,” a special project for The New York Times, which featured portraits of 130 women of the 116th Congress, photographed in the style of historical portrait paintings. The project was recently published as a book with ABRAMS Books, with a foreword by Roxane Gay.
Andrew Johnston
Andrew Johnston joined the Chicago Tribune staff in 2005 as its national and foreign photo editor. After newsroom shrinkage – and elimination of most of the Tribune’s bureaus – he became the Metro photo editor. Today, he’s the principal editor of Page 1 photography and many of the Tribune’s projects and is a key advocate for cameras in the courtrooms in Chicagoland. A graduate of Ball State University’s journalism school, he has also worked as a photo editor at the Detroit Free Press, a freelance photographer in Detroit and a staff photographer at the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Journal Gazette and Outdoor Indiana magazine. When not thinking about photography, he loves canoeing and fishing. He met his wife of 22 years in a newspaper darkroom. They have two teen daughters who really hate being photographed.
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam is a Los Angeles Times staff photographer. Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he left a career in aerospace engineering to become a photographer. His goal: to take viewers to the frontlines of conflict, struggle and intimacy. In 2019, Yam was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Journalism Award for his body of work documenting the everyday plight of Gazans during deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip. Yam was part of two Pulitzer Prize-winning breaking news teams that covered the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attacks in 2015 for the Los Angeles Times and the deadly landslide in Oso, Wash., for the Seattle Times in 2014. His other work has also earned the Scripps Howard Visual Journalism Award, Picture of the Year International’s Newspaper Photographer of the Year Award, Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.