Thursday 18th December

PistonHeads Photographer of the Year 2025

And the winners are...

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We made the shortlist, hundreds of you voted and the results are in: our Photographer of the Year 2025 has been crowned!

Huge thanks to everyone who took the time to cast a vote – it was a close-run thing, and with the ridiculously high standard of nominees this year, choosing a favourite can't have been easy. Given that two of the top three never made it to auction and sold using our Make an offer feature in the coming soon period, it's no surprise how popular they were with voters.

1st Place – Photographer of the Year

Mitch Brown: 2014 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe

2nd Place

Adrian Brannan: 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 [997]

3rd Place

Matt Nolan: 2016 Nissan 370Z

It’s been another outstanding year for PistonHeads auction photography. Whether you voted for your favourite shoot or simply enjoyed scrolling through the galleries (and let’s be honest, we all did), the standard of work from our network of photographers continues to impress. From sharp detail shots to front three-quarters that could grace a magazine cover, every nominee brought something special to the table. Thank you to all of our photographers for raising the bar again this year – you’ve helped make 2025’s auction listings among the best we’ve ever seen.

And last but not least, congratulations to member cearchibald who won the professional photo shoot. We’ll be giving more away next year, so make sure you give us a follow on Instagram so you don’t miss out...

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If you’re a professional photographer and would like to join our growing UK network of auction snappers, please click here.

[sifocus]

Any picture with a Vantage on view looks stunning 👍

[I 8 a 4RE]

I struggle to see how these are brilliant photos from either a lighting, composition or effect perspective?

Great subject matter, but boring photos

[nismo48]

sifocus said:

Any picture with a Vantage on view looks stunning ?

+1

[Wab1974uk]

3rd place looks like it should have been 1st.

But as said above. Nothing jumps out as Wow!

[benjidog]

I 8 a 4RE said:

I struggle to see how these are brilliant photos from either a lighting, composition or effect perspective?

Great subject matter, but boring photos

Agreed 100%

[damonbill]

benjidog said:

I 8 a 4RE said:

I struggle to see how these are brilliant photos from either a lighting, composition or effect perspective?

Great subject matter, but boring photos

Agreed 100%

+1 Agree 100%
It was based on votes, never trust the public with anything of taste, style or politics.

[The Driving God]

I 8 a 4RE said:

I struggle to see how these are brilliant photos from either a lighting, composition or effect perspective?

Great subject matter, but boring photos

Hey, they're in focus. Let's not get greedy.

[Blib]

damonbill said:

benjidog said:

I 8 a 4RE said:

I struggle to see how these are brilliant photos from either a lighting, composition or effect perspective?

Great subject matter, but boring photos

Agreed 100%

+1 Agree 100%
It was based on votes, never trust the public with anything of taste, style or politics.

I assume that you three didn't make the cut?

[cirks]

and how many voted?

There are plenty of better photos in the auctions and forums.

[Handyman2009]

Love mine for sure

[Den Den]

For me the best period of automotive photography was the 80's & 90's when Car magazine was in it's prime

[ChrisW.]

There are lots of better photos around but these were obviously the best from what had been submitted and / or from the selection pool ...

Is this topic an invitation for next year's competition ??

[Jader1973]

What the actual fk is going on? Surely this isn’t a real thing?

[Its Just Adz]

Are you having a laugh?

I don't remember seeing a poll, but these are not great photography.

Lovely Porsche aside, there is nothing special about these shots at all. As others have said above me.

Much better photos in our own photography subforum.

[Maxym]

All three quite unremarkable.

[Evolved]

What am I missing here. The shots selected are no better than someone can achieve using an iPhone. Park the car in a nice setting, point and shoot and perhaps, some subtle colour edit.

There are countless examples of fantastic shots to use as a bench mark for ‘good photography’ and while the cars are special, none of those shots come remotely close IMHO.

[Lester H]

Evolved said:

What am I missing here. The shots selected are no better than someone can achieve using an iPhone. Park the car in a nice setting, point and shoot and perhaps, some subtle colour edit.

There are countless examples of fantastic shots to use as a bench mark for good photography and while the cars are special, none of those shots come remotely close IMHO.

First is forty shades of grey. Colour adds interest to number 3 . Experienced photographers like a little red.

[Lester H]

Wab1974uk said:

3rd place looks like it should have been 1st.

But as said above. Nothing jumps out as Wow!

+1

[paulrockliffe]

I assume from the text that the criteria for this is photos that were used in an auction and the whole article, like 90% of the articles these days, is just unsubtle advertising.

[Its Just Adz]

paulrockliffe said:

I assume from the text that the criteria for this is photos that were used in an auction and the whole article, like 90% of the articles these days, is just unsubtle advertising.

Surely they should have looked at their own articles and features, as they usually have some brilliant photography.