'PRIDE & PREJUDICE' Winner announced

For the 2024/25 ILFORD Photo student photography competition we set the theme of 'Pride & Prejudice'. Borrowing the title from Austen's classic novel, we wanted to see how you interpreted its central themes of Pride and Prejudice and how it is reflected in the today's world. Could be morality, social standing, race, religion, or sexuality that embodied the 'Pride & Prejudice' through your lens.

As always, they rose to the challenge and entries started coming in within weeks of the competition being launched. By the closing date of 31st January 2025 we had received hundreds of entries from students based all over the world showing us their version of 'Pride & Prejudice.'

Darkroom printing

A lot of time and skill goes into shooting these images on our ILFORD or Kentmere black and white films and then printing them in the darkroom to a high standard. The quality of teaching from lecturers, technicians and educators was reflected by the difficulty that the judges have every year in choosing a winner.

And the winner is....

We are pleased to announce that the winner, and recipient of the title of ‘ILFORD PHOTO International Student Photographer of the Year 2024/25’ has been awarded to Elita Earl from Stamford College.

Student competition winner 2024/2025

Elita captured her image on ILFORD HP5 Plus film and printed it on ILFORD MULTIGRADE RC Deluxe Pearl paper.

We asked Elita what winning the competition means to her. “I couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity and to hear that I am the ILFORD photo international student photographer of the year. I really enjoyed this years topic, being able to feel so strongly about the subject definitely allowed me to create such an impactful self-portrait. Also, I am really appreciative of my college facilities and what they provide, without it I wouldn’t be where I am today. Having this achievement is just such a great feeling and with that I have definitely found a place in my heart for film and darkroom printing.”

Steven Butter, lecturer at Stamford College added: "I am incredibly proud of Elita for winning this year’s competition. Her hard work, dedication, and ambition truly shone through, especially in her self-portrait, which captured the theme so brilliantly. For Stamford College students to win this prestigious competition two years in a row is an outstanding achievement. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the college for its continued support, which has played a pivotal role in helping students like Elita reach their full potential."

Runner-Up

This year’s runner up prize goes to Lucy Wright from King's Ely. Her image was shot on ILFORD FP4 Plus film and was printed on ILFORD MULTIGRADE RC Deluxe Pearl Paper.

When we told Lucy that she's been awarded the Runner Up prize she replied with. ' I took this photograph to highlight the casual and often overlooked discrimination in football, particularly regarding gender and race. My model, being both female and Indian, represents groups that frequently face sexism and racism within the sport. Discrimination is still prevalent in the football community and is often weaponised against players, which I find inexcusable.' 

Student competition runner up 2024/2025

From the judges

Matt Parry, Head of Marketing was impressed with both the quality of the entries and the interpretation of the theme. He said, 'Every year we look forward to seeing how students have used our products to bring the theme to life. We never fail to be impressed by the quality of the prints that make it through to the final judging. There is always plenty of debate as we review and make the shortlist but the winners really stood out. We felt they not only addressed the theme perfectly but were beautifully shot and printed.'

Thank you

Our thanks go to the lecturers and technicians who are committed to providing such a high standard of photographic education. This competition could not run without their support.

Next Competition

The 2025/26 ILFORD PHOTO student competition will be announced on the website and @ilfordphoto social media channels shortly.