Winners of the B&W Child Photo Contest Celebrate Childhood Around the World

childhood photography b&w child

1st Place: “Playing with light” by Olga Ageeva, Russia
Category: Lifestyle

We all go through childhood, but no two experiences are alike. Whether it’s culture, class, and/or geography, it all shapes these formative years in a powerful way. But despite these differences, as young people, we each explore the world around us with the same sense of wonder and imagination. The third annual B&W CHILD photo contest just released their winners for the 2016 competition, and the talented photographers beautifully depict what it’s like to be a kid today. United visually in a black and white palette, the different vignettes highlight children at play, at rest, and making sense of their surroundings at large.

Each year, the B&W CHILD photo contest awards a Grand Prize winner. Photographer Olga Ageeva from Russia took the top spot, and she also earned first place accolades in the Fine Art category. Her particular pieces follow two young girls, and the intimate images show the highs and lows of this time. They’re seen acting silly together as well as solemn, as if they're in the throes of careful contemplation. These varied snapshots highlight a universal truth about life—this juxtaposition of emotion starts when we’re young and never ends. We just grow older and wiser.

The 2017 B&W CHILD submissions are now open. Learn how to enter here.

Can you see yourself in some of these kids?

childhood photography b&w child

3rd Place: “Looking out” by Oriano Nicolau, Spain
Category: Portrait

childhood photography b&w child

2nd Place: “Sleeping” by Olga Ageeva, Russia
Category: Portrait

3rd Place: “Looking for the queen” by Hutchins, Poland/USA
Category: Documentary & Street

black and white childhood photography b&w child

2nd Place: “Children on the Indian Ocean Seaboard” by Guomiao Zhou, China
Category: Silhouette

1st Place: “Batman” by Anna Kuncewicz, Poland
Category: Silhouette

black and white childhood photography

2nd Place: “Classic Couch Potato” by Chelsea Silbereis, USA
Category: Documentary & Street

1st Place: “Untitled” by Olga Ageeva, Russia
Category: Lifestyle

childhood photography

2nd Place: “Boyhood” by Alicja Pietras, Poland
Category: Portrait

3rd Place: “Double” by Karen Osdieck, USA
Category: Conceptual & Photo Manipulation

black and white childhood photography

3rd Place: “Plums” by Mariola Glajcar, Poland
Category: Conceptual & Photo Manipulation

childhood photography

2nd Place: “The game of hide and seek” by Olga Ageeva, Russia
Category: Lifestyle

black and white childhood photography

3rd Place: “On half” by Karolina Piórkowska, Poland
Category: Lifestyle

black and white childhood photography

Nominee: “Untitled” by by Olga Ageeva, Russia
Category: Portrait

childhood photography

Nominee: “Apple orchard” by Olga Ageeva, Russia
Category: Portrait

B&W CHILD Photo Contest: Website | Facebook

All images via B&W CHILD Photo Contest.

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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