The 2015 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s biggest

photography competition, have announced their shortlists for its

Professional, Open and Youth categories. Recognising and rewarding

the world’s best contemporary photography from the last year, the

2015 competition received the highest number of entries in its eight

year history – 173,444 images from 171 countries – a 24% increase

on 2014. All descriptions are in the photographer's own words.

Professional: Travel - This series compares the faces and colours of four different cities, describing culture of the people are living there. Each image is a puzzle from different doors in each city. First Image : Venice Second : Tehran Third : Spandau Forth : BerlinPicture: © Farid Sani/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Lifestyle - Series of images from the life of photographer's familyPicture: © Ramil Gilvanov/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: People - An old shepherd that had been surprised by snow storm in Gilan's countrysides in the north of IranPicture: © Saeed Barikan/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Lifestyle - Everland is the largest theme park in Korea. This is the open shower in Caribbean BayPicture: © Julia Fullerton-Batten/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: Arts & Culture - Artistic Gymnastics Tournament in Poland. Girls that participated were aged 8-12Picture: © Adrian Jaszczak/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Contemporary Issues - Blind girls Sonia, 12, and Anita Singh, 5, were born into poverty with congenital cataract blindness. They must accompany their parents everywhere as they cannot be left alone without risk. Picture: © Brent Stirton/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: SmilePicture: © Joseph Makeni/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: Architecture - Miracle Mile is my first photograph taken after relocating to Los Angeles from New YorkPicture: © Gina Alderson-Hicks/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: Smile .Picture: © Christine Kapuschinsky Johnson/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: Nature & Wildlife - Three cute frogs in the morning lightPicture: © Harfian Herdi/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Landscape - The project 'Restricted area' is about utopian strive of humans for technological progress.

Picture: © Danila Tkachenko/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: Nature & Wildlife - These pelicans are resident on the point at Port Vincent on the Yorke Peninsular in South Australia and have become as opportunistic as the seagulls waiting for fish offalPicture: © Melissa Little/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Portraiture -Caesarian section #19Picture: © Christian Berthelot/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Youth: Culture David Pereira/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Sport - Underwater Grace #2Picture: © Jonathan Yeap Chin Tiong/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: ArchitecturePicture: ©Jurgen Schrepfer/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional Competition: Still Life -Animal Behaviour #02Picture: © Kimmo MetsÃanta/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: Panoramic - It's a Sunday in February and one of the rare occasions, when the 'Rummelsburger Bucht' in Berlin, a sidearm of the Spree river, is completely frozen. So people start to explore the new place and some even find an business opportunity selling grog.Picture: © Alexander Klebe/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: People - Swedish dads #2 - Ola Larsson, 41 years old, Purchaser. On leave with his son Gustav for eight months.Picture: © Johan Bavman/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: People - 1 in 700 babies are born with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal abnormality in new-borns. Specialists call it trisomy 21. Down syndrome is not a disease - it is not curable. People with Down syndrome have often physical and mental impairments that make them different from others. Since 2012 it has been possible to determine by means of non-invasive tests before birth whether a child will have Down's syndrome, as necessary, initiate an abortion. The photo series 'one hundred and forty centimetres' raises questions about our relationship with the stigma of 'living with impairment,' and the technical possibilities to determine this even before birthPicture: © Sabine Lewandowski/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Current Affairs - Ukrainian protester plays piano on a barricade in front of the riot police line during the continuing protest in Kiev, UkrainePicture: ©Vladyslav Musiienko/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Landscape - Blue Fields was shot at the Useless Loop solar salt operation situated in Shark Bay, the westernmost point of mainland Australia.Picture: © Simon Butterworth, United Kingdom, Landscape, Shortlist, Professional Commpetition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Contemporary Issues - At almost 600 pounds, Hector Garcia Jr. finds simple daily tasks like bathing a challenge. He struggled to walk across the hall from his bedroom to the bathroom so that his mother, Elena, could wash him after having cut his hair in November 2010. A month before, Hector started dieting after he realized he was close to his highest known weight, 636 pounds.Picture: © Lisa Krantz/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Sport - Sweat and blood Picture: © Marcin Klocek/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open: People - A young Nenets boy plays in -40 degrees on Yamal in the winter in SiberiaPicture: © Simon Morris/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Portraiture - Hair #9 Picture: © Jens Juul/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Campaign - Lidos Of England: Lost & Found. Lidos were perhaps at their most popular between the wars when people took their holidays here in England. Many of them were built in the 1930s or earlier and were naturally located on the English south coast, which was a favoured holiday destination for those living in London and the home counties. However there were many that were built in towns and cities to cope with the demand that once was and many of these remain. However, when the affordability of overseas holidays started to emerge in the 1960s many of these lidos fell into decline and have never recovered. Picture: © Jonathan Syer/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: People - In a Flemish village, surrounded by nature, Laura and Maurice live together with their daughter Eva. In the garden, Eva plays with her dog or meets with her classmates. Friends and family come along and fill the house with activity. But when Eva is at school, Maurice and Laura shoot what most people prefer to keep to themselves. The porn they make is not populated by Barbies or muscled superheroes.Picture: © Liza Van der Stock/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Landscape - Hindu devotees walk along the banks of the river Ganges, preparing to soak in the water of the sacred river, India 2008. One of a series of images made over the past five years, documenting the changes the river Ganges is going through. The natural and industrial destruction along its banks, some intentional some accidental.Picture: © Giulio di Sturco/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Youth: PortraitPicture: © Adi Dekel/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Afrts & Culture - Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men of the Toldot Aharon Sect celebrate the Purim holiday in the ultra-orthodox Mea Shearimneighborhood in JerusalemPicture: © Gili Yaari/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Sport - Italy's Ludwig Riederprepares for the training run during the Men's Luge Doubles of the Sochi 2014 Winter OlympicsPicture: © Sascha Fromm/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Portraiture - Glasgow; Second City of The Empire. On the run up to the Scottish ReferendumPicture: © Dougie Wallace/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Conceptual - Futurisitc archeology #3Picture: © Daesung Lee/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional: Architecture - Clubs in Italy Picture: © Massimo Siragusa/2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Open Competition: Arts & Culture - One of traditional attractions in Indonesian Culture called Bujang GanongPicture: © Aprison Aprison/2015 Sony World Photography Awards