Need some black and white inspiration? These are the best monochrome photos we’ve seen this month!

Here we share the best black and white photos from International Amateur Photographer of the Year 2026 competition! Azim Khan Ronnie won the top place in the Black & White category with the photograph ‘A Young Fisherman with Hilsa’, showing a young fisherman amongst fish he caught. Meanwhile, Antisha Thakur, came first place in the Young APOY competition. Here are the top 10 images uploaded to Photocrowd from Round Two, Black & White, with comments by the AP team and our guest judge…

Black & white photography strips an image back to its essentials, removing the distraction of colour and placing greater emphasis on light, shadow, form, texture and composition. Whether capturing people, landscapes, architecture or abstract details, successful monochrome images rely on strong visual design…