When a Moment Becomes a Story: Inside the OPPO Photography Awards 2025

In mid-December, as the winter sun drifts across Cairo’s skyline, a new kind of exhibition opens its doors, built not from the work of gallery veterans but from the pockets of everyday people. Each image is a reminder that the world is full of stories happening in the margins of daily life. And increasingly, these stories are being captured through a device nearly everyone carries.

Full disclosure: This story is brought to you by OPPO.

Inside, walls glow with scenes from 87 countries and regions: a child running through street fog, a festival unfolding on a distant coastline, the hush of a grandmother’s living room, the rhythmic labor of fishermen beneath a brutal sun.

“When you see hundreds of images from around the world in one room, you understand how universal the instinct to document truly is”, said Ling Liu, Overseas CMO of OPPO.

This is the spirit of the OPPO Photography Awards 2025. While Cairo provides the physical backdrop, the images themselves form a meeting point between cultures, moments, and lived experiences.

What the OPPO Photography Awards 2025 Represents

Launched in 2023, the Awards were created with an ambitious goal to encourage people everywhere to record meaning in the fleeting moments that often go unnoticed. By 2025, that ambition has become tangible. Under the theme Super Every Moment, the competition reframes everyday scenes, street encounters, quiet portraits, and passing gestures, as moments worthy of serious photographic attention.

Nearly 2 million submissions arrived from 87 countries and regions. With a judging panel that included three Hasselblad Masters and a Magnum Photos member, the Awards signal a clear intent: mobile photography is no longer treated as a secondary medium, but as a legitimate space for artistic and documentary work.

OPPO expanded the prize structure to include Jury’s Choice, Audience’s Choice, Regional Awards, and broader youth recognition. Even with its global scale, the Awards stay grounded in a simple idea: the most meaningful photography often comes from the people living the story, not observing it from afar.

Cairo: Where These Stories Converge

Selecting Cairo as the exhibition site feels intentional. The city has long been a crossroads of cultures. Ancient history meets contemporary rhythm in every direction, making it an ideal home for a global showcase.

Inside the exhibition, every photograph, shot on an OPPO smartphone, transforms from a small digital screen into a tactile print. The shift gives these moments weight and presence, reflecting the growing maturity of mobile photography and its role in today’s visual culture.

Walking through the Cairo exhibition, it quickly became clear that behind each image was a personal decision to notice, to pause, and to lift a phone at precisely the right moment. The transition underscores a broader shift: mobile photography is increasingly evaluated by intention and outcome, not by the device itself.

Spotlight Stories from the Award-Winning Photographers

Gold Award: Dialect: The Fading Voice

Captured on an OPPO Find X8 Ultra, Dialect: The Fading Voice documents the gradual disappearance of local dialects in a small village in northern Guangdong.

“Witnessing the gradual loss of these dialects fills me with regret. I felt compelled to leave a mark through my camera, translating the auditory into the visual,” the photographer says.

The series spans dialect theater traditions, family moments, and interactions between generations. Scenes featuring earphones connecting generations, cue cards with dialect text, mirrored portraits, and varied framing communicate the theme with emotional depth. The telephoto sequences allow viewers to witness gestures and expressions without intrusion.

“Beyond conveying visual aesthetics, this series constructs a narrative through sequential images that reveal the disappearance of dialect in the hometown. The artist balances intimate close-ups with large empty spaces, creating rhythm and emotional resonance,” the jury says.

Silver Award: Multiple Shadows of Night

Shot on an OPPO Find X8 Pro, Multiple Shadows of Night captures fleeting urban life in a softly illuminated evening scene.

“In the warm yellow glow, silhouettes overlap. Some have finished their day’s rush, while others begin their nighttime musings. The city’s evenings hold stories and emotions of their own,” the photographer says.

The photograph’s reflections and layered lighting frame pedestrians, creating a dynamic yet contemplative scene. OPPO imaging preserves shadow detail and clarity in complex lighting conditions.

“This image is a masterpiece of street photography. The spontaneous layering of urban lights and pedestrians captures a decisive moment that evokes the tension and rhythm of modern city life,” the jury says.

Jury’s Choice: The Attachment

Captured on an OPPO Find X8 Ultra, The Attachment uses live photo technology to preserve movement, light, and ambient sound.

“Live photos possess a unique vitality. They carry the essence of decisive moments while holding the charm of pure documentation. I wanted to share the state of mind during the shoot in the simplest way possible,” the photographer says.

The format allows fleeting gestures and expressions to exist in a single frame sequence, highlighting how OPPO imaging translates ephemeral moments into storytelling that is intimate and authentic.

“The creative potential of live photos is remarkable. Subtle color and motion convey tenderness and immediacy, proving that mobile photography can communicate emotion with precision,” the jury says.

Category Award, Environment: IFS International Finance Center

Shot on an OPPO Find X9 Pro, IFS International Finance Center transforms a cloud-enshrouded skyscraper into a surreal encounter, reflecting the city below in mirrored surfaces.

“In a dream woven from cloud and mist, the IFS International Finance Center rises like a king above the clouds, overlapping with passersby reflected below. Perhaps in a parallel world, we are meeting this city in another form,” the photographer says.

The composition draws attention to scale and reflection, showing how mobile photography can reveal new dimensions in urban environments.

“This photograph demonstrates how perspective can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. The interplay of mist, glass, and human presence creates a poetic yet grounded narrative,” the jury says.

Voices from the OPPO Community

The Artist of Instinct: Ukiyo Moto

Some photographers plan meticulously. Ukiyo Moto works differently.

Based in Indonesia, Moto approaches photography through instinct, observing quietly, waiting, and responding when something human reveals itself.

One of his standout images captures fishermen at a port, silhouetted beneath a punishing midday sun as baskets of fish pass rhythmically from hand to hand. The scene is harsh, physical, and demanding, yet laughter breaks through the frame.

“Their silhouettes depict the harshness of life,” Moto says, “and yet they still manage to smile.”

Moto explains that mobile photography changed how he works. Speed matters more than preparation. Presence matters more than equipment. Using telephoto zoom, he can remain at a respectful distance, allowing moments to unfold naturally without intrusion.

“Technology will keep evolving,” he says. “But instinct, knowing when to lift the camera, is what creates meaning.”

The Quiet Observer: Wenisilviani Jong

For Wenisilviani Jong, photography is less about pursuit and more about attention.

One of her most resonant images captures the Sydney Opera House after rain. Shot in black and white, the wet pavement reflects the structure above, softening an iconic landmark into something unexpectedly intimate.

“It was familiar,” Jong says, “but the reflections made it feel as though the city was briefly revealing a quieter version of itself.”

Mobile photography allows Jong to work within these fleeting conditions, moments when light, weather, and emotion align briefly before disappearing.

“Don’t overthink it,” she says. “Your phone is already there. Let it help you notice what you might otherwise pass by.”

Mobile Imaging as a Universal Language

The images throughout this year’s Awards make something clear. Mobile photography is no longer defined by convenience. It has become a cultural archive, documenting how people live, feel, and connect. OPPO’s LUMO Imaging Engine works quietly in the background, balancing clarity, dynamic range, and color accuracy while preserving a natural visual language. Rather than pulling creators away from the moment, the technology recedes, allowing instinct and emotion to lead.

When powerful imaging tools sit in the hands of millions, storytelling becomes open, accessible, and surprising.

Looking Ahead: The Next Super Moment

As the Cairo exhibition opens its doors and the winning works find their place on the walls, one question lingers. Where will the next great photograph come from?

Perhaps from a student on a crowded bus. Maybe from a once-in-a-decade family reunion. Or from someone who has never considered themselves a photographer at all.

What matters is not the equipment, but the instinct to lift the device when something meaningful appears.

The OPPO Photography Awards preserve these moments, elevate them, and give them the chance to resonate far beyond the instant in which they were taken.

“A moment becomes a story only when someone chooses to notice it,” said Ling Liu, Overseas CMO of OPPO.

Image credits: OPPO, Individual artists as credited

Full disclosure: This story is brought to you by OPPO.