Choosing a headline to represent these images was tricky—selecting our favorites, from the millions of outstanding images in our passionate community, was downright nail-biting. But finding our favorite photos of the year (while challenging) was, ultimately, an inspiring project.
We started with the photos uploaded in 2017 that had the most votes in each category, to see what was popular within the community. From there, we curated our top picks from the list, to recognize as many photographers and as much high-quality work as possible. 500px Photo Editors also added their favorite shots of 2017 from Editors’ Choice and the rest of the community, to ensure “undiscovered” work was included, too.
The results reminded us of how much talent and passion the 500px community has to offer. While we can’t recognize every great photographer on the platform, we want to thank you all for the outstanding work you’ve shared with us this year. We hope you enjoy our favorite photos of 2017 as much as we enjoyed discovering them.
This is the first of three installments showcasing our favorite photos of the year—stay tuned for part two on Dec. 27.
City & Architecture
What our photo editors loved: With excellent technical execution and graphic qualities, these images capture both the grit and elegance that can be found in the city, and offer new perspectives on some of the urban habitats we move through every day.
Celebrities
What our photo editors loved: As most photographers know, composing and shooting an image is often only a small part of being a professional shooter. These celebrity portraits demonstrate what can be accomplished when all the elements around lighting, location, style, makeup and celebrity personality are successfully executed. We’re certain these shots made the clients happy!
Urban Exploration
What our photo editors loved: Connected by the urban contexts and fantastic use of light, we love the storytelling qualities of these images.
Transportation
What our photo editors loved: We were impressed by these unique takes on modes of transportation. We liked the use of detail shots to showcase design elements of vintage cars, while the photograph of trains in the tunnel has a futuristic and ominous feeling.
Night
What our photo editors loved: Photographers are experts at working with light, but in the challenging realm of night photography they must be even more strategic. We were impressed with the way these photographers integrated ambient light—whether from car’s trail, a mountainside town, or a spectacular aurora—to create richly-detailed, starry scenes.
Still Life
What our photo editors loved: We were struck by these distinct interpretations of a still life. All are wonderfully minimalist, but each plays with textures and graphic elements in a unique way.
Aerial
What our photo editors loved: Featuring a high rise apartment complex, a maze of highway overpasses, and a concrete beachside pool, these graphic aerial shots show familiar scenes in fresh and surprising ways.
Street
What our photo editors loved: Photographing on the street can be nerve-racking, but these shooters demonstrate their ability to get up close and personal while producing unique storytelling images. We like the sense of ambiguity created by the expressions, the strategic use of shadows, and the mirrors.
Food
What our photo editors loved: To leave a viewer’s mouth watering, a successful food photographer must have a natural sense of styling, and a command of light to give shape and interest to still subjects. These three images nailed it!
Follow the photographers:
- Doni Haris
- Remo Ferraguto
- Yoshiro Ishii
- Niko Tavernise
- Jeremy Cowart
- Jerm Cohen
- Ryan Millier
- Mohamed Abdulle
- Tobi Shinobi
- Michael Knudsen
- Jim Ryce
- Gary Marlowe
- Stefano Guerrini
- Nicholas Roemmelt
- Felix Inden
- Michelle Magnoli
- Pedro Díaz Molins
- Bogdan Dreava
- Gary Cummins
- Jay Daley
- Md Farid
- Saumalya Ghosh
- Craig Whitehead
- Alessandro Bergamini
- Raquel Carmona Romero
- Miki Fujii
- Hidekazu Makiyama
Did we miss one of your favorites? We’d love to see a gallery of your favorite photos of 2017—share your links in the comments!
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