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At the end of each year, TIME selects its Top 100 photos of the year<\/a>. As always, the 2025 edition<\/a> is replete with superb photography, ranging from split-second action shots of important news events to powerful photos from longer-term projects, the collection is a compelling visual reminder of the major events of 2025 and, perhaps as importantly, photography\u2019s power in telling the world\u2019s most important stories. <\/p>\n PetaPixel chatted this week with Katherine Pomerantz<\/a>, Director of Photography at TIME, about this year\u2019s selections, the process of picking the top 100 photos of the year, and why specific images speak to her. <\/p>\n Pomerantz has been Director of Photography at TIME for eight years now, although TIME\u2018s Top 100 photos feature has been going on \u201cmuch longer than that.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cEvery year we put together our top photos of the year,\u201d Pomerantz explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a complete collaboration of the entire photo team and my favorite project of the year, the project basically starts in January.\u201d <\/p>\n The team gathers photos throughout the year and puts them in a big folder. Every month, Pomerantz says her team, which includes five photo editors at TIME, reviews the selections so far. <\/p>\n Come August, the narrowing process goes into full swing, and the meetings become more regular and decisive. <\/p>\n \u201cPart of it is debate, part of it\u2019s agreement, lots of laughter. It\u2019s a ton of fun,\u201d Pomerantz remarks. \u201cWhat\u2019s cool is that everybody has different photographers they follow, they\u2019re in touch with. Using everybody\u2019s brains and their collective contacts, [we] pull in a bunch of different photographers and images.\u201d <\/p>\n Sometimes Images Grab You and Won\u2019t Let Go <\/p>\n A year is a long time, and, as clich\u00e9 as it may be, 2025 felt longer than most. That\u2019s a lot of news, and a massive amount of photos. Nonetheless, specific images strike one of TIME\u2018s editors so powerfully that they really want it to make the final cut. Pomerantz says that it\u2019s common for one of her editors to send her a message with a photo and say that it\u2019s so strong it has to be set aside. <\/p>\n But everyone has different preferences and finds various types of images especially captivating. <\/p>\n \u201cSome of the photo editors really like graphic images or ones that are chaotic and loud images with a lot of tension,\u201d TIME\u2018s photo director says. <\/p>\n For Pomerantz herself, a lot of it comes down to composition, but she really appreciates images when a photographer\u2019s exceptional skill is on full display. <\/p>\n \u201cEspecially in a breaking news moment or in a moment where things are happening very quickly, when you can tell the photographer had a vision in that moment of that picture. That speaks very loudly to me,\u201d Pomerantz says. <\/p>\n When asked if there was an image that she couldn\u2019t stop thinking about, Pomerantz instantly named Carol Guzy\u2019s award-winning photo<\/a> of a security guard on one side a pillar outside a building while a mother and her young child stood, distressed, following an immigration court hearing for the husband and father, who ICE had detained. <\/p>\n \u201cThe one that comes immediately to mind is the Carol Guzy image of a mother and child outside of the detention center in New York,\u201d Pomerantz says. \u201cAnd they\u2019re both tears and then sort of around the corner is a security guard who\u2019s also crying. And her perspective where you can see both these emotional moments happening at the same time, but it doesn\u2019t seem like they can see each other, I think is a really, really powerful moment.\u201d <\/p>\n This was also one of the images that was picked up by one of TIME\u2018s editors. Brooklyn-based senior photo editor Kim Bubello has been following Guzy\u2019s work and brought this powerful photo to the rest of the team\u2019s attention. Clearly, its power won over everyone else, too. <\/p>\n The Human Element and Emotional Storytelling <\/p>\n The human element of this image, and many others in the final selection of 100, is so crucial, says Pomerantz. <\/p>\n \u201cA thousand percent,\u201d she says, \u201cRaw human emotion is something we\u2019re all craving. When you can see that in a photograph, there\u2019s nothing more impactful than that.\u201d <\/p>\n In the case of Guzy\u2019s photograph, and many others, the human emotion on full display is pain, horror, tragedy, and devastation. But that\u2019s not all the news is. There are also moments of contemplation, contentment, and jubilation, along with photos of people doing incredible, inspirational things. The selection runs the gamut not only of aesthetic style and subject matter, but also of the human experience. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nice when the emotion is joy because I feel like we need that,\u201d Pomerantz says. <\/p>\n It is not just the photos themselves that perform vital emotional storytelling, but also the way they are ordered, which is given extensive, careful consideration. <\/p>\n \u2018Raw human emotion is something we\u2019re all craving. When you can see that in a photograph, there\u2019s nothing more impactful than that.\u2019 <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very intentional to represent the whole range of human emotion,\u201d Pomerantz says. \u201cWhen we put [all the images] together as 100 photos, we\u2019re very intentional about the sequencing.\u201d <\/p>\n When Pomerantz first started at TIME, this process included printing out every photo and spreading them across tables in a conference room. These days, the team meets online to discuss and share pictures. However, the way the conversations go has not changed. Pomerantz describes the final cuts as among her favorite parts of the entire process. <\/p>\n \u201cI think when we disagree \u2014 and we have a very lovely, respectful, fantastic team, so the disagreements are very cordial \u2014 it\u2019s good practice for us to talk about photography, to really think about the image,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that\u2019s a very crucial part of the process is to be able to make your case and try to convince others for why one image, especially if they\u2019re very similar frames from the same event, [deserves to be included].\u201d <\/p>\n One of the most challenging parts of the process every year is selecting the cover. While many viewers enjoy TIME\u2018s Top 100 Photos feature online each year, it is also a significant print issue for the publication, and the cover of any magazine is critical. <\/p>\n This year, Britta Jaschinski\u2019s striking photo of a green sea turtle under ultraviolet light graces the cover. It is not just visually powerful, but it also tells a compelling story about how people are using forensic evidence against poachers and animal traffickers. <\/p>\n Like Guzy\u2019s included photo, this was also selected after a photo editor saw it online and brought it to the team\u2019s attention. <\/p>\n \u201cWe looked at it and we reached out to the photographer to get the backstory of the photo and it ended up on the cover,\u201d Pomerantz says. <\/p>\n It was the ideal cover photo for many reasons. Importantly, it works extremely well in a vertical format, which definitely matters. But it is also visually striking while also speaking to a major story \u2014 how new technology helps fight wildlife crime. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of those that stops you and you\u2019re like, \u2018What\u2019s going on here?\u2019 So you have to, hopefully, pick up the magazine and take a closer look,\u201d Pomerantz says. <\/p>\n The Photo Director adds that the cover image can\u2019t just be the most famous photo from the biggest news event, either, as that would make people think the magazine is about that event, rather than the photos of the year. <\/p>\n Ultimately, that\u2019s what the incredible feature is about each year: celebrating the powerful images that talented photographers captured worldwide throughout 2025. From action-packed images of chaotic scenes to inspiring moments of human success, the team of TIME photo editors, led by Katherine Pomerantz, delivered the perfect bookend to 2025. The complete collection of TIME\u2018s Top 100 Photos of 2025 is available online<\/a> and in TIME magazine\u2019s newest issue, \u201cBest Photos of the Year,\u201d which arrives on newsstands and in stores next week. <\/p>\n \u2028<\/p>\n Image credits: Images provided courtesy of TIME. Individual photographers are credited in the captions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the end of each year, TIME selects its Top 100 photos of the year. As always, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[437,434,435,436,100765,438,1549,146,85,17687,1037,46,43,16207,3064,762,100766],"class_list":{"0":"post-169882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-carolguzy","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-documentary","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-il","17":"tag-inspiration","18":"tag-interview","19":"tag-israel","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-photojournalism","22":"tag-spotlight","23":"tag-time","24":"tag-timemagazine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/vadim-makhorov-time-100-2025-800x598.jpg\")
\u2018Polar bears at an abandoned research station on Koluchin Island, off Chukotka, Russia, in the country\u2019s Far East, on September 14.\u2019 | Photo by Vadim Makhorov \u2014 AP (https:\/\/petapixel.com\/2025\/10\/01\/photographer-brings-drone-on-cruise-ship-finds-polar-bears-living-in-abandoned-building\/) <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TopPhotos2025_003_2-800x534.jpg\")
\u2018A woman cooks in the shadows of a former orphanage while children move through adjoining rooms, now converted into living quarters for families displaced from Khartoum. The abandoned compound on the outskirts of Al\u202fJunaynah shelters dozens who fled Sudan\u2019s civil war.\u2019 |
Photograph by Moises Saman for TIME <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TopPhotos2025_0021_2-800x587.jpg\")
\u2018Ultraviolet light reveals a human handprint on the shell of a green sea turtle\u2014demonstrating a cutting-edge technique for capturing forensic evidence to be used against poachers and animal traffickers.\u2019 | Photo by Britta Jaschinski <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4970-800x534.jpg\")
\u2018After her husband was detained by ICE agents on August 20, a woman with her child wept outside a federal building in New York City; a security guard was moved to tears as well. There was no word at the time on if the detained man faced any criminal charges.\u2019 | Photo by Carol Guzy <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TopPhotos2025_001_2-800x534.jpg\")
\u2018On the night of Saturday, March 15, three planes touched down in El Salvador, carrying 261 men deported from the United States. A few dozen were Salvadoran, but most of the men were Venezuelans the Trump Administration had designated as gang members and deported, with little or no due process.\u2019 | Photo by Philip Holsinger Picking the Perfect Cover <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TIM251208-Photo-CoverREV1_2-600x800.jpg\")
TIME magazine cover for December 8, 2025 | Photo by Britta Jaschinski <\/p>\n