Rising photographer wins European Student Award with striking series on femininity in the military

Left: Strength tests are one of the tasks of the German Armed Forces, and various exercises are used to regularly monitor the physical and mental strength of soldiers, their endurance and coordination, Right: Sergeant B. and Sergeant major S. resting on a wooden box before their weekly physical training is about to start. In addition to mental training, physical exercise plays an important part in everyday life in the German Armed Forces.

The Sony World Photography Awards has named the winner of its European Student Award, spotlighting an emerging German photographer, capturing the complexity of femininity and individuality inside Germany's male-dominated armed forces.

Newly introduced in 2026, the European Student Award celebrates outstanding photography works – championing the most compelling emerging voices from across Europe.

This year's winner, Teresa Halbreiter of the University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, impressed judges with her thought-provoking series Stillgestanden (‘Attention!’). Placing women at the centre of an institution historically shaped by masculine archetypes, Halbreiter's work interrogates identity, belonging, and personal expression within rigid structures.

European Student Award winner

Sergeant B. and Sergeant major S. resting on a wooden box before their weekly physical training is about to start. In addition to mental training, physical exercise plays an important part in everyday life in the German Armed Forces (Image credit: © Teresa Halbreiter, Germany, Winner, European Student Award, Sony World Photography Awards 2026)

In a statement, the judges praised the project for its connection and depth: "The series intelligently explores how femininity can persist and adapt within wider structures, what we give to be part of something larger than ourselves, and what remains when we step away from it."

For Halbreiter, the German Bundeswehr became both subject and setting – "a world unto itself," where individuality and femininity can often get lost behind uniformity.

To create Stillgestanden (‘Attention!’), she connected with women navigating this environment, capturing intimate frames that reveal the tension between conformity and expression, strength and vulnerability.

At the heart of the project lies a series of questions: "What is life as a female soldier really like? (...) How does it feel, as a woman, to be part of an institution that is still strongly shaped by images of masculinity? And who remains once the uniform has been taken off?"

Halbreiter explains, "Between the need to be part of a whole and the desire to be seen as an individual. The work thus raises the question of the extent to which military structures shape or limit identity (...)."

All quotes from Halbreiter are sourced from the photographer's website and translated from German into English.

For more information and to discover all shortlisted photographers of the Sony World Photography Awards, visit the World Photo website.

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