Taylor Wessing prize at the National Portrait Gallery

Girl (2009) by Mirjana Vrbaski, a Serbian photographer who is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague. She says: ‘I only took one shot of her because I could immediately feel that I reached my ideal image' Photograph: Mirjana Vrbaski/National Portrait Gallery

Girl in a Golden Dress, Georgia (2009) by British photographer Vanessa Winship from her series Georgia for a Song. She says: ‘I found this particular young girl in the capital, Tbilisi, at one of the Palaces of Marriage. I particularly liked the delicacy of her features and the way she held herself in what looked like a new and best outfit’ Photograph: Vanessa Winship/National Portrait Gallery

Rosie Bancroft (2008) by London photographer Paul Floyd Blake. This portrait is part of series entitled On Track for 2012, in which he photographs young athletes with the potential to compete in the 2012 Olympics. Of swimmer Rosie Bancroft he says: ‘The image was taken moments after she had successfully beaten her personal best, and captures her gentleness alongside her confidence and determination’ Photograph: Paul Floyd Blake/National Portrait Gallery

Stas, Sentenced for Murder, Juvenile Prison, Russia (2009) by Israel-born photographer Michal Chelbin, from her series Locked. Stas is a 15-year-old inmate of a maximum-security prison in Russia. Chelbin says: ‘He was extremely quiet and distant … I could feel there was an enormous burden on his shoulders. When we finished I learned that he had been sentenced for murder’ Photograph: Michal Chelbin/National Portrait Gallery