TIME LightBox World Press Photo

Here Are the Best Portrait Photos of the Year

Each year, World Press Photo selects the best photojournalism images produced over the previous 12 months.

The 2015 World Press Photo winners have been announced, rolling out a slew of last year’s top portrait photos.

Some, like Matic Zorman’s image of a child covered with a raincoat while waiting behind bars at a refugee camp in Serbia, are heart-wrenching; others are more raw, including the mine worker taking a cigarette break in Burkina Faso. Kazuma Obara’s gripping photo story of a girl who was victim to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was a haunting look at the life of a victim he calls “the invisible girl.” Another piece looks at young girls required to sit still for a couple of hours in a decorated altar.

The images, selected by the jury of the 58th annual World Press Photo contest, were among 82,912 images submitted by hundreds of press photographers to eight different categories, including Sports, Nature and News.

Rachel Lowry is a writer and contributor for TIME LightBox. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @rachelllowry.

People, 1st prize singles. A child is covered with a raincoat while she waits in line to register at a refugee camp in Preševo, Serbia, Oct. 7, 2015. People, 2nd prize singles. A mine worker takes a smoke break before going back into the pit. Miners in Bani face harsh conditions and exposure to toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Image taken in Bani, Burkina Faso, on Nov. 20, 2015. People, 3rd prize singles. Portrait of a Syrian refugee family in a camp in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, on 15 December 2015. The empty chair in the photograph represents a family member who has either died in the war or whose whereabouts are unknown. People, 2nd prize stories. Young girls between the age of 7 and 11 are chosen every year as 'Maya' for the 'Las Mayas', a festival derived from pagan rites celebrating the arrival of spring, in the town of Colmenar Viejo, Spain. The girls are required to sit still for a couple of hours in a decorated altar. Young girls between the age of 7 and 11 are chosen every year as 'Maya' for the 'Las Mayas', a festival derived from pagan rites celebrating the arrival of spring, in the town of Colmenar Viejo, Spain. The girls are required to sit still for a couple of hours in a decorated altar. People, 2nd prize stories. Young girls between the age of 7 and 11 are chosen every year as 'Maya' for the 'Las Mayas', a festival derived from pagan rites celebrating the arrival of spring, in the town of Colmenar Viejo, Spain. The girls are required to sit still for a couple of hours in a decorated altar. People, 2nd prize stories. Young girls between the age of 7 and 11 are chosen every year as 'Maya' for the 'Las Mayas', a festival derived from pagan rites celebrating the arrival of spring, in the town of Colmenar Viejo, Spain. The girls are required to sit still for a couple of hours in a decorated altar. People, 2nd prize stories. Young girls between the age of 7 and 11 are chosen every year as 'Maya' for the 'Las Mayas', a festival derived from pagan rites celebrating the arrival of spring, in the town of Colmenar Viejo, Spain. The girls are required to sit still for a couple of hours in a decorated altar.

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