Our Judges
Meet the JudgesBehind the PMAs
Our panel of virtual photography experts, industry veterans and creative leaders carefully review and score every submission to find the very best.
Expert Judges
From around the world
Diverse Backgrounds
Photography, art direction, and game worlds
Countries
Diverse global perspectives
Independent & Unbiased
No affiliations to entries, creators, or games
2026 Season
Our Judging Panel
Laura Beitzel
Senior Community Manager at CD Projekt Red
I am a global Senior Community and Social Media Manager at CD PROJEKT RED, and have worked in the gaming industry for over a decade, across the fields of community management, player engagement strategies, content creation and social media management. I'm deeply passionate about virtual photography. As an art form that captures games in new canvases, compositions, and forms of visual expression, I am always so inspired by the talent and creativity in the community. Very excited to be a part of the Photo Mode Awards judging panel, and looking forward to seeing all the beautiful works submitted.
Favourite Game
Red Dead Redemption
Kim Norman
Senior Community Manager at Bethesda APAC
With over a decade of experience in the Australian gaming industry, I have advanced from a PAX Aus Enforcer, to Digital Engagement Manager at Ubisoft ANZ, and now to a Senior Community Manager at Bethesda APAC. Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working on incredible games such as Starfield, Fallout, DOOM, The Elder Scrolls Online, Assassin's Creed, and Far Cry. I have always been inspired by the creativity of virtual photographers who showcase our game worlds in beautiful and stunning ways — whether through unique angles, lighting, poses, or framing. Their creativity truly brings these digital worlds to life in an exceptional way! I can't wait to see what comes next!
Favourite Game
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Antonela Pounder
Director of Global Community at 505 Games
With almost 14 years of industry experience, I've been fortunate to work on over 30 titles. My journey started back in 2012 at Team17 in QA, before securing a job at Ubisoft Reflections where I worked on Watch_Dogs and Just Dance — and discovered Community Management. I've spent the last 11 years in Social Media and Community Management at Ubisoft Reflections, NM Games, and 505 Games, where I've called home since 2016. Outside of work, I love travel and photography — nothing beats packing my Canon R7 and heading somewhere new to explore street and motorsport photography.
Favourite Game
Spyro the Dragon
Juha Vainio
Head of the Control Franchise at Remedy Entertainment
Hey, I am Juha, and I'm the Head of the CONTROL Franchise and the Executive Producer of CONTROL Resonant at Remedy Entertainment. I started in the Games Industry about 14 years ago and found it super exciting and super challenging, so I have been on that path ever since. After shipping Control in 2019, I found out about the amazing Virtual Photography community. The absolute talent and the way you make Control shine through virtual photographs continues to blow me away and I want to support that in any way I can. I'm again holding my breath to see the beautiful creations in Photo Mode Awards 2026!
Favourite Game
Cyberpunk 2077
Claudia Ciardi
Senior Social and Community Manager at NVIDIA GeForce Brazil
My gaming career began at NVIDIA in 2016. However, my passion for the gaming world dates back to childhood, from Nintendo to Blizzard titles on the gaming PC. When the opportunity arose to combine my knowledge and experience in communication, marketing and production of editorial content with the world of games, I readily accepted the challenge!
Favourite Game
Diablo
Con Tsompanis
PR Manager at Bandai Namco Entertainment Australia
Con has been working in the video game industry for 15 years. Part of the ANZ Marketing team responsible for launching games such as The Witcher 3, FF7 Remake and Rebirth, Cyberpunk 2077, The Dark Souls Series and Elden Ring. Passionate about games since Alex Kidd on the Master System. Con is a leading assessor of digital grass and foliage.
Favourite Game
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Rafał Majzer
Senior 3D Animator at 11 bit Studios
Senior animator at 11 bit Studios with over a decade of experience in 3D animation, shaped by a strong foundation in photography and visual storytelling. I collaborated closely on the photo mode for The Alters, bringing together an artistic eye for composition and a deep appreciation for in-game imagery. A lifelong admirer of games — my journey began with RoboCop on the NES — I'm passionate about how virtual worlds can be framed and transformed into powerful still images.
Favourite Game
Outer Wilds
Shauna Jones
Community Manager at Ubisoft
With over a decade of experience in the video games industry, I began my career in Quality Assurance before transitioning into Community Management. I've had the privilege of collaborating on renowned titles such as The Division 2, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and the Just Dance franchise. Outside of my core role, I'm deeply passionate about photography — both behind a real camera and within the worlds of video games. In 2022, I founded a thriving virtual photography community on X. More recently, I've discovered a love for cosplay photography, which has reignited my creative drive and broadened my artistic expression.
Favourite Game
Maximo: Ghost to Glory
AndreRevolution
Digital Capture Artist at NVIDIA GeForce
André Revolution is a Brazilian digital artist and virtual photographer with over six years of experience capturing hyper-realistic moments in video games. As an official NVIDIA Capture Artist, André receives the world's most advanced graphics cards to push the boundaries of in-game photography, using RTX technology to blur the line between reality and digital worlds. His work has been featured in NVIDIA's Focus Series, with cinematic captures from titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding, and Fortnite showcasing his signature style: immersive, emotional, and technically masterful. He describes his art as a "love letter to the creators." Beyond NVIDIA, André is also a Bandai Namco Creator and has collaborated with Konami on campaigns celebrating the artistry of game design.
Favourite Game
Grand Theft Auto V
Juhani Jokinen
Associate Art Director at Remedy Entertainment
Hi! I'm Juhani Jokinen and I work at Remedy as an Associate Art Director. I got my start in the games industry in 2007 and have primarily worked as a concept artist ever since. I've always loved art and video games and when I realized as a concept artist I could combine the two I knew the career path I needed to pursue. After starting out in the Finnish indie scene I moved to Ubisoft and spent several years there both in Helsinki and Canada. Early in 2020 I joined Remedy to work on Alan Wake 2 as a Senior Concept Artist and that was definitely a highlight of my career so far. Because a lot of my work focuses on designing the worlds of our games, it is rewarding to see the virtual photography community capture and enjoy these environments in their final form. Really looking forward to seeing the entries!
Favourite Game
Alan Wake II
Lisa Tao
Communications Specialist at Bethesda APAC
I'm a Communications Specialist at Bethesda APAC, where for the past two years I've worked closely with player communities across Japan and Greater China on titles including The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 76, and DOOM: The Dark Ages. What excites me most is seeing how players reinterpret the worlds our developers build through their own unique perspectives. To me, virtual photography is storytelling at its most personal — where player expression meets developer vision, and both epic moments and quiet, emotional scenes are captured and shared with the wider community.
Favourite Game
Fallout 76
Amelia Korzycka
Expert Community & Social Media Manager at CD PROJEKT RED
I joined the CD PROJEKT RED team in 2015, 3 months before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's release. I have always been in touch with gamers — initially as a customer support representative and as a community manager for the past six years. From gamer to gamer is my motto. Every day is a great adventure — and most of the time, it is connected to virtual photography. Landscape pictures, portraits, action-packed shots — I'm mindblown! The ability to tell a story with a screenshot is something I love the most.
Favourite Game
World of Warcraft
How It Works
Our Judging Process
Shortlisting
The PMAs team shortlists a minimum of 16 finalists per category based on merit, theme adherence, and rule compliance.
Independent Judging
Each judge evaluates finalists independently — without access to each other's selections — scoring on creativity, composition, and theme.
Centralised Review
All scores are collated centrally by The Photo Mode Awards team to ensure a fair, impartial result.
Awards Show Reveal
All finalists, winners, and runners-up are revealed exclusively during the official Photo Mode Awards Show.
Judging Ethics
The integrity of the Photo Mode Awards depends on a fair, transparent and impartial judging process. All judges agree to our ethics charter before participating.
No judge can enter the awards
Judges score independently — no cross-visibility
All scoring is centralised through the PMAs team
An individual can only win one prize across all categories
All finalists revealed exclusively at the Awards Show
All decisions are final and binding
Thank You
Thank You to Our Incredible Judges
Their time, expertise and passion make the PMAs possible.