2019 Second Place winner: ”Lightliquid” by LOBO. Contrast lowered so headline letters stand out.
2019 Second Place winner: ”Lightliquid” by LOBO. Contrast lowered so headline letters stand out.
How to vote
All current 2026 ILDA Members, including Student Members, are eligible to vote for the 2026 Laser Photography Award.
Look through all of the photos below. Click on any image to see a larger-sized view and a description supplied by the entrant. Choose your favorites. You can have as many favorites as you wish. Just rank them, so you know which one is your #1 favorite, which is #2, which is #3, etc. You do not need to rank all photos — just as many as you think are especially worthy of being included.
VOTING PROCEDURE: ILDA Members have been sent an email with a link to the voting website. Once you have chosen your favorites, click the link in the email to go to the actual voting page. Voting must be done by Saturday June 13 at 11:59 pm UTC. (Try to vote by Friday June 12 so you don't have to worry about UTC time on Saturday.)
The top three favorites will receive First, Second and Third Place ILDA Awards. Winners will be privately notified after voting ends, and will be publicly announced at the ILDA Conference in Salzburg, Austria.
Look through all of the photos below. Click on any image to see a larger-sized view and a description supplied by the entrant. Choose your favorites. You can have as many favorites as you wish. Just rank them, so you know which one is your #1 favorite, which is #2, which is #3, etc. You do not need to rank all photos — just as many as you think are especially worthy of being included.
VOTING PROCEDURE: ILDA Members have been sent an email with a link to the voting website. Once you have chosen your favorites, click the link in the email to go to the actual voting page. Voting must be done by Saturday June 13 at 11:59 pm UTC. (Try to vote by Friday June 12 so you don't have to worry about UTC time on Saturday.)
The top three favorites will receive First, Second and Third Place ILDA Awards. Winners will be privately notified after voting ends, and will be publicly announced at the ILDA Conference in Salzburg, Austria.
VOTING DETAILS: Each active 2026 ILDA Member will receive an email with the voting link. In addition, for Corporate and Nonprofit Members, each employee (bundle member) listed in our records will also receive an email with the voting link. (Details are below. To check your ILDA Membership record, visit ildamember.com.)
If you are a Member, or a bundle member listed in our records, but you did not receive a voting link email, contact ILDA.
If you get a voting link email, but have not yet voted, you will get an automatic reminder emailed to you every three days until either you vote or until the voting ends.
You can only vote once. The software knows when your link vote has been used.
If you are a Member, or a bundle member listed in our records, but you did not receive a voting link email, contact ILDA.
If you get a voting link email, but have not yet voted, you will get an automatic reminder emailed to you every three days until either you vote or until the voting ends.
You can only vote once. The software knows when your link vote has been used.
Note about the picture or captions being cut off: You may need to adjust the browser's window size and/or proportions (make it wider or narrower) if part of the image or caption is cut off. It is probably best to use a tablet, laptop or desktop — not a phone — so you can judge the photos in larger detail.
2026 Laser Photography entries
2026 Laser Photography entries
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Aurora Petal EngineThis meditative shape is a harmonic relationship of two circles with the size of each circle being controlled by low frequency oscillators. I was experimenting with color and intensity modulation effects, and as I was creating, this beautiful thing took form. I photographed it over a slightly reflective surface to add context and scale. It's a reminder that simple and elegant can be more powerful than high tech complexity. -
Burj Khalifa - Dubai Downtown 2025For New Year’s Eve 2025, we transformed the world’s tallest building into a synchronized 828-meter laser symphony, together with other buildings located in Dubai Downtown. The photo captures the beams from 9 surrounding buildings towards the pinnacle of the Burj Khalifa. -
Burj Khalifa - Eid Al Etihad 2025For Eid Al Etihad 2025, marking the UAE’s 54th National Day, we activated the permanent architectural light system — engineered to operate at broadcast precision. Burj Khalifa became a vertical instrument of national expression. The photo captures the lasers and the beams from laser sourced moving heads in the formation called “Princess”. -
Deep BlueWhen viewed from outer space, Earth's blue appearance sets it apart from all other celestial bodies. Presented here through a spectacular laser tunnel, our blue marble truly is a blue marvel that should never be taken for granted. [Note from ILDA: This is confirmed to be a real photo done with a single click of the camera shutter, as per our rules. It is not a composite and is not AI generated.] -
Eternal DarknessEverything comes to an end -- even the sun. With one last big bang, our beloved star ceases to exist, leaving only darkness behind. [Note from ILDA: This is confirmed to be a real photo done with a single click of the camera shutter, as per our rules. It is not a composite and is not AI generated.] -
FloweryPhotograph taken live during the event. -
FTMMW251Photograph taken live during the event. -
FTMMW252Photograph taken live during the event. -
Glastonbury Arcadia DragonflyLaser wings designed for a sculpture built from a repurposed military helicopter that served in the Falklands War. The Waraloo ceremony traces the dragonfly life cycle, from nymph to full flight. The laser wings slowly come alive, expanding and growing until the creature is fully winged. A moment of transformation sees the lasers become spinning helicopter blades, honouring the machine's origins. The wings are not just an effect, they are the soul of the sculpture, without them it does not exist. It transitioned to live laser operation during the DJ set over three nights. -
Light GreenI wanted to show more technical close up of a working laser. -
Pilot's WingsA large-scale visual composition forming a pilot’s wings symbol suspended above the audience, combining laser beams, drone light formations and pyrotechnic effects. The synchronized interplay of these elements creates a bold and dynamic spectacle, delivering a powerful and memorable visual moment. -
The CupThis summer, 48 nations will compete for soccer's most coveted prize: The FIFA World Cup. While this laser recreation is green instead of gold, it still bears a striking resemblance to the iconic trophy. -
The PortalI wanted to combine laser diffraction grating effects with a contrasting round screen, I am happy with the result! [Note from ILDA: This is confirmed to be a real photo done with a single click of the camera shutter, as per our rules. It is not a composite and is not AI generated.] -
Trencin Castle - ECOC 2026This photo was taken during the opening of ECOC 2026 in Slovakia. It showcases the iconic silhouette of Trencin Castle, the city's most prominent landmark. Laser mapping accurately captures the intricate geometry of the castle's cliffs and medieval walls, creating a harmony between ancient architecture and modern lighting technology. High-performance laser moving heads, LED wall washes, and powerful sky lasers enhance the overall visual impact of this unique venue.
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Laser Photography rules
- FROM THE 2026 ILDA AWARD ENTRY RULES:
Submit a photo with laser beams/graphics as the dominant element.
The photo must be of a single “click” of the camera, whether a short exposure or a long time-exposure. However, multiple exposures are not permitted, even if triggered by one click of the shutter (e.g., using a setting or mode that automatically does multiple exposures is not permitted).
The photo may have darkroom-type improvements in Photoshop, such as cropping and curves. However, photo manipulation such as adding or removing elements is not permitted.
Also, there must be no logos, text overlays, copyright notices or other material added to the photo after it was taken, excepting photos where a client requires a logo, name, watermark, etc. as described for Client-Required-Logo entries.
All photos must be created with a camera, whether a DSLR, smartphone or even an old film camera. No Al is permitted at any step in the photo creation and editing process.
Non-laser elements can be in the photo; however, the laser beams or graphics should be the dominant element.
The photographed laser display can be from you or your company, or the display can be from another company – it does not matter. This category is about the photographer’s skill in capturing the excitement and magic of laser displays. -
Voting process
- One ballot per person: We are using email ballots to help ensure that an eligible voter can vote only once. For the Laser Photography category, ballots are sent to the main ILDA Member contact ("bundle administrator") and any other listed employee ("bundle member") of that ILDA Member, as per our database records. (For a list of Members, visit ildamember.com.)
Corporate Level 1 Members have one admin and up to three optional employees; Corporate Level 2 Members have one admin and up to two optional employees, and Corporate Level 3 Members have one admin and one optional employee. Nonprofit Members can have one admin and one optional employee. Details about "bundles" are here.
This procedure lets more ILDA Members and their employees participate in the voting process for Laser Photography.
Automatic reminders: Members who have not voted will receive a reminder every three days until voting concludes. This is not spam but is a reminder for ILDA Members receiving email due to their membership.
Voting rights: There is no absolute or guaranteed right to vote in this contest. We reserve the right to not provide or count an email ballot if, in our sole opinion, we suspect ballot-stuffing, voting irregularities, or for any other reason.
Non-delivery: Votes are coming from a third-party service. We are not responsible for non-delivery of emails either to or from us, for any reason including but not limited to failure on the third-party's part, errors in email addresses, forwarding issues, rejection of emails by servers, emails considered spam or trash, etc. If you do have an issue with email, contact us so we can try to fix this for any future elections.
Tie votes: By direction of the ILDA Board of Directors, there can be no tied placements in the ILDA Awards (e.g., no tie for First or tie for Second, etc.) Therefore, in case of the voting results ending in a tie, there will be a 2-out-of-3 coin flip to determine which tied entry receives the higher placement, and which receives the lower placement.
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