The Eccentric Expressions: Unique Portrait Contest celebrated portraits that step outside traditional photography and embrace individuality, surrealism, emotion, humor, and visual experimentation. With more than 1200 submitted photographs, the contest became a collection of unusual characters, bold creative ideas, and portraits that refuse to feel ordinary.
The winning photographers stood out through originality, atmosphere, and their ability to create portraits that immediately capture attention and stay memorable long after viewing.
1st Place — Moreno Matković
Moreno Matković earned first place with “Breathe”, a portrait that feels simultaneously strange, elegant, and emotionally quiet. The image combines strong visual minimalism with conceptual atmosphere, creating a portrait that feels more like a dream fragment than a traditional studio photograph.
What makes the image especially compelling is its restraint. Instead of relying on visual overload, the portrait uses simplicity, expression, and carefully controlled mood to create something deeply memorable.
2nd Place — Duo P
Duo P received second place for the wonderfully unconventional portrait “raccoon-like but make it fashion”. The image blends humor, fashion aesthetics, and eccentric styling into a portrait that feels playful while still remaining visually sophisticated.
The photograph stands out because it fully embraces personality and visual experimentation. It is bold, stylized, and unapologetically strange in the best possible way — exactly the type of image this contest was created to celebrate.
3rd Place — Sergey Yudin
Sergey Yudin earned third place with “Brutal smile”, a portrait that immediately captures attention through expression, intensity, and strong emotional contrast. The image feels raw and confrontational while still remaining carefully composed and visually controlled.
The portrait demonstrates how powerful facial expression alone can become when combined with thoughtful lighting, framing, and atmosphere. It is unsettling, memorable, and impossible to ignore.
What made this contest especially interesting was the complete freedom photographers gave themselves creatively. Some portraits leaned toward surrealism, others toward humor or emotional tension, but all of them shared one important quality: they refused to feel generic.
The Eccentric Expressions contest became a reminder that portrait photography does not always need perfection or traditional beauty to be powerful. Sometimes the most memorable images are the ones that feel strange, unpredictable, and deeply personal.
Congratulations to Moreno Matković, Duo P, and Sergey Yudin for their outstanding work and well-deserved recognition. You can explore all winners and finalists on the official contest page.
