These are the best photos of 2021, according to Picfair

Street religious procession picfair top images chosen

Street religious procession (Image credit: Emma D'Anastasi)

Picfair has published its selection of the top images of 2021, whittled down from over 10 million uploads contributed by 600,000 photographers across 130 different countries among its community.

A London, England-based photography platform, Picfair enables users to list their images for sale and single-use licensing. The service has helped thousands of photographers sell their images online as digital downloads, as well as prints shipped directly to customers.

• Read more: Best website builders for photographers

Regarded as one of the fastest-growing creative startups, Picfair welcomes every level of photographer from beginners to award-winning pros. Anyone can set up a free portfolio and have their images presented to a global marketplace with full control over pricing and how their images will be used and licensed.

The Best of Picfair 2021 ranking was compiled via a combination of quality curation algorithms, social media channels, and Picfair’s own in-house photography experts. The full gallery of best images can be viewed on Picfair's website, though we have selected our personal favorites to share with you below.

The top images feature a range of subjects from a Peruvian farmer, humpback whales, a bulldog, a snake to an erupting volcano. What a great year for photography!

Best of Picfair 2021 image Whales feeding — Humpback whales bubble net feeding in Alaska (Image credit: Collette / Picfair)

Best of 2021 Picfair image — Antetokounmpo basketball court Athens (Image credit: Dimitris Tzankatian / Picfair)

Best of Picfair 2021 image Hong Kong cityscape — Beautiful cityscape at night with vibrant neon signs and lights. Taken in Hong Kong (Image credit: Ernest Lee / Picfair)

Best of 2021 Picfair image bulldog in window — A British Bulldog looks out from a pub window (Image credit: Tony Skerl / Picfair)

Best of Picfair 2021 image church switzerland — A patch of light illuminating the church at the lake, Switzerland (Image credit: Dominique Dubied / Picfair)

Best of Picfair 2021 image Peruvian farmer — A Peruvian farmer at his farm feeding his llamas. Chinchero, Peru. (Image credit: Sony Thomas / Picfair)

Best of 2021 Picfair image close-up owl — Great Grey Owl, Colchester zoo. (Image credit: Doug Wallace / Picfair)

A big thanks to Picfair and the contributing photographers for supplying us with these spectacular images. Be sure to check out the services offered by Picfair to have your images viewed and purchased when featured on a global marketplace, assisted by Picfair every step of the way.

It is important to note that your copyright is always protected by Picfair and you will always retain ownership of images that have been licensed for use to third parties. Let's look forward to the outstanding developments in photography that we can no doubt expect to see in 2022.

Beth kicked off her journalistic career as a staff writer here at Digital Camera World, but has since moved over to our sister site Creative Bloq, where she covers all things tech, gaming, photography, and 3D printing. With a degree in Music Journalism and a Master's degree in Photography, Beth knows a thing or two about cameras – and you'll most likely find her photographing local gigs under the alias Bethshootsbands. She also dabbles in cosplay photography, bringing comic book fantasies to life, and uses a Canon 5DS and Sony A7III as her go-to setup.

Get the Digital Camera World Newsletter