【Book Description】
This volume comprehensively presents the award-winning and selected works from the APA Award 2026, organized by the Japan Advertising Photographers’ Association (APA), offering a broad overview of the latest developments and visual trends in contemporary Japanese advertising photography and creative image-making. As one of Japan’s most prestigious professional photography awards, the APA Award has long focused on innovative expressions across advertising photography, commercial imagery, and artistic photography, serving not only as an important indicator of Japanese visual culture but also as a reflection of evolving branding, media communication, and contemporary image production.
The book features 114 award-winning and selected works from both the “Advertising Photography Division” and the “Photographic Works Division,” encompassing a wide range of genres including commercial campaigns, fashion photography, portraiture, brand imagery, fine art photography, and experimental visual works. Through a rich collection of high-quality reproductions, the publication highlights the exceptional level of composition, storytelling, lighting, and visual execution achieved by contemporary Japanese photographers and creators, while also revealing the increasingly fluid relationship between commercial and artistic photography.
A special “APA Archives” section revisits historically significant advertising photography projects and includes twelve iconic works by renowned Japanese photographer Yoshihiro Tatsuki. These works provide valuable insight into his lasting influence on Japanese advertising photography and portrait culture. In addition, the “Special Invitation Works” section introduces ten notable advertising projects released in 2025, further showcasing the latest developments in creative direction, visual technology, and brand storytelling within Japan’s advertising industry.
Unlike conventional photography collections, this volume also includes detailed production credits for award-winning advertising works and invited projects, allowing readers to better understand the collaborative process behind commercial image-making, involving photographers, art directors, designers, stylists, and production teams.
An essential annual publication for photographers, art directors, advertising creatives, designers, and readers interested in contemporary Japanese visual culture and commercial photography.
【Details】
Supervisor: Japan Advertising Photographers’ Association
Publisher: Genkosha
Year: 2026
Dimensions: 30 × 22 cm
Format: Softcover
Pages: 288 pages