Portraits of all-female teams of drum majorettes have won a major photographic portrait prize.
Alice Mann scooped the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 for her images taken in South Africa.
The £15,000 award was presented to the South African photographer, who is based in London, at an awards ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery.
![Cybil McAddy with daughter Lulu from the series Clapton Blossom by Enda Bowe](https://www.irishnews.com/resizer/v2/MJRHUUQNTZOXHHMDWME5FBWBUE.jpg?auth=41b167bdaab2ed077a5e3ced979c10c1b5c118400de8ccc0fea0ed8cd17e9365&width=800&height=1009)
A portrait of a London mother cradling her daughter, by Irish photographer Enda Bowe, won second prize.
Portraits of a pair of shoppers, by Max Marstow, and Joey Lawrence’s image of a child from a remote village, struggling with water-borne illnesses, in the jungle of Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province, jointly won third prize.
![Strong Joe Smart from the series Tombo's Wound by Joey Lawrence](https://www.irishnews.com/resizer/v2/7EVUO2LBJFJ43OMHGGPV2JCWUU.jpg?auth=153d5d68e08b54baa9aec35294d577e2a866f7c188fb1d8129996017362f1e88&width=800&height=600)
It is the first time in the competition’s history the judges have awarded the first prize to a series of pictures rather than an individual photograph.
The judges said the “pristine and vibrant outfits” of the girls in Mann’s images “jar with the rundown surroundings, lending a surreal and enigmatic atmosphere to the portraits.”
![Londoners by Max Barstow](https://www.irishnews.com/resizer/v2/7IVNYUIMZZOHDG7OCKLR2IJSLE.jpg?auth=7b3aabe21bfd7eac539a29198ed2a0d566119f96c9b3b5491913f0b1bd3df247&width=800&height=800)
The winning portraits will be on display at the National Portrait Gallery, London as part of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 exhibition from Thursday to January 27, 2019.