Each year in November, the TIME photo team comes together to narrow down the thousands of images made by photographers around the world since January. The ones that make the final cut for our top 10 can be striking in composition, shocking to experience, news-making moments, or all of the above. We find ourselves pausing to honor these images and their creators because we know there is so much more to the photograph than just the click of a shutter.
Read More: TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2021
The photographers in these situations care deeply for the people and environments in their images, building connections that go well beyond the single instant. Like Konstantinos Tsakalidis, who looked out for the wellbeing of the people in his photographs of the wildfires in his home country of Greece, while assessing his own safety. Or Meridith Kohut, who has been on the front lines of the COVID-19 surge, working 15-18 hour days alongside the staff—something she says is crucial to building the kind of trust with the people in her photos and being allowed in the room when scenes unfold. Or Scott McIntyre, who simply wanted to capture the joy of Spelling Bee winner Zaila Avant-garde.
