TIME’s Best Photos of 2024 -

As much as the photographs captured by TIME this year are a snapshot of 2024, they are also a look into what’s to come. By documenting history through their own lenses, TIME photographers sought out the unique and highlighted what is not always seen.

TIME photographers sat front row to this year’s biggest events—from the Paris Olympics to the U.S. election. TIME profiled Olympians gearing up for the most important competition of their lives with portraits that showcased each individual’s persona. Lanna Apisukh photographed, Sunny Choi joyfully breaking in front of the Unisphere in Queens, New York. Jay Kolsch illustrated Fred Richard’s sheer strength highlighted by light, shadow, and a vibrantly colored background. And Dana Scruggs captured Noah Lyles’ profound focus on reaching his Olympic finish line. Meanwhile, photographer Robbie Lawrence created a unique visual language for the 2024 Olympics which revealed the nuances of this year’s games. Each of Lawrence’s images, serve as an abstracted observation of the spectacle, athleticism, and emotion of the renowned competition.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The 2024 U.S. election cycle was covered by TIME photographers through both portraiture of candidates and reportage of campaign events, national conventions, and election night. Philip Montgomery created portraits of both President-elect Donald Trump and President Biden—the first time Biden has sat for an outside photographer in the Oval Office during his presidency. Evan Jenkins documented both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, creating vibrant images of the multi-day events. “Without a doubt, the greatest challenge is to go to the same repetitive environment every day and find a way to make new images,” says Jenkins. “I’ve found that boredom is an incredibly powerful tool for me and I’ve learned to harness the creativity that can come from it”

TIME photographers also worked to reflect the most difficult challenges of our time. For instance, an image of a young girl selling lemonade on a suburban street while a van testing air quality drives by was one of the many poignant photographs made by Rebecca Kiger in her year-long documentation of how residents of East Palestine navigated the worst hazardous chemical accident in recent history. And an image of a woman named Linda Jackson washing her hair in a plastic bin on the Navajo Nation, the striking mountains of Monument Valley piercing the background, was how Elliot Ross shed light on what life is like in America’s water inequality capital. “My kids would say, ‘Mom, did we ever have running water?’” Jackson says. “And I would say, ‘Kids, we did all the running.’”

For what’s to come, TIME photographers turned their lenses to the technologies, change-makers, and natural events that are transforming our world. Our team captured the new technologies that will change our creative experiences; the artists revolutionizing their industries; the world leaders preparing to reform their countries; and the impact of global consumption on our earth. These photographs represent a look into what the future holds. They allow us to not only prepare for what is to come, but to imagine something better. —Kara Milstein