The 2016 Sony World Photography Awards run by the World Photography Organization is the biggest photography competition in the world, and one of the most promising entries is a photo of a cheeky seal that was clearly ready for his close-up, says Mirror. Surrounded by bubbles and blue sea, the friendly seal looks like a Pixar character ready to introduce himself.

The awards give a total of $30,000 to the winners of each of the five award categories, as well as a new set of state-of-the-art Sony photo equipment. The awards are an opportunity for unparalleled recognition and exposure for photographers, says The World Photography Organization.

We know that seals are no strangers to posing for the camera - just last month we saw a group of leopard seals wowing an undersea photographer off the coast of Antarctica, as HNGN previously reported.  

The photo was shot by Andrey Narchuk in the Bering Sea close to the Russian Commander Islands, reports Azula. You can see his other work on his Behance site. Narchuk is a Russian underwater photographer, and he was excited to report that his photo was used in a World Photography Organization email to entice photographers to enter the contest, as he explained on his blog (link in Russian).

Stay tuned to see who takes home the award!