Photograph of quintuplets shortlisted for £12,000 prize

Artist Lottie Davies, 37, of Highbury, asked friends to tell her about their bad dreams and childhood memories.

Mother-of-two Caroline Sibley, 42, confessed to having the nightmare in which she was panic-stricken at the thought of more children. The dream saw her worry about how they would ever fit into a car and having to give up work to care of them.

Davies has brought the scenario to life in her photograph Quints, with the help of assistant Alicia Clarke. Ms Clarke's 10-week-old niece, Marla Gooch, posed in many different positions to create the illusion of five babies.

"It was so peculiar, an anxiety dream," Davies said. "Caroline is really surprised by the picture but really pleased. I think, because I went quite baroque, it may not have been what was in her mind."

Ms Clarke, 33, who is a photographer herself and lives in Lewisham, added: "It was one of the baby's first outings into the world. It was fantastic to be involved and that we've been immortalised and will be hanging on the walls of the National Portrait Gallery."

The work is one of four shortlisted for the prize sponsored by law firm Taylor Wessing.

The others include Murdoch Reflects, a portrait of Rupert Murdoch in his office at News Internationalin Wapping commissioned by Time magazine from photojournalist Tom Stoddart.

Hendrik Kerstens, 53, from Holland, produced a humorous portrait, Bag, which depicts a plastic bagmodelled in the style of a 17th-century cap. Catherine Balet, 49, from Paris, has presented a photograph, Ines connected with Amina, of two teenagers online.

All will go on show in an exhibition of 60 pictures selected from more than 6,000. Gallery director Sandy Nairne said: "You couldn't get more different than that wonderful documentary portrait of Murdoch looking unbelievably glum, or thoughtful, the brilliant play with the plastic bag, the semi-documentary of the two women wired to the world and the utterly constructed Quints that was so delightful."

The overall winner will be announced on 4 November. The exhibition opens to the public two days later and runs until 15 February.