BIPP Qualifying Photographer of the Year 2012!

At the end of last Sumer I realised that I needed to push myself and my photography business harder than ever before, I had done plenty of training, done lots of shoots but I always felt that I wanted to have a qualification behind me. In photography there are so many ways to become a photographer, many people are self taught, others go to College or University, there is no right or wrong way it seems. I have done some amazing training courses with brilliant tutors but something was still urging me to get some accreditation. Maybe its because in my previous jobs as a Physiotherapist and Lecturer I constantly had to update my qualifications and lifelong learning was the norm.

So I looked at the relevant organisations and decided to join the British Institute of Professional Photographers - I liked the fact that before I joined I needed to be assessed on my current standard of work, submitting 30 images , I then started as a Qualifying member and with the support of the BIPP staff I gained my Associateship qualification a few weeks ago. I was also encouraged to enter the BIPP national photography awards and on a very rainy day in December I headed to the post office with my prints after agonising for days over what to submit! And then a couple of months late....I am stood on a lovely beach in Brighton, checking my e mails (yep, I am that sad!) and found out that one of my images had been shortlisted!

So last Friday, Mike and I headed to London to the British Film Institute for the awards ceremony. I sat in the theatre surrounded by photographers whose work I hugely admire watching the awards being given and thinking that I needed to practice my happy face - you know what I mean - the face that the actresses pull when their rival gets the Oscar!

And so ........I won - I am now the BIPP Qualifying Photographer of the Year, and yes, I am well and truly blowing my own trumpet as this means so very much to me. It represents everything I have worked towards, the real ups and downs and the loss of confidence in my ability that I have on a regular basis! 

Here are the images that I submitted to the competition

And here is my winning image of the beautiful Emma

I want to say a huge thank you to all the team at BIPP who have supported me through these few months. I also want to thank Mike and Craig who put up with me and my obsession with all things photographic...and a special mention to Mike who looked after me on Friday after I celebrated with a small(!!!!!!!!!) glass of wine.

I have been truly overwhelmed by all the lovely messages over the weekend, thank you all so much, it really means a lot

So....where do I go from here - its onwards and upwards I hope, building my business, running workshops and aiming to photograph as many people as possible this year because thats what I love doing !

If you are a photographer and want to know more about the BIPP - find them here http://www.bipp.com/

If you would like to book a photoshoot with me then please give me a shout

Happy Birthday to me!

Ok so I am a day early but what the heck! Tomorrow is my birthday but it is also 2 years since I started my business and boy have I come a long way since then, I have met the most incredible people , made lifelong friends, photographed weddings, christenings, family celebrations, model portfolios, actors and musicians.....one of my images is the cover of an album now....children, adults and everyone in-between  organised workshops and learned so much.


This year promises to be even more exciting for the business, I am off to Ibiza soon to work with a very talented hairdresser on the island building her portfolio.....yes I know...its a hard life.... and no, I don't need anyone to carry my bags for the trip! I am going to be working with a fabulous local Beauty Salon and Spa offering packages for all you lovely ladies especially for my Beauty and Boudoir photoshoots. I have amazing workshops coming up, at the Winter Gardens in Morecambe and also in Liverpool.


On a personal note I am off to London this week to the British Film Institute as one of my photographs has made the shortlist of the BIPP national awards


So, yes I am blowing my own trumpet a little bit today but its nearly my Birthday so I am allowed!!!




Anyway, the main reason for this rambling Blog post is to tell you about the gorgeous new Gift Vouchers I have had made, I know just how hard I am to buy for on my Birthday and I bet I am not the only one, so why not treat someone you know to a photoshoot and maybe a makeover too? Mum, sister, daughter, best friends....the list is endless of who you could buy for and believe me you will earn a ton of Brownie Points for this present!


People often think that there needs to be a special occasion to have a shoot done and most of the time I agree, but the special occasions can be as simple as losing weight and feeling wonderful about your new look, a new relationship, achieving something, celebrating friendships.... again the list can go on and on!


So to celebrate my Birthday and the 2 year Anniversary of my business I have something special for you.


I want you to tell me the reason why you would have a photoshoot, what are you celebrating at the moment, or why do you need a little pampering? Do you know someone who would love this as a gift as they have done something special? 


I have 2 Gift Vouchers here to the value of £100, I would like to gift these to you this week, what I ask is that you leave a message on here and tell me about you, or someone you know who would adore this present and I will chose 2 of you. The value of the voucher will cover the photoshoot and give you credit towards a beautiful framed print, they are valid for 3 months from today. 

Love


Jo xxx

Petticoats-a-Plenty

About 18 months ago I came across a website selling petticoats - big, frilly, fluffy petticoats to go under dresses and Wedding dresses - and also selling fabulous vintage style clothes - I contacted Andrea who owns the business and we met for a chat to see if we could collaborate on a photoshoot at some point ....well life always seems to get in the way and we did not meet again until at a Burlesque evening in Liverpool last year.....more chatting occurred and as a result we did our first shoot this week! 


Andrea is amazing, talented beyond belief, creative and driven to build her business which she started from scratch and she now has customers from all over the world! She is now selling a range of Vintage Wedding Dresses and we used one of these this week - with one of Andreas Petticoats underneath. Andrea enlisted the help of the Heather Marie who is a Wartime tribute act http://heathermarie.co.uk/ , to model for us and here are the results! Click on the images if you want to see them even bigger!

If you adore this dress....and I know I do, then head over to Andreas website and see all the others that she has!

Petticoats a Plenty  http://www.petticoatsaplenty.com/

And also see Heather Marie at http://heathermarie.co.uk/

And as always - it would be lovely to know that you stopped by - leave a little message xx