Sunday 18 March 2012

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


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11 comments:

Dade Freeman said...

Congrats Jo, Great images, good to see your hardwork paid off ;)

Miss Photographers Boutique said...

Well done Jo. Love your images! Something to aspire to. M x

Nick Davies said...

So well deserved, you're an amazing photographer and a total inspiration to so many people.

Nick

Warren Millar Photography said...

Well done Jo, I knew from the moment I first met you that you had what it takes. Your passion shows in your images and your work :-)

Warren x

Anonymous said...

'a' small glass ???!!

Katrin said...

Congrats, Jo! Well and truly deserved! I'm glad you got this award.
Katrin x

periscope said...

Well Dame Rutherford i do declare we all know you deserve it. x

Anonymous said...

Congrats Jo, you really deserve this award!!! you are a fantastic photoghrapher and a fantastic person xxxxx

Lisa DD said...

Congrats! And what a beautiful set of images.... I bet the judges had a hard time picking just one!

Graham Fletcher-Hill said...

Chuffed for you Jo, well done. I'd have had a small bottle!

Andrea Sef said...

Congratulations Jo.....you do deserve it, your work is FANTASTIC!!.... I love working with you and I am certain that others do too.....xxxx

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