MPA West Midlands Regional Print Competition July 2017
July 2017, was my first regional print competition. I have entered a few international competitions, like Kennel Club Dog Photographer of the Year, and the monthly image competition with the Guild of Photographers, but the Regional Print competition with the Master Photographers Association is something totally different.
It’s a special day of education.
Each year we host our president for his annual Presidential Visit, this year our incumbent president Steve Howdle and his partner Stephanie Thornton visited the West Midlands Region to encourage and inspire us.
Stephanie Thornton is renowned for her Fine Art and unique Fashion and Beauty photography. Renowned in the industry for her relaxed style and easy going nature Stephanie’s work has a strong style and has gained the admiration of the photographic industry and helped her to create a strong client base.
Together the two photographers demonstrated studio lighting and posing techniques to craft dynamic fashion photographs.
The educational workshop was supported by trade partners from Permajet, The Flash Centre and Phase One. Hosting our event, was MPA Fellow, Martin Graham-Dunn at his Leamington Spa studio.
The MPA West Midlands Region, then went on to welcome the Master Photographers Association Chairman and CEO, Ray Lowe HonFMPA for the second part of the day, the Regional Print Competition.
Competitions are fun, winning is fantastic, but you learn nothing unless you get feedback.
Taking each image, one at a time, our Chairman is one of the most experienced judges in the industry, took the time to offer a brief critique on each image, based on the 10 areas on which each image is judged.
There are 10 aspects that print competition judges are trained to look for:
Impact
Creativity and style
Composition
Image or print presentation
Centre of interest
Lighting
Colour balance
Technical excellence
Photographic technique
Story telling and subject matter
As the evening went on over 300 images were critiques for our newly reformed region. Providing an excellent evening of education for the group of members.
I was pleased to win Highly Commended Awards for my Pet Portraits and Gold for Landscapes, winning MPA West Midlands Region Landscape Photographer of the Year.
