Award Winning Portrait Images - Pro Photography W.A. - Orloff Awards

Pro Photography W.A. is a newly established organisation that supports and services professional photographers, across all genres, within Western Australia. Over the past few years, there has been a void of photography associations in Australia, therefore the development of Pro Photography W.A. was celebrated by many professional photographers living in Western Australia.

To pay homage to Abraham “Izzy” Orloff (one of W.A.’s most prolific professional photographers throughout 1920-1940’s), Pro Photography W.A. announced the inaugural Orloff Awards this year. An award program were entrants can receive constructive critique, gain recognition and be rewarded for outstanding imagery.

I firmly believe that art is a highly subjective form of expression and this led me to enter my top 4 awarded images from an alternate international award program. I wanted to captivate a wider audience and discover if my images also resonated with local judges and fellow photographers.

The format of The Orloff Awards, is unlike other awards I have entered in the past, as The Orloff Awards has 2 stages of judging. The first stage is the judging of all digital entries. Once the scoring is complete, the entrants who achieve finalist level are asked to present their images as matted prints, for the second stage of judging. My 4 images were awarded as finalist images, therefore I was invited to attend the Award Night and Exhibition opening at The State Library of Western Australia in September.

The event was extremely well organised and very enjoyable. It was so inspiring to view all of the finalists printed images in the portrait category and the many other categories, including: landscape, travel, pet, wedding, commercial and student. The Orloff Awards are sponsored by Ilford and the award sponsors included: Fitzgerald Photo Lab, Jorgensen Albums, Camera Electronic, Team Digital, Nikon, Sony, Epson, North Metropolitan Tafe and Success Legal.

Even though I didn’t win the Portrait Category, I am so thankful that I made the decision to enter this incredibly supportive, local awards program. With newly learnt skills and many new concepts in mind, I am looking forward to creating fresh, emotive images in my portrait studio. My goal is to enter the 2024 round of The Orloff Awards and hopefully make it through to the finalist stage again. It feels incredibly special to have my images mounted and printed, as part of this current exhibition.

The 2023 Orloff Awards Exhibition is open until 4th December 2023 at The State Library of Western Australia (Levels 2 + 3). If you are in Perth, I highly recommend viewing this stunning collection of photographs.

Christine

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Award Winning Portrait Images - The Portrait Masters

One of the most exciting aspects of my photography journey has been entering photography awards. Entering these awards became more than just a way to gain recognition, it became an opportunity to grow and evolve as an artist.

THE PORTRAIT MASTERS AWARDS & ACCREDITATION

In 2020, I decided to challenge myself and push my creative boundaries with my Fine Art Portrait Photography. Being a member of The Portrait Masters (formally Sue Bryce Education), I felt so inspired to enter my images into their biannual competition.

The Portrait Masters is an International Photography Awards & Accreditation program. A panel of world-renowned Master Photographers critique and score all entries in 12 Portrait Categories for expression, connection, styling, composition, posing, lighting, focus, overall technique, presentation, post-production and storytelling. Each image is reviewed by five judges and an average score is given. Those images that meet and exceed professional standard, receive Bronze (70-74 points); Bronze with Distinction (75-79 points); Silver (80-89 points) or Gold Awards (90-100 points).

I am extremely proud that every single image that I have entered into these awards, have been awarded with Bronze, Bronze with Distinction, Silver and Gold! Due to my consistant results over the course of 2.5 years, I achieved my Associate Photographer Accreditation with The Portrait Masters in July 2022. This is a significant achievement - in 2023, there are only 3 other photographers from Western Australia who have achieved this level of accreditation.

AWARD WINNING RESULTS

In the January 2022 Portrait Masters Award round, I was overjoyed (& honestly so shocked!) to be awarded with 1 x Gold and 3 x Silver Awards. Up until this point, I had only received Bronze and Bronze with Distinction Awards.

To give you an idea of the fierce competition, the stats for this particular round of Awards were:

Total number of entries: 6766

Gold Awards: 6 (1 of these were mine!!)

Silver: 284 (3 of these were mine!!)

Bronze with Distinction: 993

Bronze: 4322

The remaining entries were Approaching professional standard.

INSPIRATION, CRITIQUES & GROWTH

Being part of such competitions exposes me to the works of incredibly talented photographers from around the world. It is inspiring to witness their perspectives, their unique interpretation of the world and the stories they tell through their images. These competitions allow me to learn from others, to draw inspiration from their work and to continuously challenge myself to improve.

The feedback and critiques from esteemed judges provide invaluable insight into my craft. Constructive criticism pushes me to refine my techniques and experiment with different styles. I am so grateful for this feedback, as I can see the advancement in my own work over time.

The thrill of entering photography awards is not solely about winning or recognition, it is about the journey itself. It is about the growth, the inspiration, and the sense of purpose it instills in me as an artist. The knowledge that I am part of a vast community who shares the same passion and dedication is so exciting. I am currently planning new Fine Art Portrait Sessions, with the intention to enter the images into future rounds of The Portrait Masters Awards. My next goal is to achieve Master Photography Accreditation status :) Thank you to everyone who supports me in my photography journey. I can’t wait to create more magic in my photography studio.

Christine

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