After attending ComeUnity (a professional photography workshop) last fall, I set a goal to enter my images into competition. There is a big difference between a competition and a contest. The Shoot & Share photography contest that I shared yesterday for example, allowed anyone to view the photos randomly and vote for their favorites. The photos with the most votes won. The Shuttferfest Image Competition, on the other hand, is scored by professional photographers/judges using the Portrait Photographers Association 12 Elements to a Merit Image guidelines.
The results arrived much sooner than I anticipated and I’m tickled to announce that both images I submitted merited and received Shutterfest 2017 Vision Awards! That means I now get to enjoy the feather in my hat of being an award winning child and pet photographer!
While the peer recognition is extremely exciting, I’m actually looking forward most to seeing the video of the judging. Why?! You might ask. Okay, I might also be a little nervous about the critiques, but my objective in entering the competition was to push myself to grow as an artist, grow as a business owner and grow as a person. I truly look forward to the honest, unbiased and useful feedback I anticipate from the judges.
Thank you to my friends and mentors who encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and enter!
For the very first time, I entered the Shoot & Share photography contest and wanted to share my results with you!
A little background… the contest started with 332,768 photos submitted into 25 categories. Over 104,3784 people have voted from 141 different countries, and over 49 MILLION votes have been cast! The Shoot & Share Photo Contest claims to be the world’s only free and fair photo contest. Each person can enter up to 50 photos in 25 categories. Anyone can enter photos, and it’s totally free! It is judged through the people, anyone can view the photos randomly and vote for their favorites. No one knows who took the photos, but everyone votes for the winners. The photos with the most votes win!
The competition is tough and I am beyond thrilled that 14 of my images placed in the Top 30 or higher with 2 of them being awarded Finalists (top 3.5%) and 3 finishing in the Top 100!
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Of all the things I get to share, Grow with Me posts are my absolute favorite! After spending hours snuggling with your newborn, I look forward to seeing them again. Truth is I fall in love with them. Who can blame me right?! Long after your session is over and you have your beautiful artwork, I think about you, your family and your sweet baby. So, when parents sign up for my Grow with Me plan, I do cartwheels inside because I know that I get to document these moments that fly by while you are often too tired to thoroughly enjoy them or absorb them completely.
How fast a year passes. Maybe it doesn’t feel that way when you are sleep deprived and up to your eyeballs in diapers. But I promise you, at the end of the year you’ll look back at these photos with wonder.
“Words can’t express how appreciative I am that Christine documented my baby’s first year of life. As Ezra is our last baby, I realized this was my last chance to completely immerse myself in all things baby. The past year has gone so fast, and I will forever be grateful that I took this opportunity to treat both Ezra and myself to these images that mark the bittersweet end of babyhood in our home. At every stage, they are gorgeous: from the squishy, sleepy newborn images to his first-year personality-filled cake smash. Christine is a master artist and truly a baby whisperer.” – Sara
When asked to describe Vivian in three words, her mom told me “silly, loud and cheesy.” So I think Vivian thought it would be funny to be “stoic, quiet and refined” during her session. She didn’t have me fooled though, because I caught her mischievous little grins from time to time. She especially loved playing pretend with Mr. Teddy, who didn’t mind one bit wearing a necklace or two.
Let’s schedule your session! For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/CDP_Info In order to best meet the needs of my clients, session availability is limited. Message me, I’d love to invite you to the studio, meet up for a tasty treat or chat over the phone to get to know one another and discuss your session.
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click on image to see it full size
