This year I joined up with a wonderful group of professionals, the Tallahassee Professional Photographer’s Guild. Every month we meet for dinner, drinks, lectures from some top industry professionals, and image competition. Last night was our last competition of the year and I’m excited to say that I won in 3 categories as well as Print of the Month!

Winner, Open Category, Print of the Month November 2012

This photo was taken this past August while in Seattle studying with famous glamour photographer and amazing teacher, Sue Bryce at her Inside the Glamour Studio workshop with creativeLIVE. After the second day of filming for creativeLIVE, all of us students were so anxious to start photographing immediately that we quickly went back to my room at the Holiday Inn Express (ooh la la!) and began photographing each other to try and practice what we’d learned. This shot was done of my good friend and extremely talented photographer, Bonnie Al-Rifai, in the window of that hotel room using natural light. I can’t begin to say how excited I am that this image won overall last night. And this is going to sound really cliché and dorky, but that week was really life changing for me both professionally and personally in many ways so for an image that was taken during that time to be recognized really means a lot to me.

Winner, Portrait of a Man November 2012

This is a portrait of my Dad! The week I returned from Seattle, my parents came to visit. I hadn’t seen them in person in almost a year so I was really looking forward to spending some time with them. As soon as they got here, Dad and I left for Lowe’s to purchase the materials needed to put together some of the sets that I had worked with in Seattle. In between holding reflectors for me while I photographed my mom and her changing outfits, he sat down for a few frames. He’s pretty much the perfect mix of silly and serious in this image which I think sums him up nicely. I have a whole series of him I plan on posting when things slow down, but for now let me brag on my win and show off my handsome pop! Taken using natural window light.

I also won in the Portrait of a Child category for November. I’ll try to get this one posted soon!

Thanks again TPPG! Looking forward to the big holiday party coming up!