The Guild of Photographers
Hello there, for all who follow my Facebook page you may already know this, but for those who have found themselves here for the first time, this will I guess be news for you.
Recently I decided, after months of deliberation, to join the Guild of Photographers. An organisation aimed at both professional and amateur photographers.
The purpose of the group is to enable photographers get the most out their cameras and provide teaching and direction on many areas of photography.
They offer 1 to 1 tuition and feedback on images that are submitted by you the photographer. A judging panel made up of several talented professional photographers judge monthly competitions which are then designated awards, which in turn provide points that count towards the end of year prizes.
So in Jun, I decided to join and test my abilities as a photographer, to let my work be judged by this panel of professionals. This was a very daunting prospect for me as I have always suffered a lack of self belief and confidence. I’m not really sure why, it’s just one of those things that has always been with me for as long as I can remember.
I decided to submit images in a few different categories as my photography interest is quite broad. If you are familiar with my work and the rest of the website, you will see my main area of interests are wedding photography. I love creating and capturing loving moments for my couples to cherish forever. It’s such a great feeling when you take a moment and freeze it in time for the newly weds to see for the first time. Such an emotional filled day and my camera and photography is trusted to document it. A big responsibility but one which I love to dive into. The reward when your photos are viewed for the first time and the reaction on the couples faces truly is the best feeling for me.
I also submitted a few images into the pet portrait category, as I have a love for portraiture of our four legged friends. Dog photography is certainly quite different from a wedding day. It is much more relaxed and a slower pace, although quite often the action is 100mph. If the dog you are photographing has a little mad dash around with excitement, you need to be ready to catch it. Dogs are very much a part of the family and I try to capture them through the eyes of the owner to create a piece of art that my clients can hang in their home to showcase their beloved pet in all their glory.
Lastly, I entered a few landscape images. This was where my photography started. Documenting my travel experiences and then my hunger for capturing mother nature at her finest got stronger and stronger. Often departing home in the middle of the night to travel some distances to capture a vibrant sunrise or when the tides were at their highest. Landscape photography is worlds apart from the other two I have previously mentioned. Very slow and relaxed, waiting patiently for the light to emerge and kiss the parts of the landscape you hoped it would.
Prior to joining, I found myself seeking advice from other photographers whom I knew were already members of this organisation. I wanted to ask how tough the judging panel were, what their success stories were, what were the potential tripping hazards and mainly – Had it improved their photography? This after all, was my main deciding factor in joining. I want to be better. I always want to improve my own abilities, in anything in life I do. It’s not a competitive thing, it’s just the way I’m wired. The noises coming back from these photographers were, yes. It certainly has improved my photography and many of them were being very successful with the photographs they were submitting.
So, earlier this week (21 Jul 2022) the results were announced. There are several different awards available to the submitting photographer – Classified, Bronze, High Bronze, Sliver, High Silver, Gold and platinum. The photographers whom advice I sought were very honest in saying that the upper levels are very difficult to achieve, such is the standard of the entrants and the judging panel.
I am very pleased to say, that for my first time entry I received 4 classified in the wedding category, 3 bronze awards in the pet photographer category and 2 silver awards in the landscape category. I can’t really put into words how I felt when I saw my images had been given these awards. It’s difficult for me to process coming from a belief that my work was just ok. Many others, clients, friends, followers on social media and other photographers have told me that my images were of a high standard. Truth be told, I never really believed it, I have never been able to take a compliment regarding my photography, so to have a panel of professional judges award my images was, in a way, confirmation of what had been said previously.
Does this make me a better photographer than the next one. I’d say no. Will this inflate my ego and give me bragging rights? I hope not. In fact I think rather, in a few weeks time I will most likely be back to believing I’m not quite where I want to be with the standard of my photography. I think in a way, by telling myself this, it’s how I push myself to get better.
Anyhow, this was supposed to be a short blog to say how pleased I was I received a few awards. It has turned into a significantly larger piece than I anticipated and went down a much more personal route than I initially intended. Below are all the images that received the afore mentioned awards.
If you have got this far, thank you so much for sticking with it. Thank you if you follow the social media pages and thank you for visiting the site. I hope you enjoying viewing the images as much as I did making/creating them.
Until next time……
Gavin.
The Guild of Photographers 2022
As the year is quickly coming to an end and I look back over my photography for the year, I take stock of what was successful, what I enjoyed creating and what the next year might look like. I am very pleased to be able to update since my last writing here, that I have received my first Gold award form the Guild.
As if I wasn't blown away by that news, to find out my gold image had made the final 10 shortlist of image of the year from over 12000 entries really did leave me speechless.
So what's 2023 going to look like?
Hopefully continued development with the guild, more weddings to capture and perhaps dipping my toe into teaching landscape and woodland photography to others who have a passion for creating photographs.
