It's official! On November 15, 2022 the International Portrait Masters Awards and Accreditation announced the results of its fall 2022 portrait photography competition honoring top talent in the portrait photography industry. I’m delighted to share that the organization named me an Associate of The Portrait Masters. The level of Associate demonstrates that I create a consistent, professional standard of work.
I earned my Associate accreditation by submitting my work for evaluation and critique by a jury of photography experts over the last couple of years. This accreditation is a meaningful recognition of my creative and technical abilities and as I constantly strive to grow and improve as a photographer, this recognition also provides great encouragement to go to the next level.
It’s an amazing feeling after the work I have put in over the past couple of years. I used to think that I didn’t have an artistic bone in my body, but I have realized it’s been hiding and I just need to drag it out. The road doesn’t end here and I have more goals to set - getting my first silver would be a good start. Looking through all the top 20 images gives me the motivation and inspiration to learn and develop more - challenges to look forward to.
It’s surprising what happens when you shift your life towards your passion. I have worked in the IT industry for over 40 years and I am still doing it, but I reached the stage where I needed something else, something that would take my mind off work and its challenges. I began my portrait journey back in 2019 when I was awarded funds from NIFCA to develop my photography skills. Rather than looking for one-off courses, I decided to embark on a more evolutionary journey as I had to balance existing work commitments with what I was going to be learning. At the very beginning of my portrait photography journey, I made a decision that I was going to turn this opportunity into another business, and in order to do that I had to make sure clients get the best possible images and products.
Knowing that my photos' evaluation is very subjective, and because I have had no formal education in photography I wanted to submit my work to an internationally recognised body for review and feedback. This is how I found The Portrait System hosted by Sue Bryce. This program was created to honor and celebrate high-quality, professional work, and to arm portrait photographers with the public recognition they deserve. When you enter the Portrait Masters Awards & Accreditation Program, your images are judged by a panel of experts in the field who will give points to your images based on the technical and artistic skill exhibited therein. Bronze, Silver, and Gold Merits are awarded to images that have achieved a high professional standard, according to the points they have received. If your photograph receives any of these high honors, you will be given a badge that you can place on the image that earned it. All points that are awarded on Bronze, Silver, and Gold images are tallied toward achieving accreditation levels. There are three accreditation levels: Associate, Master, and Fellow. As soon as you achieve the Associate level, your profile is added to a public member directory, and you can include your achievement of this standing in all your marketing.
Sending photos to competitions, judged by some of the best photographers in the world can be intimidating, but the desire to get to know their opinions was stronger than the fear of underachieving. Overall there are 15 judges that review your work, so it’s quite a daunting process. The judges are led by Richard Wood, who is himself a recipient of numerous awards and accreditations from photography organizations including NZ IPP, WPPI, and Asia Pacific Photography Awards.
Chasing awards and accolades was never the reason behind my photography, though I do have a competitive edge, I love being able to improve my photography skills and showcase that in my client work. Having the fire of accreditation and awards always burning in the back of my mind, means I am also constantly more conscious of ‘how can I do this better?'”
The judges do provide feedback, though they stopped for a while, but have started back up, and though the feedback is short and sweet there is enough to sink your teeth into. I constantly strive to grow and improve as a photographer, and this recognition is a great encouragement
My initial goal was to reach the Associate level. It’s taken a while as I couldn’t commit myself full-time to the process, but it has been a tremendous learning experience. Not only does it make me proud to reach the Associate level, but it validates me as a professional photographer. This accreditation is proof that my clients will receive photos from me at the highest professional level. As an additional motivation was the fact that on the map of accredited photographers, there was no one from Barbados. So I am the first, for now - an Associate Level Accredited Portrait Photographer - from Barbados.
Thanks to everyone who contributed even a small part to my success. And to my family and especially my wife, who has been roped into modeling numerous times, and for supporting my aspirations, even those that initially seem unreal and far-fetched.
Now to try for the Masters.
You can check out the full photographer directory here. https://suebryceeducation.com/directory/
Thanks for reading. Please be in touch to learn more about my work and to book a portrait session with me.
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