Competition Time again

I really hope nobody is tired of hearing about print competition.  The whole point of it is education.  As a professional photographer, it's my job to capture moments, and create memories, but more than that I owe it to my clients to keep up to date with trends in photography, as well as learning everything I can take in about the basics and even the advanced stuff.

I don't want to grind on this too much, but I want people to understand the importance of education and with that, professional level print competition.

Professional Level Print Competition is a way for my peers (other professional photographers) to view, judge, and critique my work.  In other words, I'm opening my mind to their opinions and ideas, and taking from it whatever I can to be better for my clients.  In the process of this, I may win some awards, that's good for you! Well, me too, but who wants to hire the photographer that never wins anything?  Wouldn't you rather hire a photographer that regularly wins against other local photographers?  Doesn't that elevate that photographer even just a little?

I talk about print competition, many don't, why do you think that is?  I'll be honest, if I wasn't doing well, I wouldn't either!  It's being judged by your peers, other local professional photographers.  Essentially, my own competitors are telling me they love my work!  Hmmmm, isn't that the photographer you want?

I don't mean to sound cocky either, I just want to explain what an honor these awards are and that I do it for my clients, to show them that their money is being well spent.  So really, it's not just about me, it's trying to be the best photographer possible to give my clients the best product possible.

Now, all that being said, We had one of our BIG Professional Level Print Competitions on Tuesday night!

It was very cool, lots of entries by many talented photographers, have I mentioned there are over 170 members of the Tampa Professional Photographers Association?  Anyway, we always have a great turnout and we went until about midnight listening to the judges critique our images.

Alright, here's how the crew from Brian C Idocks Photographics did:

Derica, our newest member, is a Professional Photographer, and Graphic Artist.  She is really known as a "Photoshop Guru".

Derica received 5 merits (that's a score of 80 or above and the benchmark for a great image), this is not a simple task.

She also placed FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD in the Electronic Imaging Category, this is all about Image Enhancement.  One of her pieces scored an 85!  That's a really good score in this category!

Brian, our "Chief Bottle Washer" as you all know is a Professional Wedding Photographer, and the author of this blog!  :)

Brian also received 5 merits on Tuesday.

Also, Brian received:

FIRST and THIRD Place in the SOCIAL FUNCTION Category (Weddings and Events)

FIRST Place in the UNCLASSIFIED Category (General Photography or doesn't fit any other category)

SECOND Place in the PORTRAIT Category

Brian also was awarded BEST IN SHOW, that means the BEST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE NIGHT!!

The judges narrowed the field to 2 prints for Best in Show, both were BRIAN'S!

Brian had the 2 highest scores of the night, a 97 (WHOAH!) and an 89!!  These are extremely high scores and very rare to see at a local guild.

Keep in mind, this isn't about Brian and Derica, this is to show you, our clients, exactly what kind of skills you are hiring, this is about you.

-B