I've only gone and had an image featured by Italian Vogue..!! | Outdoor Children's and Family Portrait Photographer

I was going to post a recent session this week, but instead I have exciting news!!!

Last week, I talked about why I love what I do so much and touched upon the work that goes on behind the scenes.  One aspect of this is to continually improve my photography and skillset.

I am somebody that has always quite enjoyed studying and I have always tried to enhance my education during my life in one way or another.  I chose to study HNC photography at Leicester College a couple of years after Jacob was born.  This culminated in an exhibition that we (the students) pulled together at The Guildhall in Leicester.  It was the best feeling in the world having your work on display and I could often be found loitering close to my artwork to hear what the general public had to think about it!  These are the images that I submitted for the exhibition...

Almost 3 years of experience since graduating has taught me that these images were not technically perfect. I love them regardless, as they were such an important part of my photographic journey.  I put everything I had into that course and graduated with a distinction.

I also won a competition being run by Charnwood Borough council.  This was to provide the photograph that would be featured on the Signage as you enter the Borough - you may well have seen the signs!  Unfortunately, whilst my image won the competition it couldn't be used as the Highways Agency felt that it was too distracting for drivers (a compliment, I think?!)

Since then my time has been spent working for clients but every so often I create photography for myself and submit it for assessment.  Last year I submitted this image to The Guild of Photographers (of which I am a member) and it was a given a bronze award.  It's funny, because this image was taken purely for me - we holiday in the same apartment each year and I love to stand at the bottom of the stairwell and look up.  I get excited by the strong shapes and the contrast between the colour of the walls and the sky.  This is a happy place for me.

Well, last week I decided to chance my arm again.  I am a member of Nina Mace's (a fantastic photographer) facebook group and she set us the challenge of being featured by Vogue (yes - that Vogue!).  Always up for a challenge I submitted 4 images, all rejected.  I'm quite persistent and decided to submit another - 5th time lucky!!  

I always arrive early before every family Photo Shoot to walk through the session and re-cap which shots I am going to take.  This means that I have lots of landscape photographs that have never been edited.  I stumbled across this one last week (it was included in last week's blog) and I thought it might have potential...

Well, here it is and it has the Vogue logo on the corner!!!!  I couldn't believe it - it is NOT easy to be featured by Vogue (a lot of photographers submit a lot of images over months to get this recognition) so this is a massive achievement for me...I still keep checking the image to make sure that I haven't dreamt it!

Woohoo - just look at that Logo! Keep having to pinch myself...

I like to keep in touch with some of my photography friends and to see what beautiful artwork they have been creating - this week I'd like to send you over to the very talented Jillian Greenhill's  blog - Jill is one of the world's leading newborn photographers, based in Abu Dhabi, she has trained many other photographers (including me!) along the way.  Please pop over and say "hello!"

Julie is an outdoor children's and family portrait photographer based in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire.  Whilst she specialises in the Charnwood area she is happy to travel further afield.  More of Julie's photography can be found on her website.