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Image Competition – Fall 2024
APNPI International Image Competition Results!
Image Competition – Fall 2024
Congratulations to our International Award Winning makers on their achievements in our recent round of competition. We are pleased to announce the following winners across the categories who have achieved Silver awards with scores in the range of 80-84, Silver Distinction awards with scores in the range of 85-89, Gold awards with scores in the range of 90-94, and Gold Distinction awards with scores in the range of 95-99.
Newborn Category Winners
APNPI Competition 1st Place Winner – Newborn "Dreamy" by Fruzsina Jonas
APNPI Competition 2nd Place Winner – Newborn “A Vision of Unity” by Kayleigh Ashworth
APNPI Competition 3rd Place Winner – Newborn "Dreamland" by Tina Krafts
Maternity Category Winners
APNPI Competition 1st Place Winner – Maternity "Lady in Red" by Shailee Connolly
APNPI Competition 2nd Place Winner – Maternity "Sequins & Feathers" by Shailee Connolly
APNPI Competition 3rd Place Winner – Maternity "Woman Of The Amazon" by Tianna Jarrett-Williams
Milestones Category Winners
APNPI Competition 1st Place Winner – Milestones "Come fly with me!" by Shailee Connolly
APNPI Competition 2nd Place Winner – Milestones "Little Miss Bright Eyes" by Tina Krafts
APNPI Competition 3rd Place Winner – Milestones "Keepin" by Shailee Connolly
Child (ages 1 year and up) Category Winners
APNPI Competition 1st Place Winner – Child (ages 1 year and up) "Daddy’s rollercoaster got real!" by Nelly Oroumchi
APNPI Competition 2nd Place Winner – Child (ages 1 year and up) "The Purity" by Gisele Becker Dias Ramos da Costa
APNPI Competition 3rd Place Winner – Child (ages 1 year and up) "The Travelers" by Alicia Barrett
Gold Awards – Scores: 90 to 94
Silver Distinction Award – Scores: 85 to 89
Silver Award – Scores: 80 to 84
Watch the Competition Judging Results and Meet Our Esteemed Panel of Judges
Airing Nov 19! Join us to Watch the APNPI Image Competition Judging event!
Curious about the winners of our latest photography competition? Join us to watch the APNPI Image Competition Judging Event! We’re thrilled to share the official judging results video, where you can watch each award-winning image unfold and gain insight into what makes each piece stand out. In this post, you’ll also meet our panel of distinguished judges, who bring decades of expertise in newborn and maternity photography. Learn about their backgrounds, unique judging styles, and the criteria they used to evaluate this year’s impressive submissions. We hope you enjoy and are inspired by the artistry that continues to shape the photography community!
A warm congratulations to all of our makers for bravely entering this round of accreditation submissions! We hope you’ll find the judges’ feedback helpful in the advancement of your journey as maternity, newborn or baby photographers and thank you all for your submissions. Best of luck to all of our members who have submitted for this round of Accreditations!
*Are you an accredited member of APNPI and interested in our judge training program? Email us at admin@apnpi.com
First of all I’m looking for images with that wow factor. First impressions are so important! Likewise, technical expertise is essential for a highly scoring image in competition. I love a good story and creativity but sometimes simplicity can be powerful too. I can’t wait to see the submissions!
Shailee Connolly is an accomplished professional photographer who specializes in Newborn and Maternity Portrait photography. Based out of her commercial studio in San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, she has received awards and recognitions for her work. In 2020 and 2022, she was awarded first place in the APNPI competition in the newborn category, as well as a PPA silver photographer of the year award in 2017 and a bronze photographer of the year award in 2018. Additionally, she earned second place in the Children’s Portraits Category of the Professional Photographers of America’s Western District print competition in 2017. Shailee holds bachelor’s degrees in Fine Art and Education, with a major in painting. Her previous career as a high school Visual Arts teacher in her hometown of Brisbane, Australia, gave her a solid grounding and passion for creating art in a variety of disciplines. When she became a mother in 2011, she transitioned her skills to newborn and maternity portrait photography. She has been photographing bellies and babies since 2013 and has been a professional photographer for over 10 years after relocating to the US with her family from Australia. Shailee always aims to create stunning, timeless images that her clients will cherish for a lifetime. Her style blends fine art with a more natural, organic approach to photography, and she works closely with her clients to ensure that their vision is brought to life. Her clients receive heirloom quality, archival printed artwork that they can proudly display in their homes.
Overall impact is the first thing I look at – it’s automatic, when you see an image for the first time, how you react and how it makes you feel are important aspects. Obviously I look for technical competency, from lighting control, to posing, to how the maker uses their camera functions to create the image. Lastly I look at editing. Ideally I don’t want to even notice the editing, as usually if we notice the editing it’s to point out an area that could be improved.
Tara Graham:
I am mom to one wildly creative and stong-headed little boy. I started photography long before he came along though, having gone to college for Creative Photography, and then working in various studios doing portrait, commercial/editorial, and wedding work. One day I decided to tell my husband we were moving so I could have a home studio, and that really allowed me to grow my newborn business, having a dedicated space for it. I also love to photograph families! I love the interactions and being able to get those photos that parents say really captures their child’s essence or personality.
Trayc Dudgeon: I’ve been passionate about art my whole life and after taking my first photography class in High School I fell in love. I furthered my photography education at Humber Collage and 20 years later I am still just as passionate as the day I began. I’ve since become an award winning Accredited portrait photographer with PPOC (Professional Photographers of Canada) specializing in Maternity, Newborn, Children, Family as well as Corporate portraits and Weddings. I am also newborn safety trained and Internationally recognised as a qualified Newborn photographer with the APNPI, an international photography association. I have recieved several accreditations, awards and have become on of their mentoring photographers.
I am looking for images that catch my eye and make me feel something. Seeing something different and unique always gets me excited. Good lighting, harmonious colour tones and a clear subject are always things that I look for.
Tamarind Spender:
Tamarind’s passion for photography ignited at the age of 17 when she began working at Black’s Photography, where she fell in love with capturing the world through her lens. This passion led her to turn her hobby into a profession after the birth of her daughter in 2013, founding Azure Photography to show her daughter that following your dreams is possible. Starting from her home, Tamarind poured her heart into every shot, eventually expanding to a grand studio in downtown Guelph. Here, her vision of creating unforgettable photography experiences for her clients has truly flourished. For Tamarind, photography is more than a profession—it’s a way to freeze time and encapsulate the beauty of life’s moments. She specializes in capturing the authentic emotions of pregnancy, newborn sessions, cake smashes, and family portraits, believing that each stage of life deserves to be treasured and celebrated. Tamarind’s goal is to create a comfortable and genuine connection with her clients, crafting images that speak volumes and touch hearts. Whether you’re celebrating pregnancy, welcoming a new baby, or capturing family memories, Tamarind is dedicated to creating cherished moments that will last for generations.
Competition Judge Q&As 2024
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The Story Behind the Winning Images by Marcela Limon
1st Place Winner – Milestones – “Porcelain Doll” by Marcela Limon
2nd Place Winner – Child – “Pure Innocence” by Marcela Limon
The Story Behind the Winning Image
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes in some of these amazing images, particularly those that are competition winners?
Marcela Limon is a Certified Maternity and Newborn photographer servicing the San Francisco Bay Area from her beautiful studio in Alameda. She’s been specializing in motherhood images since 2015 and has won prestigious awards at international print competitions in the last few years, including APNPI, WPPI and PPA, where she recently earned her Master of Photography degree. She’s committed to newborn safety and that’s why she is Infant CPR trained and has had in person mentoring with renowned photographers from around the world. She’s always looking for education opportunities to make the industry better for both her colleagues and her clients.
To see more of Marcela’s work: https://lemonshoots.com/
The Inside Scoop…
Q: Why did you decide to submit to the APNPI International Image Competition?
A: I deeply believe that submitting for competition makes your everyday work better, especially when you can get some feedback from the judges. The fact that APNPI records its judging and makes it available to the makers is a huge learning opportunity!
Q: What, if anything, did you learn about yourself through the process of image competition judging?
A: You learn about what you did right, so you can repeat it, and what you could’ve done better, so you look for those mistakes next time, and correct them before taking the photograph. It’s a never ending process of working, perfecting, submitting, learning, tweaking… and then it starts again. But it is so much fun!
Q: What attracted you to APNPI’s International Image Competition?
A: The feedback was definitely a big one for me. Competitions that don’t provide feedback are fun for the accolades, but they won’t teach you much. Feedback and hearing the judges discuss an image is what makes it worth it for me.
Q: Have there been any positive outcomes from your achievement?
A: Oh yes! Clients get so excited when they learn that their baby’s portrait did well at an image competition! They share that with their families and friends and that creates buzz around your brand. And personally, it has given me the confidence to charge properly for my work. I value it more -and my clients do too- by knowing I can create an award-worthy image from everyday sessions.
Q: What were you looking for when selecting images to submit to the image competition?
A: You look at all the elements that make an image outstanding: impact, story, subject matter, composition, color harmony, technical excellence… it all has to be there! When going through images, the one that makes you stop to look at it more, that’s the one that has potential.
Q: What would you say to a member thinking about submitting imagery?
A: I get it. It is scary. But if you never submit you’ll never know where you are in the process. Not knowing what you can improve won’t help you at all. Submit with the hopes of winning, yes, but most importantly, with the certainty that you will learn and become a better artist after you do. You need to enter with a humble heart and open ears. Don’t take feedback personally. Feedback is a gift and it is your choice if you want to use it to make you grow or not.
APNPI Competition 1st Place Winner – Milestones “Porcelain Doll”
APNPI Competition 2nd Place Winner – Child (ages 1 year and up) “Pure Innocence”
To learn more: APNPI Image Competition
Did you know…
All members receive one free entry – so go ahead try it out, you have nothing to lose!
Each image is up for an award, whether it’s in the top 3 or not. Every submission competes against itself to earn a Merit Award (score of 80 and above).
Merit Awards are prestigious accomplishments! They denote a level that stands out above the Accreditation level.
Competing is an excellent way for members to sharpen their skills and elevate their work.
Members learn a ton from entering their images and receiving feedback from the judges.
For more info and to enter, visit: www.apnpi.com/image-competition