Sarah Plater wins Young Families Photographer of the Year 2022
HUGE competition news: I’ve just been awarded Young Families Photographer of the Year 2022 by the Master Photographers Association (MPA). The Award covers England’s Central Region, which includes Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Camxbridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
This incredible win was announced at an Awards Evening in Hertfordshire earlier this month following an judging process led by top MPA photographer Roy Wooding FBIPP FMPA.
This Award is so important to me for a couple of reasons: firstly, there are many excellent newborn and child photographers in England who create beautiful images of little ones on their own.
For me, however, it’s just as important to capture the whole family, with mum and dad in the pictures, too, and this win celebrates those images – the ones with all three, four or even five+ of you!
After all, photographs reinforce our memories, which is why it’s so important for parents to be in images capturing a child’s milestones, and not solely behind the camera (and out of sight).
Typically, these are also the child’s favourite photos when they grow up, as they can see the love and connection they shared with their mum and dad right from the start.
But out of the hundreds or even thousands of images mums and dads take each year, which ones should go on the wall?
Although we all have cameras in our pockets nowadays, this Award demonstrates the difference working with a professional photographer can make.
As well as capturing families at their very best in terms of beautifully soft light and a pleasing pose and composition, I can create images that are artworks in their own right – and these deserve to be up on display where they can be seen and enjoyed everyday.
Indeed, during MPA competitions, the judge awards points to each image based on five criteria:
- Creation & Control: Posing, composition, timing, viewpoint, cropping, focal point etc.
- Technical competence: Exposure, tonal range, focus, lens choice, etc.
- Lighting: Direction, quality/contrast, control, mood/ambience, etc.
- Post production: Retouching, sharpening, colour balance, banding, print quality, etc.
- Impact: Originality, storytelling, etc.
There’s a lot that goes into every session I do to ensure I create images that achieve this standard.
That includes full preparation beforehand, with a suite of different guides as well as a telephone consultation with you to discuss all the details.
I create a bespoke session plan based on our conversation (with plenty of flexibility for those magical moments – and also for when little ones need a break!) and guide you through everything on the day.
Then I do whatever it takes to generate authentic smiles, from playing peek-a-boo and singing nursery rhymes through to asking funny questions and setting up mini games for the grown-ups!
There’s lots more information about how I work under the ‘Info’ tab on this site (as well as all the things you need to know like pricing and availability).
But if you’ve got a question or when you’re ready to get booked in, just get in contact – I can’t wait to get to know you and (hopefully!) create an award-winning image of your family next! 🙂
About the MPA
Established in 1952, the Master Photographers Association (MPA) is one of the longest-standing photographic associations in British history. The Master Photographers Association is run by photographers (who have many years of experience behind them) for photographers. With a qualification and mentoring system designed to promote continual professional development, the MPA are recognised leaders in setting the standards of professional photography today.
