The Guild of Photographers

THE IMAGE OF THE MONTH COMPETITION IS NOT JUST A MONTHLY COMPETITION, IT IS SO MUCH MORE!

Getting a monthly award is one thing, but obtaining awards month after month to gather points (which are added together at the end of the year to determine the winners) is another, hence the Photographer of the Year title chase is so demanding ... as is producing that one very special image which could become an Image of the Year!

Entrants have to get the approval of a full Panel of highly respected and qualified judges from multiple photography association backgrounds - it's tough (but also very beneficial to enter as it really makes you think)!

In 2020 there were over 16,000 images entered into the competition so the corresponding awards are well deserved. They are also of incredible value for those in business, and great personal recognition for those who are not.

Our winners for 2020 were announced on our 'Virtual' Awards Night on 6th February 2021, and they are all named below...

Good luck to everyone who enters the competition in 2021! You 'have to be in it to win it' as the saying goes ... so why not push yourself, take on the ultimate challenge and enter!

THE IMAGE OF THE YEAR WINNERS 2020 Sponsored by Infocus Insurance

10 images (not photographers) were selected as finalists for each genre. Their digital monthly entries were then converted to print, from which the overall winners were selected. The winners were...

*** Please click on any image to view them full size instead of as thumbnails ***

'Avant-Garde & CONTEMPORARY Portraiture' CATEGORY

Winner: Andy Robinson
Runner-Up: Barrie Spence

'BABY & TODDLER' CATEGORY

Winner: Anneka Harden
Runner-Up: Natasha Ince

'BIRDS' CATEGORY

Winner: Claire Norman
Runner-Up: Lynda Haney

'CHILDREN'S PORTRAITURE' CATEGORY

Winner: Rachel Stewart
Runner-Up: Lynne Williams

'CLASSICAL PORTRAITURE' CATEGORY

Winner: Lisa Sumner
Runner-Up: Clare Wilson

'COMMERCIAL' CATEGORY

Winner: Andrew Ford
Runner-Up: Lynne Harper

'CREATIVE & DIGITAL ART' CATEGORY

Winner: Peter Rooney
Runner-Up: Laurie Campbell

'EQUINE' CATEGORY

Winner: Emma Campbell
Runner-Up: Dawn Cotterell

'EVENT, SPORT & ACTION' CATEGORY

Winner: Sue Dudley
Runner-Up: Carl Simpson-Smith

'FLORA & INSECT' CATEGORY

Winner: Molly Hollman
Runner-Up: Neal Martinez

'MATERNITY' CATEGORY

Winner: Natasha Ince
Runner-Up: Felicia Schütte

'NATURE & WILDLIFE' CATEGORY

Winner: Laura Galbraith
Runner-Up: Rob Dolton

'NEWBORN' CATEGORY

Winner: Sharon Wallis
Runner-Up: Anneka Harden

'PETS' CATEGORY

Winner: Jessica McGovern
Runner-Up: Jessica McGovern

'Rural & LANDSCAPE' CATEGORY

Winner: Neil Pitchford
Runner-Up: Fiona Couser

'URBAN' CATEGORY

Winner: Helen Trust
Runner-Up: David Conway

'WEDDING' CATEGORY

Winner: Chris Chambers
Runner-Up: Chris Chambers

THE OVERALL IMAGE OF THE YEAR WINNERS Sponsored by Digitalab

THE 'MEMBERS CHOICE'

(As voted for by Guild Members)

WINNER: Mark Harris
RUNNERS-UP: Rob Dolton & Morag Forbes

THE 'JUDGES CHOICE'

(Chosen from all the above category winners)

WINNER: Emma Campbell
RUNNERS-UP: Laura Galbraith & Molly Hollman

Out of camera competition

We introduced the 'Out of Camera' competition during 2020. This was open to all members, where the entry had to be an image taken straight out of camera, showing considerable skill and accuracy. The standard of work was so high, that the Judges came to the decision that the 3 entrants below were all deserving of the winning title!

Winners: Ann Aveyard, Tim Wilde and Cameron Scott.

THE FOUNDER'S CUP Sponsored by Datacolor

The Guild of Photographers started life at the Guild of Wedding Photographers in 1988 and It's founders were Roy Doorbar and Ian Gee. They both sadly passed away in late 2016, and the 'Founders Cup' is a prestigious photography award which acknowledges what they started, and their aims of supporting photographers and raising standards in the industry by encouraging personal development

Entry comprises of a 3 image themed body of work, which is intitially entered digitally. Following initial judging those selected as finalists then resubmit their work in a printed format for final assessment.

The competition is restricted to those who have not won a national competition before and have not attained the level of Craftsman with the Guild (or equivalent elsewhere).

WINNER: Sharon Bolt

RUNNER-UP: Nikki Goodeve

THE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2020

These are based on points accrued over the course of the year from up to 3 monthly entries in a genre.
People can "give-up" along the way as the competition is a marathon with an emotional roller coaster ride - perseverance is key to doing well!

Below are the Guild's Winners and 'Top' photographers in each category ...

THE GUILD'S PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Epson

(AWARDED TO THE MEMBER WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF POINTS FROM ANY CATEGORY ABOVE)

WINNER: NICK BROWN

THE GUILD'S ALL-ROUND PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Loupedeck

(AWARDED TO THE MEMBER WITH THE HIGHEST COMBINED SCORE FROM ANY 2 SECTIONS ABOVE)

WINNER: DEBBIE LONGMORE

RUNNER-UP: CLAIRE NORMAN

3. Karen Riches
4. Lynda Haney
5. Nikki Goodeve
6. Sharon Bolt
7. Lynne Harper
8. Lisa Sumner
9. Ann Aveyard
10. David Conway and Claire Osborne

PHOTOGRAPHERS BAR WINNERS

In each month of the Guild's competition points are awarded to the higher scoring images. The 'Photographers Bar' is awarded to those photographers who obtain the equivalent of a point an image from their pre-chosen 24 entries throughout the year.

Elisabeth Adams -- Kelly Aldis -- Shaheen Ali -- Jason Allison -- Ian Austin -- Ann Aveyard -- Joanna Banks -- Sharon Bolt -- Jayne Bond -- Ian Bower -- Baron Bratby -- Amy Bray -- Magda Bright -- Nick Brown -- Joanne Bullas -- Ed Burrows -- Michele Campbell -- Emma Campbell -- Alan Campbell -- Martin Clark -- Steve Collins -- David Conway -- Dawn Cotterell -- Bob Cotton -- Caroline Dell -- Samantha Dibb-Fuller -- Rob Dolton -- Sue Dudley -- Paul Dunmall -- Emily Endean -- Katherine Evans -- Steve Evans -- Antje Farmer -- Louise Farrell -- Peter Farrington -- Andrew Ford -- Cheryl Foreman -- Becca Fulcher -- Maxine Furnandiz -- Laura Galbraith -- Vicky Glanvill -- Ayshea Goldberg -- Nikki Goodeve -- Lisa Graham -- Gaille Gray -- Lynda Haney -- Anneka Harden -- Lynne Harper -- Hayley Harraden -- Mark Harrris -- Julia Healey -- Nigel Hepplewhite -- Carol Higgins -- Molly Hollman -- Dora Horvath -- Chris Hunter -- Natasha Ince -- Jo Kelly -- David Kennedy -- Lisa Kershaw -- Nikki Kirk -- Ian Knaggs -- Polly Lee -- Sian Lewis -- Debbie Longmore -- Stan Maddams -- Tracy Main -- Neal Martinez -- Sally Masson -- Emma McClimont -- Scotia McCombie -- Stephanie McGahan -- Suzanne McGowan -- Lucy McGrath -- Ruth Morris -- Gary Neville -- Claire Norman -- Vicky Norton -- Debra O'Connor -- Steve Oldfield -- Paul Oldham -- Stacey Oliver -- Tom Ormerod -- Claire Osborne -- Marc Osborne -- Jodie Painter -- Ania Pankiewicz -- Clare Perry -- Neil Pitchford -- Iain Poole -- Dale Powell -- Sandie Powner -- Nigel Proctor -- Shaheed Rahman -- Steve Reid -- Karen Riches -- Andy Robinson -- Christine Russell -- Marie Sampson -- Helen Simon -- Alice Slee -- Sarah Smith -- Andy Smith -- Rosalie Smith -- Kin So -- Laura Spence -- Barrie Spence -- Cliff Spooner -- Lynn Stanfield -- Cat Stephens -- Tina Stobbs -- Lisa Sumner -- Mel Taylor -- Brian Terrey -- David Thomas -- Charles Thorne -- Helen Trust -- Jen Turner -- Helen Walker -- Nigel Wallace -- Sharon Wallis -- Clare Walpole -- Sarah Walton -- Deanne Ward -- Dawn Westwood -- Tim Wilde -- Lisa Wildgoose -- Nicola Wilkins -- Lynne Williams -- Scott Williams -- Clare Wilson -- Kate Wise -- Peter Woods -- Philip Yale -- Marketa Zvelebil

2020 awards