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Guilded
with success
Craftsman Newborn and Baby Photographers
in the UK, and proudly the only one in Scotland.
Said Lynne of that status: “The only Newborn
and Baby Master Craftsman photographer in
Scotland! I still have to pinch myself every time I
think about this!”
A
year of effort and dedication to her art
has paid dividends for one Ayrshire
photographer.
Kilmarnock born and bred Lynne Harper
gained international recognition by scooping
several major awards at the recent Guild of
Photographers awards ceremony. One of only
a handful of Guild members from the Ayrshire
area, Lynne has rocketed to success in only her
fourth year of competing at this high level.
The Guild is a highly regarded national
photographic body whose members are dedicated
to enhancing their skills in the art, craft and
profession of photography. It runs an Image of
the Month competition which this year received
over 13,000 entries. Each individual’s images are
scored, and the totals for the year then determine
who wins the individual genre groups and also
the Guild's Photographer of the Year. With
entrants having to submit at the very least three
top quality images per month to be in with any
sort of a chance of the top accolades, Lynne’s
achievements have come on the back of a very
demanding year long process.
Lynne sees Newborn styled art as her passion.
She outlines: “My start point was a love for
the work of Anne Geddes, years before my
photography journey commenced. I started
newborn photography seriously following my
first Newborn Safety and Posing workshop in
January 2015.”
Lynne receives her award for All-Round Photographer
of the Year from Andrew Coomber of Loupedeck, who
sponsored the Photographer of the Year award.
Image courtesy of David Kilpatrick of CameraCraft.
then heard her name being called out as winner
of the highly coveted overall Photographer of the
Year 2019. A remarkable achievement when you
consider the number and standard of the entries.
Lynne’s awards and her incredible six trophies
were presented to her by Steve Thirsk,
Director of the Guild. Said Steve: “I am
Lynne was also runner-up in the Image of the Year event
Lynne’s Image of the Year winning shot
The awards were presented at the Guild's Awards
night at the sumptuous Crewe Hall in Cheshire in
early February, with entrants having been informed
prior to the event that they were on the shortlist of
finalists. Says Lynne, who specialises in newborn
portraits: “I went along to the ceremony quite
happy that I’d already done a good job in getting
shortlisted. I have had a couple of third places in
recent years , but the standard now is really top-class
and I didn't want to let myself believe that I had a
chance of winning Newborn Picture of the Year. So
it came as a bit of a surprise when I heard my name
being read out as a winner.” She adds with a giggle:
“And I had absolutely no clue that I was even in the
Top Ten for the People category, so everything from
there was a complete and utter shock!”
And it became quickly clear that she was going to
sweep the board. Her first place in the Maternity,
Newborn and Baby genre, and then her runner
up in the People genre was followed by her
gathering up both the winner and runner up
places in the Image of the Year competition for
the Newborn category and then the runner up in
Children’s Portraiture.
But it didn’t end there. An awestruck Lynne
Adds the enthusiastic Lynne: “I always look
forward to welcoming families with new babies
into my home, hearing their birth stories,
and getting to know them throughout the
session. Often when families arrive for their
newborn session it is one of their first ventures
away from home with their new baby and I
take the utmost pride in creating a warm and
welcoming environment for them to sit back
and relax, knowing that their baby is safe and
content in my care.”
Lynne believes that part of her success has been
down to being able to face criticism and learn
from it. She says: “If I was to give advice to
someone entering the world of photography
competitions it would be to learn your craft well,
develop your own style and most importantly
to get feedback on your results. It’s hard to
take constructive criticism of your work as your
photography is so personal. But take it on the
chin, learn from your mistakes and just keep
working hard to reach your goal.”
both proud and delighted that Lynne has
achieved this recognition after 12 months of
submitting the highest quality images. Lynne
quite rightly should be delighted with her
extraordinary achievement.”
The former St Joseph’s pupil first developed
an interest in Photography whilst on holiday
in China. Says Lynne: “There were so many
beautiful and interesting sights that I wished I
had a good camera to capture them and do them
justice. I bought my first DSLR when I returned
and began learning photography and acquiring
as many skills as I possibly could by studying
weekend day classes in camera basics, along with
evening classes in studio lighting and Photoshop
at Kilmarnock College”
“I was gifted a basic studio lighting kit for
my 30th birthday and I began practising by
photographing my own daughters (now 10 and
7) and my friends’ children.” She continues with
a laugh: I was so hooked that I resigned from
my Performance Improvement Officer post with
East Ayrshire Council in April 2016 to pursue
my photography full time from my home studio
in Kilmarnock.”
Her achievements round off an incredible year
for Lynne, as back in May 2019 she was also
awarded ‘Master Craftsman Status’ with The
Guild of Newborn and Baby Photographers
- the highest accolade within The Guild. This
makes the Ayrshire lass one of only four Master
This image gained Lynne a runner-up spot in the Child
Portraiture genre
So has the Ayrshire photographer achieved all
her ambitions? Answers Lynne: “I had three
career goal: one to achieve a Gold award, two
to be awarded Master Craftsman Status, and
three to be Newborn Photographer of the Year.
I have achieved all three of these and more this
year, which is just beyond my wildest dreams.
As to the future? Well, my life as a newborn
photographer is everything I could hope for
and I love every minute of the work that I do.
I am around for my children, I walk them to
and from school every day, and I photograph
newborns during school hours. What better job
could there be?”
You can find out more about Lynne’s work at
www.lynneharper.com