The GRAND PRIZE!!!!

I spent this weekend at the Better Photo Summit in Chicago. It was a great two days of seeing presentations from fabulous photographers and talking to them at breaks. They were all so kind and so helpful. I learned so much and am incredibly inspired to make some amazing portraits. Although it's always been important to me, I'm going to focus even more on really connecting with each person. This connection allows the emotion and personality to really come through, and makes each session more relaxed and more fun for everyone.

Yesterday they announced the winners for the summit contest. I was hopeful I'd receive some recognition, and I was thrilled to have 3 finalists. I wasn't expecting to actually place, and so I was absolutely STUNNED when in a room full of 150 people, for the grand prize, my name popped up on the slideshow, followed by one of my favorite photos of a sweet baby I photographed this spring. It still doesn't seem real because there were so many amazing entries. The prize for this award is a free trip, including airfare, to the summit. Since I'm local to Chicago, Jim (the president) is so nice to work something out, so I may get to go to next years summit as my prize. Hurray!

Here's my Grand Prize photo:





Here are my finalists:

Here I am with Jim Moitke, founder and president of Better Photo.