At Blossom Blue Studios, founder Miranda Hayek believes that the true measure of success isn't just about accolades, but about the relentless pursuit of growth. This is perfectly encapsulated by her recent recognition from the Shoot and Share photography awards. For Miranda, each award is not a destination, but a milestone that represents a commitment to pushing her craft to new heights every day.
She is a lifelong learner, consistently investing in her education by having her work reviewed by a mentor annually and attending a variety of workshops and events. This dedication to personal growth is mirrored in her belief that a strong artistic community is vital for both individual and collective success. It's why she is not only a student of the craft but also a teacher, presenting and instructing at major industry events.
Miranda is a featured presenter and instructor for organizations like WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) and IDEA World.
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WPPI is the largest annual expo for professional wedding and portrait photographers, offering education and networking opportunities.
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IDEA World is a prominent conference for event presentation professionals.
Through her involvement, Miranda shares her passion and knowledge, strengthening the artistic community and fostering the next generation of visual storytellers.
For more information on these organizations, you can visit their websites directly.
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To learn more about WPPI, you can visit their website or contact them at info@wppievents.com.
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For IDEA, you can find information about their annual conference on their website.
If you follow me on Instagram @blossombluestudios you already know that I've been posting my results from the 2017 Shoot & Share Photo Contest. For those that aren't on social media I am thrilled to share them with you!
The Shoot & Share Photo Contest is the world’s only free & fair photo contest. Photography credits are anonymous and you can submit your images in a diversity of categories such as Lifestyle, Children, Newborn and Families. Anyone in the community can vote for their favorites (last year over 32,000,000 were cast..seriously that is a lot of voting). The photos with the most votes in each category wins! Here's an easy chart that explains how the contest works.
2017 Photo Contest
This is my third year entering the contest and it is always a huge process. Hours and hours of sifting through images from the past year of photography sessions and picking out my favorites. On one hand it is a great way to reflect on all of the wonderful clients I have been blessed with but narrowing down and actually selecting the entries is grueling! The images that speak loudly to me may not be other people's favorite so I try to choose a variety. Some were chosen for their technical aspect while others purely on the emotion they induced.
Time for the stats because it really is impressive how The Shoot & Share contest is accessible to so many people to partake in. The contest closed with 332,768 photos submitted by 74,000 different people from 149 countries. Yep that's some steep competition!
The Results
This year a handful of my images made it into the top 20-30%, three of them made the top 100 and one was a finalist (below) which means it made it to the top 3.5% of all photos in the contest! The shot of the crashing waves is from a helicopter in Hawaii. I was there photographing a wonderful family and I snuck in some play time too!
Another one of my photographs placed in the top 20% and three more images in the top 30%. Needless to say I am very honored especially with the amount of creative talent my photography is up against every year.
Here are the others.
Although placing amongst so much talent is a huge honor and an incredible feel good moment when results are posted, in the end I don't take pictures to win awards or titles...I do what I do for my clients. When I can make someone cry with joy when seeing what I've created for them....THAT is the best reward EVER! And for that I thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart for trusting me to tell your story.
A special shout out to the kind and hardworking folks behind the scenes of The Shoot & Share contest making sure everything runs smoothly. It was a joy to be part of an amazing community of talented people once again!
I am a Lifestyle photographer for remarkable big and tiny humans. If you are interested in one of my portrait sessions in the Los Angeles and Orange county areas by all means call me now! I can't wait to speak with you.