I never thought I would be someone who would enter the Photography Industry Awards. I have entered ‘open to the public’ awards and won ‘People’s Choice’ but to be judged by my peers and those with so many accolades in the industry scared me. I was a wedding photographer that liked to produce images that made my clients smile, it wasn’t about being an artist winning awards.

I thought the images that won were always those that didn’t represent my style. To me they were a bit over the top with regards to their editing so it didn’t resemble a photo any more. Then the tide turned and an awesome photojournalistic photographer I know showed me his Gold Award winning image. It gave me faith in my ability to also produce Award quality images with my relaxed, candid, sometimes quirky and fun style!

This year I decided it was time to take a leap of faith and enter the AIPP NSW/ACT Professional Photography Awards. It seems my leap paid off as I received 4 awards out of the 7 images I entered! I scored 85, 84 and two 80s. My highest scoring print was of a Bridal Party at the Mint and received a Silver with Distinction Award. One of the judges said it reminded him of the Annie Leibovitz Vanity Fair shoots with celebrities – this is exactly the look I was going for so I was super excited to hear my vision was shared.

What did I get out of entering the awards other than some pretty certificates to hang on the walls?

1. Recognition from my colleagues and industry that I am producing professional quality work.

2. I have the ability to produce Award Winning images = bonus confidence boost.

2. A thirst for learning more about fine art printing and producing images that look like pieces of art to hang on the wall.

3. A renewed energy for working on personal photo projects to continually stretch my creative vision.

4. A greater appreciation for people who have a different style to me and how that can benefit how I approach my photography.

5. A stronger network with great photographers and opportunities to work on joint projects in the future.

For those photographers who are questioning whether you should enter, I say take that leap of faith and learn along the way!

Lue Suomalainen versio täällä (Read the Finnish version here)

I love Scandinavia and in particular Finland. I grew up learning about Finland through letters and presents from my penfriend, Anna who lived in Varkaus. In my adult life I find myself becoming obsessed with colourful (in particular Marimekko, Aarikka and Finlayson) and wanting to enjoy saunas, having way too many berries and loving the summer cottage life. But it is the welcoming smiles and hugs of the many Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish people who I have met that makes me want to come back time and time again.

I have been to Finland many times – mostly in summer but once in October. My next two trips I would like to be in Scandinavia in July/August 2012 and February 2013. To afford to be able to see my second ‘families’ in Scandinavia I need to book some weddings and portrait sessions. So I am asking for your help to share my post.

The business stuff:
*Internationally, I have photographed 6 weddings in Finland, 1 in Norway and 3 in France. I have done portrait sessions (family and bridal) in Finland – Tampere, Helsinki, Turku, Kuvansi ; Tallinn, Estonia and Lofoten in Norway.

*You do not have to pay for my airfares.

*Asking me to photograph your wedding or portraits is more affordable than you might think – just ask me to give you a quote and we can discuss options to make this work for you. Please email me here.

Some examples of my International shoots and what people think about working with me:

Kimi & Anna, Helsiniki – July 2011 – “We wanted Gemma as our wedding photographer after seeing her fabulous photos on her website. By chance Gemma was coming to Finland in the summer of our wedding so we contacted her and luckily managed to get her to shoot our big day. It was a bit stressful not meeting up with the photographer in advance, but Gemma made it very easy to arrange everything at a long distance[and we got to meet her the day before the wedding]. She also asked detailed questions about us and the wedding as a preparation for the shoot, which made everything run smoothly on the day. It felt as though we had known Gemma for years! Thank you so much for capturing the biggest day of our lives so far!”

More photos here.

Emilia & Ville, Finland, Mikkeli Countryside – July, 2011 – “Thank you a million times for the wedding photos – you have made my heart go bouncing around the room every time I look at the pictures! We love them all! I never thought I could be so excited at a wedding that I wouldn’t remember it all, but with your photos I got a chance to live all those emotions again. You truly are an artist and we want to thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for capturing our wedding day.”

More photos here and Engagement Portraits here.

Päivi and Jukka, Helsinki, Finland – July 2010 - photographed with Anna Jarske ” I really love the photos you took! Thank you for participating in our wedding and it was a pleasure to work with you ”

More photos here and Engagement Portraits here.

Fanny & Gabriel, Angers, France – July 2010 (photographed with Emilie Gerard) – “I love all the pictures, they are beautiful ! Thankkkkkkkkkkkkks to you. Gabriel also loves the pictures, he says you’re a very very good photographer, he loves the way you tell a story with your photos!”

More photos here.

Lise & Andreas, Lofoten, Norway – July 2011 – “The photos are wonderful!! Thank you SO much!:)”  More photos here and Engagement Portraits here.

Anne & Toni, Tampere – July, 2011 (photographed with Juha Sompinmäki) – “The pictures are stunningly beautiful and capture all the little and big moments just perfectly and your presence on our special day was a great pleasure for us, too. Your skill in photography and wonderful personality are out of this world and in our opinion, you are highly recommended to photograph any kind of wedding anywhere!” More photos here.

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