Qualifications

MASTERCRAFTSMAN ​OF PHOTOGRAPHY & ​AWARD WINNING NEWBORN,

BABY, CHILD, FINE ART, MATERNITY & FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER


As you will probably know through looking through my website, I am member of the Guild of Photographers.

A very good reason for joining the Guild is to submit your work for assessment and progress through our membership levels. It is a way to measure and evidence your skill level, as well as show your customers that you are committed to providing them the very best service.

Overview and Context

People working in crafts have organised themselves into Guilds as far back as Saxon times, and by the medieval period, Guilds had a fundamental role to ‘protect the quality and reputation of a trade’. Most Guilds would consist of those seen as being able to produce a good standard of work (those Qualified to work in the trade), those who were very skillful and experienced (the Craftsman) and those who could go beyond even that and create a Masterpiece (the Master Craftsman).The Guild Of Photographers is no different than the original Guilds in that it wishes to protect the quality and reputation of our trade (the photographic profession), hence our Assessment structure is aligned to that historical context …

The Guild’s membership levels are –

Registered (ie untested) / Qualified / Craftsman / Master Craftsman

These are available in 4 main sections –

The Guild of Wedding Photographers

The Guild of Newborn & Baby Photographers

The Guild of Professional Photographers (covering all other professional areas except weddings, newborns & babies)

The Guild of Photographers (for those not not in business)

The ‘Qualified’ status is therefore aligned to standards of competence that reflect a level where the customer should be ‘pleased with the results’, when employing the services of a skilled tradesman (the photographer). In other words ‘Qualified’ indicates professional ‘competence’ to a level where the Guild is willing to recognise the photographer as an ambassador of the association , so those who achieve that level should be proud of doing so.

Our ‘Craftsman’ status is, as one would imagine, aligned to the exacting standards of a true ‘Craftsman’. Therefore to attain this level we add an increasing level of professional critique to evaluate our members work. In other words we get increasingly ‘fussy’ and look in minutiae at all the elements of photographic understanding. Those that achieve this accolade have demonstrated the finest technical skills and an exceptional creative and artistic ‘eye’.

Finally, in the same way as when a ‘Craftsman’ was granted the highest accolade of ‘Master Craftsman’ having created something truly exceptional (their ‘masterpiece’), a ‘Craftsman’ within the Guild of Photographers can only achieve the acknowledgement of being a ‘Master Craftsman’ by producing their own photographic masterpiece.

I AM THRILLED TO BE A

CRAFTSMAN SPECIALISING IN NEWBORN AND BABIES AND A

MASTERCRAFTSMAN IN PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Craftsman – Newborn and Babies

The first stage to acheiving any qualifications within the Guild of Photograhys is to submit a panel off images to be considering to be of a Qualified Status. This panel should consist of 3 images of 7 sessions/weddings to ensure your work is of a good consistancy in all arears.

Qualified Wedding Photographer

Qualified Professional Photographer

Qualified Newborn & Baby