Stephanie off to Las Vegas as she reaches final of photo competition

Stephanie off to Las Vegas as she reaches final of photo competition

6 December 2017

STEPHANIE Williamson is heading to Vegas.

With a stunning wedding shot the Newcastle photographer achieved second place in the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) competition as well as a silver award in the portrait section.

The final live show will be held in Las Vegas in February.

Stephanie’s shot of a little girl in big shoes by a hung up wedding dress was captured at the Ballydugan Mill while covering a wedding.

“It was partly chance and partly posed, a bit of both,” said Stephanie. “It’s as posed as you can get with a two year-old. Carole Headley was the bride that day and it was her daughter Tilly who was the flower girl in the photo.

“I saw the dress hanging there, I saw the light, I loved the texture of the wood and there is a beautiful shadow.”

Entitled ‘Someday’, the storytelling aspect of the photo caught the judges’ attention. But there may even be a tweak or two to come.

“They give really good feedback which is why I entered,” said Stephanie. “And if you get to a certain standard you get to go forward to the grand final.”

‘Net’ is Stephanie’s other entry to the competition. The ‘Scottish Widows’ inspired photo is of a model she met at a fashion shoot.

“It was literally a quick shoot at the end of the day,” she said.

Now in business for 12 years, Stephanie has notched up a number of awards, as a gold award winner with the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) and as a World Elite Photographers (WEP) winner this year.

In her former life Stephanie worked in sales and marketing for O2.

“When I wanted to do it I did not have any art background,” she said. “I had a business degree and fell into sales and marketing.

“Now I am doing this and I love photography, it keeps me interested.”