HAPPY to roll in dirt or stand in water to get a better picture, an Edgewater photographer is celebrating silver-lined success after entering his first awards.
Tyler Brown (29) won five silver medals at the WA AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) Epson State Photography Awards on June 2.
Three of the medals were in the weddings category, one in illustrative and one in the self-commissioning portrait category, which was shot on film.
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READ NOW“I know everyone says this, but I really didn’t expect it,” Mr Brown said.
“It is the first awards that I have entered my work and I was really just looking for industry feedback.
“My images have been getting a really positive response from my wedding clients, friends, family and social media followers, but peer review is a really important part of creative development and this is really what I was aiming to gain from the awards.”
Following his success in the AIPP state awards, Mr Brown now qualifies for entry into the national awards.
“I will continue to focus on weddings as that’s where I really get to pour my heart out,” he said.
“Exploring my personal style, with creative portraiture and the use of geometric shapes, continues to give me an extended creative outlet.”
His creative view towards wedding photography is centred on finding natural light, genuine expressions, darker exposures and symmetrical framing of the subject.
“I’ll climb trees, roll in dirt or stand knee-deep in a pond to create a unique perspective,” he said.
From full-time manufacturing production manager to full-time wedding photographer, Mr Brown is a largely self-taught artist who credits his success to endless hours of online research and a priceless informal mentoring from James Simmons.
“I was always drawn to photography, however it just never felt accessible,” he said.
Mr Brown had early doubts about giving up his day job to focus on photography full-time, but a life-changing wedding gave him the fire he needed to take the leap.
“I had no idea I would get into wedding photography until some close friends asked my wife and I to shoot their wedding,” he said.
“The groom was suffering from terminal brain cancer and the joy I gave the couple through my photos was palpable.”