April 21, 2016

Kellie McCann, Hilton Head Island, SC Photographer Awarded Scholarship

Hilton Head Photographer Kellie McCann was awarded the Lamarr Williamson Print Competition Scholarship at the 2016 Professional Photographers of South Carolina Annual Print Competition.  This award is given to the highest-scoring first-year entrant.  This scholarship entitles Kellie to free tuition in one of the four-day Lamarr Williamson School of Photography classes being held September 18-22, 2016 in Columbia, SC.

The Lamarr School is a Professional Photographers of America Affiliate School providing premier continuing education to professional photographers. 

Kellie has chosen to attend Tim Kelly’s class – Creating and Marketing Today’s Fine Art Portraiture.  Portrait artist and photographer, Tim Kelly has been leading the way in the photographic portrait industry for decades, while at the same time remaining uniquely alone in his marketplace.  Bringing his techniques and artistic insights to professional photographers at Affiliate Schools for over 25 years, Tim has literally trained many of today’s most successful photographers and industry leaders. This opportunity simply is a rare one.

John Herrel – Director

Lamarr Williamson School of Photography

I am a bit behind on this announcement as this Hilton Head photographer has been busy with family beach portraits on Hilton Head.  But I am truly honored to receive this recognition for my portraits, all of which were created on a past trip to Nicaragua...a project that I have been pursuing for the past four years of documenting what I call “Life at the Landfill”.

These images are part of a personal project, a topic that is close to my heart and one that I am very passionate about.  Many days here at home…my thoughts go back to the people that I have met in this small rural landfill in the countryside of Nicaragua…I wonder what they are doing…and long to be back with them.  Sometimes my thoughts are triggered by just by the simple passing by of a garbage truck…and I am sidetracked wondering how and when I will get back there to continue this story and create beautiful portraits.

Yes, I hang out in the middle of a toxic wasteland and simply am intrigued at how this group of people survives.  Many I have photographed multiple times, over the past few years.  Some of the children I photographed three years ago are still in the dump scavenging through the trash with their parents.  I wonder how many years I will see them there…will they ever have the opportunity to leave the dump…or is this the only life they will ever know.  

Not the easiest portraits to create; literally in the midst of medical waste, rotten food, smoldering toxic fires and packs of wild dogs that are possibly rabid.  But I hope to get back there again at least once, if not twice this year to press on and make stronger connections with those that I have met and photographed over the past four years.

This is truly a passion that I can not let go of...one that consumes me on a regular basis.  Some days it is hard to be a Hilton Head Photographer as I long to be back in the Third World.

This is only the second print competition I have entered (the first was 2015 IPC; two portraits were accepted into the Permanent Loan Collection and one accepted into the General Collection).

For the PPSC print competition, I entered 8 images, 5 of which (as seen above) merited with a score of 80 or above.  I am honored to receive the scholarship as only one is available annually.

Print competition is based on the 12 elements (see below).  My images are a combination of my experience as a working Photojournalist with a mix of my portrait and lighting skills.  

Unlike other portraits in print competition, my images are not contrived.  I photograph the subjects as I find them.  I may enter in OCF (off camera flash), but I am never asking much of my subjects or posing them.  Just watching and waiting for the right moment to happen in front of my lens.  

Now if you are interested in what makes a Merit Image...

The Photographic Exhibitions Committee (PEC) of PPA uses the 12 elements below as the “gold standard” to define a merit image. PEC trains judges to be mindful of these elements when judging images to the PPA merit level and to be placed in the International Print Exhibit at Imaging USA, the annual convention. The use of these 12 elements connects the modern practice of photography and its photographers to the historical practice of photography begun nearly two centuries ago.

Twelve elements have been defined as necessary for the success of an art piece or image. Any image, art piece, or photograph will reveal some measure of all twelve elements while a visually superior example will reveal obvious consideration of each one.
The Twelve elements listed below are in accordance to their importance.

1. Impact is the sense one gets upon viewing an image for the first time. Compelling images evoke laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder or another intense emotion. There can be impact in any of these twelve elements.
2. Technical excellence is the print quality of the image itself as it is presented for viewing. Retouching, manipulation, sharpness, exposure, printing, mounting, and correct color are some items that speak to the qualities of the physical print.
3. Creativity is the original, fresh, and external expression of the imagination of the maker by using the medium to convey an idea, message or thought.
4. Style is defined in a number of ways as it applies to a creative image. It might be defined by a specific genre or simply be recognizable as the characteristics of how a specific artist applies light to a subject. It can impact an image in a positive manner when the subject matter and the style are appropriate for each other, or it can have a negative effect when they are at odds.
5. Composition is important to the design of an image, bringing all of the visual elements together in concert to express the purpose of the image. Proper composition holds the viewer in the image and prompts the viewer to look where the creator intends. Effective composition can be pleasing or disturbing, depending on the intent of the image maker.
6. Presentation affects an image by giving it a finished look. The mats and borders used, either physical or digital, should support and enhance the image, not distract from it.
7. Color Balance supplies harmony to an image. An image in which the tones work together, effectively supporting the image, can enhance its emotional appeal. Color balance is not always harmonious and can be used to evoke diverse feelings for effect.
8. Center of Interest is the point or points on the image where the maker wants the viewer to stop as they view the image. There can be primary and secondary centers of interest. Occasionally there will be no specific center of interest, when the entire scene collectively serves as the center of interest.
9. Lighting--the use and control of light--refers to how dimension, shape and roundness are defined in an image. Whether the light applied to an image is manmade or natural, proper use of it should enhance an image.
10. Subject Matter should always be appropriate to the story being told in an image.
11. Technique is the approach used to create the image. Printing, lighting, posing, capture, presentation media, and more are part of the technique applied to an image.
12. Story Telling refers to the image’s ability to evoke imagination. One beautiful thing about art is that each viewer might collect his own message or read her own story in an image.

Hilton Head Photographers Kellie McCann Photography specializes in high-end family beach portraits, child & high school senior portraits as well as professional Headshots in her Bluffton photography studio location.

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