F


or a small village, Hadden- ham in Buckinghamshire has a lot of photographic talent on the doorstep – from Nigel Harper to Tina Hadley. And now there’s a new door about to open, from a photographer who has never needed to door- stop anyone to get clients. Paul Wilkinson, newly en- nobled to FMPA in August, took both the Wedding Pho- tojournalism and Contempo- rary Portrait titles in the 2011 Master Photography Awards. These were not UK titles alone, but international, competing against big names familiar from FEP, WPPI and other world-class competitions. He also won 2011 Master Photography Awards UK Wedding Photographer. Yet it’s only eight years since he went full-time profes- sional and a mere three since he joined the MPA. From 2008 on his progress through the qualifications grades has been unstoppable, like his enthusiasm and capacity for work. In January, Paul formally opens the door to his new studio premises some 50 metres from the home he cur- rently works from. He’s looking forward to both the purpose converted studio and offices, and a lovely garden at the rear he can use as an outdoor studio. His portrait photography attracted some attention earlier this year for including pictures of subjects sitting with their backs to him on garden seats. This even crept into the Fellow- ship panel.


“Since I won the MPA UK


Parent and Child Photographer title three years ago, with a ‘back to front’ pose of a young family sitting on a bench by the River Thames, more and more of my clients have asked for similar portraits”, he explains.


Whether this is a trademark shot or a fun gimmick does not matter. Many photographers use heavy post-processing to brand their ‘look’ and Paul, 43, avoids this. He’ll only use processes like NIK Software’s SilverFX black and white conversion, “the closest thing to film and a darkroom” he knows. And he tends to avoid features like high-strength ‘structure’ (detail enhancing contrast masking)


MASTER PHOTOGRAPHY 17


Two couples – in Oxford, an engagement portrait for Thai clients. A picture much praised for its tonal qual- ity and composition. On the bench, child portraiture for artistically savvy customers.


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