We are proud to announce that former LSP student Jessica Jager has won the 2017 Wedisson award for best wedding photography with her photo of a couple on the beach. Here, she talks about her love of photography, and breaking into and succeeding in a very competitive but at the same time rewarding market.

This image is from a sunset beach photo shoot, which is easily the most relaxed and fun shoot I’ve ever done

“My earliest memories of photography were of my beloved granddad and his obsession of all things photography. Wherever we went granddad was sure to take his favourite Leica camera along. Apart from his landscape and nature shots, he would take countless images of us kids. I loved it when I was allowed to watch him develop his photos in his make-shift darkroom. To this day I treasure the beautiful albums with his images, which tell the story of our childhood.

Photography has therefore always been a part of my life, but it was only a number of years ago that I decided to buy a professional camera and study photography. My journey began with LSP when I enrolled for the inaugural part-time professional photography course.

This was one of my LSP exhibition photos and it was challenging to get right. It is one exposure only during which the flash fired multiple times. It took hours to get a decent image and needless to say, my lovely model had quite a few dizzy spells!!

We learned loads and also had a lot of fun over the period of the course, which culminated in an exhibition for which we had to push ourselves out of our comfort zone to produce something unique. The whole process of bringing an idea to life, then shooting and printing it and having it as part of an exhibition was an incredible experience and we all had an amazing evening.

To this day I am still in touch with some fellow students and lecturers alike, which is lovely.

I continued my studies the following year and started concentrating on engagement, wedding and family photography and for quite a while I was juggling my photography with my day job. Last year I finally took the plunge and became a full-time photographer.

This image is from an engagement shoot on a cold and wet November afternoon. It was so dull and dreary, but we still ended up with some great photos.

Making the decision to give up a career I had for most of my working life was the scariest move ever, but also the most rewarding one. My life is a happier one all round. I’m not going to pretend it’s easy, because it’s not, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you have a dream and a passion, then go for it and you will succeed!

My Details: Website: www.jessicajager.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/jessicajagerphotography

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/jessicajagerphoto