I’m delighted to announce that I am a finalist in two categories in the IPPVA (Irish Professional Photographers and Videographers Association) Awards for 2026.

Wedding Classic & Contemporary Photography Awards

The Wedding – Classic Category is where IPPVA members submit posed, traditional, or classic wedding photography.
The classic style focuses on taking posed shots of the couple and the group at large and involves a lot of direction from the photographer. It may not necessarily capture the emotions of the day as a whole but will give some beautiful traditional shots.
This category shows reverence to the classic wedding images of the past that are the definition of timeless.

Wedding Creative Photography Awards

Images submitted by IPPVA photographers to the Wedding – Creative category closely follows market trends or even sets new ones. Creative wedding photography is modern, contemporary, fresh, and exciting. This style of images may have many of the classic elements but also incorporates many modern and creative elements, often pushing the boundaries beyond the norm in wedding photography. Posing or client interactions may be unusual and break convention. Compositions, cropping, and styles of processing may also be key elements in an award-winning image of this type. The photographer must clearly convey their understanding of the elements of modern, creative photography and show that they have attempted to understand the genre. These images may be less about the mood of the day or the couple as characters, but instead the vision and artistic style of the photographer.

Wedding Documentary Photography Awards

Documentary wedding photography is also known as reportage or journalistic wedding photography. The aim of this type of photographic style is to document the wedding day in an unobtrusive fashion, conveying a clear narrative.  IPPVA members can only submit images that are completely undirected and had a ‘hands-off’ approach when taken.
It is imperative that documentary wedding images tell a story. This is where there is a difference between documentary and candid. There are many moments that can be captured on the fly, i.e. ‘candidly’ but this does not necessarily make it a documentary image.  The judges will be looking for a story/drama/life/emotion, looking to see that the photographer has composed the shot to include the elements needed to convey that story.