A combination of Chen’s three award-winning photographs.
Irene Chen
KUCHING: Sarawakian photographer Irene Chen has won three Silver Awards at the 2016 Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) Annual Print Competition in Las Vegas, the United States.
The competition is part of the WPPI Wedding & Portrait Photography Conference and Expo, an industry event for photographers and film-makers specialising in wedding and portrait photography and filmmaking.
Chen, who is based in Kuala Lumpur, won the awards for unique portraits she captured of newborn babies.
“I am simply elated that my work has been recognised internationally. Winning the Silver Award means so much as the annual WPPI is one of the most respected portrait photography competitions in the world,” she told thesundaypost yesterday.
“It is so rewarding already to have my work appreciated by friends and parents, but it’s a different kind of awesome to know it can stand amongst the world’s best work in newborn photography.”
Chen’s love for photography began just six years ago and she was immediately drawn to capturing “the blossoms of new lives”.
“There is something so magical about it – the beautiful curves of the expectant bellies and precious few days of a newborn,” she said.
The St Mary’s School Kuching alumnus explained that a lot of thought and passion is poured into each shoot.
“I find a lot of joy in creating beautiful images and in each session, I strive to push the boundaries a little, experimenting with something different each time,” she said.
For one of the award-winning photos involving an eight-dayold boy, the idea of wrapping him in two Heliconia leaves was spontaneous.
“Before departing for the shoot, I thought why not grab a couple of leaves from my garden and let’s see how we can use it during the session.
I almost left the session without using the leaves and spotted them in a corner as I was about to pack up.
“Then I thought hey let’s use them so that the leaves did not give up their lives for nothing. We laid the leaves on the dining table of my client and voila, it turned out to be my top image of all time,” she explained.
WPPI 2016 took place on March 3-10 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Each year, nearly 13,000 professional photographers and aspiring photographers attend WPPI to learn new techniques for industry leaders.
A family portrait of loving siblings.