Have you ever willingly put your professional work under the scrutiny of a panel to pick apart and analyze it publicly?

I did.

Why?

Part of it, I’ll admit, is the desire for recognition for images I’m proud to have created. But more importantly, I believe that growth as a professional comes from embracing critique. While I pride myself on being easygoing, friendly, and empathetic when photographing people, I take the responsibility of capturing meaningful moments for couples and families seriously. The standards for what makes an image exceptional—impact, vision, quality, and storytelling—don’t change. It’s up to us to rise to meet them.

To me, the mark of a true professional in any industry is the commitment to constant improvement. It’s the difference between being a Line Cook and being a Chef. There’s nothing wrong with being a Line Cook, but if you aspire to be a Chef, you must always be moving forward. And the closer you get to excellence, the more you must be willing to face critique.

Having my work judged by respected professionals in a public forum was humbling. But that’s how I choose to grow.

This past Friday and Saturday, the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC) held their National Image Salon, where two panels judged approximately 700 images submitted by professionals across the country. The judging took place over Zoom and was streamed live on Facebook.

The judges didn’t know who the photographers were, and if they recognized an image, they would recuse themselves. The scoring system was as follows:

Not Accepted

Accepted

Merit

Excellence

When there was a significant difference in judges’ scores, they entered a "challenge" phase, where each judge explained their reasoning before rescoring the image. I saw images move both up and down in this process. Additionally, judges could recall images they felt strongly about later in the day.

Even though I had a rough idea of when my images would be judged, I watched about 90% of the process—on two screens at the same time. It was an eye-opening experience. Some images I thought were spectacular weren’t accepted, while others surprised me. And then, of course, there was the moment when my own images came up.

I submitted four images and received one of each rating: Not Accepted, Accepted, Merit, and Excellence. Humbled. Honored. But most importantly—learning.

For context this video is of a series of recalled images where one of my images was recalled (#90 "Kiss on the Cheek" photographed The Opinicon last summer appears at 32 minutes).

https://fb.watch/x_SVmKO40m/