Sitting at the gas station, checking my emails while on vacation I received the most wonderful news, I had won 1st place in a photography competition! Two reasons I was surprised: one, I have never entered a photography competition before, I did it to get feedback on my photography skills, not anticipating anything more than that. Two, I was up against some really great photographers! I have been a member of NAPCP (National Association of Professional Child Photographers) for about a year now, it’s a growing organization with some really talented members. They were holding this competition and I thought why not? I’m always looking to learn and grow so to get feedback from judges would be really helpful. There were five categories you could enter into: humor, connection, celebration, innocence and joy. Right away I decided to enter the below photo. I had taken it recently and I knew it just breathed ‘innocence’. When I look at it I just feel peace so I was hoping the judges would see that as well. We were judged upon technical merit, creativity and composition, and impact. Click here to see the other amazing photos that won in their categories. Parents, NAPCP has a great blog that is so helpful if you’re thinking about booking a photography session, already have or need help on what to do with your photos. Their latest article gives some great tips on preparing your family for your photography session, click here to check it out.