HELLO!
YOU WILL ENTRUST THE HEART & SOUL OF YOUR FAMILY TO ME …
… SO IT’S ONLY FAIR THAT I SHARE A BIT MORE ABOUT ME FIRST …
I’m born in Canada, raised in the UK, went to university in France, and now call St Albans home. I’m mad about (and sometimes mad with) my three kids, I have an enormously patient husband who is forever supportive of my latest crackpot schemes, and we have recently added a beautiful, but rather naughty, cocker spaniel to our family.
MY PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNEY
As a child, when I stayed at my auntie’s house, I was allowed to play in her studio making movie reels with discarded sections of film. Sometimes I was even invited into her darkroom to discover the alchemy of processing film. This is where my fascination with photography as an art form started.
However, my journey didn’t always run smoothly. When I was in my 20’s I went travelling in China. Armed with my new SLR, bought with a bonus from work, I knew I would return with a glorious visual memory of my trip. Instead I collected over-exposed, insipid photos from the developers! This is the precise moment that I resolved to learn how to use my camera properly.
Why documentary?
Now, as a documentary photographer, nothing makes my heart sing more than elegantly depicting honest life stories. To capture the astounding beauty of ordinary everyday life is so powerful in a world of visual comparison. It takes my breath away when I watch clients ‘see’ themselves for the first time and understand that what they have is their ‘perfect’. You can read more about my love affair with documentary family photography here.
The fun stuff
Photography aside, I can often be found in my favourite coffee shops chatting with friends and feeding my coffee addiction, binging on Netflix box sets, trying (and usually failing) to convince my kids to come on a dog walk, crafting and baking with my girls, spending summers camping (or if we’re feeling flush, glamping) in France … and if you’re still hungry for more, here are some little known morsels from my personal story …
EXHIBITIONS
2022 Family (Un)Expected, Les Rencontres Arlès
2022 Community, Juried exhibition, Documentary Family Photographers Gallery
Life in 2021, Juried exhibition, Documentary Family Photographers Gallery
2021 Picture (im)Perfect, FMoPA, Florida, USA
2021 Transforming Perspectives, inaugural juried exhibition, Documentary Family Photographers Gallery
AWARDS
Portrait of Humanity Vol.5, British Journal of Photography, March 2023
Winner 4th Place, 10th Place & Honourable Mention, 10th International Documentary Family Awards, December 2021
Winner 1st Place, Environmental Portrait category, Voice Collection 2021
Winner 2nd Place & Honourable Mention, Teenager category, 9th International Documentary Family Awards, June 2021
2021 Shortlisted for the Sony Alpha Female Award, the World Photography Organisation
2021 Shortlisted for the British Photography Awards in the Documentary category
Winner 1st Place & 9th Place, Pandemic category, 8th International Documentary Family Awards, October 2020
Winner 1st Place Best Overall Award, 7th International Documentary Family Awards, May 2020
Judges Choice Award, 7th International Documentary Family Awards, May 2020
Winner 1st Place Award, Environmental Portrait category, 7th International Documentary Family Awards, May 2020
Winner 1st Place Award, Environmental Portrait category, 6th International Documentary Family Awards, December 2019
Voice Collection 2019 finalist, ‘Her’ category, November 2019
Honourable mention, Nothing is better than real life category, 5th International Documentary Family Awards, August 2019
Winner 2nd place, Cell category, 4th International Documentary Family Awards, April 2019
EVENTS & PODCASTS
October 2021 – Shoot Edit Chat Repeat Podcast interview, episode #86 Finding the perfect style of photography for you
September 2021 – live discussion panel ‘Real is the new perfect’ at The Photography Show with colleagues from Made for Documentary.
May 2021 – This is Reportage Family Podcast, episode #76
May 2021 – closing panel discussion at Phlock Live with colleagues from Made For Documentary about the documentary family photography genre.
March 2021 – presented a live session about documentary family photography and the art of capturing real life with colleagues from Made for Documentary at The Photography Show Spring Shoots Virtual Festival.
2021 – Artist Story presentation at the Atelier hosted by For the Love of the Photograph.
October 2019 – jury panelist of the International Inspiration Awards.
PRINT PUBLICATIONS
Click Magazine, Best photos of the Year, Winter 2022 issue
‘Natural Family Photography’, Digital Photographer Magazine, issue 238
‘The Power of Family and Moment’, Marie Claire Hungary, December 2020
Published in Sweet Paul Magazine, Winter 2019
Click Magazine, Best photos of the Year, November/December 2019 issue
Dear Photographer Magazine, The black & white special edition, August 2018
Cover of Juno magazine Winter 2017
ONLINE FEATURES
Aiming for Authenticity, Tooled Up Education, November 2021
Beyond the Frame: Emma Collins, World Photography Organisation, July 2021
‘The Power of Family and Moment’, Marie Claire Hungary, December 2020
‘Behind the scenes of Voice’ article, Click Magazine Online, December 2019
ShareSix, Image of the month 2018, January 2019
The best images of 2018 , Dear Photographer Magazine + Community, January 2019
Guest interview on ShareSix, June 2018
Featured artist ‘urban theme’ on ShareSix, May 2018
CONTACT
+44 (0)7968 701934
hello@emmacollinsphotography.co.uk
LOCATIONS
I photograph in homes and on location across Hertfordshire, London, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and the South East, including St Albans, Harpenden, Cambridge, Wheathampstead, Berkhamsted, Tring, Rickmansworth, Bishop’s Stortford, Hitchin, Letchworth.
I also regularly travel to photoshoots in Central London and North London, including Hampstead, St John’s Wood, Primrose Hill, Muswell Hill, Marylebone, Kensington, Clapham, Chiswick. I have photographed families all over the UK and around the world, including Canada, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Singapore, please enquire for travel expenses.
