The Artist

Welcome. I’m Sian Shipley, a multi award winning photographic artist and proud holder of Master Craftsman status with The Guild of Photographers.

I’m a St Albans based mum of two young boys, Jake and Ethan, and like many female photographers it was becoming a mum that started my photographic journey. My first camera was a gift from my husband when I was expecting Jake and it transformed my life.

I’d always felt a need to be create but hadn’t found a creative outlet that I was good at. I’d always been employed in roles that were technical or mathematical but never truly felt settled. Discovering photography was like finding a part of myself that had been missing and I threw myself headfirst into learning, improving and perfecting my photography skills. Today I am proud to be able to describe myself as a successful professional portrait photographer and a talented photographic artist.

The Inspiration

I love to spend time outdoors so it’s no great surprise that my photographic art is almost always inspired by nature. I’m constantly pushing my technical and creative skills to create beautiful fine art photographs that celebrate the often overlooked beauty of the nature that surrounds us. My photographs are rarely planned, I like to go out with my camera and seek opportunities to create my signature style of photographic art. Once I’ve found a location with great light I’m happy to patiently wait for the right photo opportunity.

Through my photography I highlight the delicate, colourful and intricate beauty of butterfly wings, I study the shape and form of ordinary flowers and create artistic interpretations of them, I photograph common birds and animals and present them in my own unique style.

Master Craftsman

With the basics of photography mastered I was keen to develop my skills further and begin to create images that were artistic, skilfully taken and well crafted. I joined the Guild of Photographers and very quickly began to win highly coveted silver and gold awards in their competitions. After submitting two sets of work to be reviewed by their qualification panel, one in portraiture and one in nature, I was proud to be awarded Qualified Status for both sets of work.

Focusing on my passion for nature photography I worked to enhance my skills and elevate my images beyond photographs to become artistic interpretations of my own view of the world around us. In May 2017 I presented a collection of my fine art nature photography to a panel of highly acclaimed photographic judges and was overjoyed to be awarded the status of “Craftsman of The Guild of Professional Photographers”. In February 2018, I was awarded the highest accolade of “Master Craftsman of the Guild of Professional Photographers”, after submitting a panel of 20 beautiful butterflies.