UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 13 SEPTEMBER 2016
For a second year in a row, a student from the Birmingham City University’s Visual Communications - Photography – BA (Hons) course has achieved a highly respected industry award. Nina Baillie has been announced as the winner of this year’s Association of Photographer (AOP) Student Awards in the ‘People’ category.
Taking place at The Print Space Gallery in Shoreditch, this award ceremony gives students the opportunity to showcase their hard work to industry leading professionals.
Nina triumphed over 20 other finalists in her category, with the award being judged by James Eckersley, an established portrait and advertising photographer with an impressive client portfolio including Time magazine, GQ magazine and Samsung among others.
Speaking of her delight at winning the award, Nina said: “I am extremely flattered by the award, as often I have self-esteem issues with my work and I am overly critical as it is all so personal. This award has given me the needed affirmation and given me the confidence to continue with my career.”
Nina’s success at the 2016 awards follows in the footsteps of Kirstin Barnes, another Birmingham City University VisCom Photography graduate. At the 2015 AOP student awards, Kirstin’s photograph earned overall best in show, beating 60 other finalists to win the title.
Nina’s former teacher Ravi Deepres a Professor in Moving Image and Photography, celebrated her success, stating that “Myself and the Photography team are extremely proud of the work Nina has created and are equally as excited about the promising future she has ahead of her. We applied the same [teaching] principles to Kirsten Barnes who also won the award last year so we are thrilled to have yet another very deserving winner”
Speaking about her time at the University Nina said that:
Nina referenced her tutor Ravi Deepres’ teaching style as a contributor to her success: “I had many thoughts and ideas and Ravi helped to hone in on one idea and push that idea as far as it could go. He was able to provide boundaries and structure but gave me enough space to grow.”
Nina is already beginning to advance her career by working on a BBC2 film with choreographer and director Wayne McGregor, alongside three other recent Birmingham City University graduates.