CLOSE UP: Emma Boyns, Shutter Hub Membership Bursary Recipient

slice of layered cake on pink and red background

Shutter Hub member and bursary recipient Emma Boyns is a freelance food photographer working in London, previously as BBC Good Food’s House Photographer.

She has a first-class honours degree in Editorial and Advertising Photography. In 2017 she won the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year BBC Good Food Fresh Talent Award and has had three short films highly commended in the same competition. Emma has also been a finalist in several others, including the Travel Photographer of the Year Awards.

Clients include well-known companies such as Deliveroo and Accor Hotels, as well as independent brands and businesses, including Silo, Alt., Caiger and Co. and Indie Bay. Emma has experience creating editorial and advertising content for both print and digital platforms, as well as planning and shooting for social media accounts.

I’ve been really grateful to have been a part of the Shutter Hub community throughout this year and since being a recipient of a membership bursary. The platform has allowed me to find inspiration from other photographers, both through their portfolios on the site and the “closer look” blog posts, as well as helping me find the latest opportunities for me to promote my work, within Shutter Hub and in the broader photographic industry. I was delighted to be included in the YEARBOOK online exhibition in the Summer and it was great seeing such a high quality of varied work alongside my own.

At the beginning of lockdown commissions completely dried up for me, so I focussed on a personal project, styling and shooting recipes from an online patisserie course. This helped build my portfolio and keep my creativity flowing, as well as having something other than banana bread to eat!

brown cake with a slice cut on a beige baking paper

round cake seen from aboce with a slice cut

Continuing some sort of work ethic also helped when commissions started to trickle in more recently, and I’ve absolutely loved adapting my set-up to be able to shoot from home and create content that clients still desperately need to keep their brands’ online presence up, such as the pretzel snack company Indie Bay. My housemates never thought they’d be recruited as hand models before Covid!

jar with cookies on an orange and purple background

I’ve gained some new clients and safely ventured into the studio between lockdowns to shoot some festive recipes for The Unbelievable Alt., which reminded me how brilliant it is to work with a team, even if it was still remotely.

I was also commissioned to shoot the new menu for EL&N which was the most pink/floral shoot I’ve done and added a burst of colour to my portfolio.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve started to have more commissions coming in which is great, and I’m also really enjoying planning test shoots and potential entries for some of the competitions and exhibitions listed on the site.

See Emma’s Shutter Hub portfolio here to find out more about her work, visit her website here or find her on Instagram and Twitter.

Not a Shutter Hub member yet? Join here for opportunities to promote your work online and in exhibitions, access selected opportunities, events, seminars and workshops, meet up and share photographic experiences, and become part of our growing community…

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