Student of the Year 2018

Greetings Photoion students and photography fans.

It’s the holiday period and what better time to start a new tradition! We are sure you are all familiar with our Student of the Month articles where we celebrate our students successes.

Well, this year we decided we were going to go one step further and select a Student of the Year! Our students are constantly inspiring us with their achievements and talents, and we wanted to showcase one student who has really shined in 2018. The student of the year also walks away with a £150 voucher to use on any of our courses.

The Student of the Year 2018 is Edina Szabo, who you may remember as student of the month for February 2018.

When we contacted Edina, she couldn’t believe it!

(c) Edina Szabo

(c) Edina Szabo

“A few days ago, I have received an email from Photoion Photography School that I have been selected as a Student of the Year for 2018! Have I what?? I was shocked and speechless. I had to read the email a couple more times to understand what just happened. I cannot express how happy and grateful I was. It is such an honour to be chosen as the Student of the Year.”

We based our decision on who would be student of the year on a few different criteria:

1. Hard Work.

We wanted to celebrate someone who puts in the work and shows positivity and willingness to learn, and Edna certainly met that criteria!

2. Their Loyalty to the Photoion school.

We wanted to celebrate students that had attended multiple courses with us and who we had seen advance over the year.

Edina said “Ion and Tatiana are such fantastic people and I cannot be thankful enough to them for their constant support and encouragement. In their school, you feel like you are home. They always have enough time and encouraging words, feedback to every single student.”

3. Determination, dedication and consistency. As well as persistence, practice, and passion.

Edina was determined to improve from the start of her journey with us.

(c) Edina Szabo

(c) Edina Szabo

“It was January and I started with their 2 days Beginner Course. I have to say it was such an intense 2 days and finally, I have managed to put tougher the missing pieces in “my puzzle”. Everything became finally clear and started to see the world differently. Even my husband noticed the difference just after the first 2 days. I could not wait to continue. I wanted to learn more and more, improve and collect more knowledge and new skills. I kept practising as much as I could even when thousands of photos came very badly out of my camera.”

We asked Edina to talk about how her life has changed since she took up photography and attended our first course with us.

(c) Edina Szabo

“Since I have started my journey with Ion and Tatiana, my life has completely changed. I clearly remember my first workshop with Ion. I was so nervous as I did not know what to expect. This course was my last chance as I was about to give up photography and keep it just as a hobby. So, I enrolled their Long-Term Photography Course to see whether I have a place amongst the pro photographers. In February, just one month after my first steps, I was chosen the Photography Student of the Month February 2018! That meant a lot to me and I slowly started to believe that I could become a professional photographer one day.

(c) Edina Szabo

(c) Edina Szabo

I finished my last session with Ion and Tatiana in March. Since then I never stopped practising and I am currently prepared to start my own photography business and become a professional. In the beginning, I tried to find “easy” subjects that I could photograph. I set up a home studio and started with still life such as grapes, vase, cooking ingredients etc. Then my husband and I travelled and took photos of animals in Safaris, Zoos and Parks like Richmond Park. I was just over the moon when I was able to use all the knowledge and skills what I learnt from Ion. I was also able to pass these skills to my husband, too. Then I moved to other subjects such as children, family and portraits. I love capturing expressions, feelings and emotions. I am interested in Fine Art and Studio Portraits. I have a lot of ideas and projects in my mind, so I am currently working hard to make these happen one day.

(c) Edina Szabo

I must tell that photography is hard work. I have very good days when I am proud of my work and I have very bad ones when I feel I can give up everything. You need new ideas and new projects all the time, try to be unique etc. You also need space, you need financial support and so many other things to make it happen.  Building up your own business is extremely hard work. It will not happen from one day to another. There are a lot of things you need to be aware of and you must be prepared. I took Ion’s advice and doing everything step by step. This is what I love about this School. They never forced you to buy expensive cameras and lenses, never pushed you to quit your job and start your photography business straight away. They have warned constantly warned us about the difficulties and always have given advice what we need to do in order to achieve our goals. I truly believe that we need to listen what others, even masters and professionals are trying to say as they all have the experience and knowledge and they have all been on the same path as we are.

(c) Edina Szabo

So, at this stage of my life, I am working hard to start my professional business, I am currently building up my portfolio, my website and creating all the paperwork in order to be able to start working as a part-time professional at the beginning of next year. And the most important thing I have started to believe in myself!  I truly believe that all the hard work will pay off one day. I cannot wait to start.

“Don’t’ shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like” David Alan Harvey

Thank you for your time and reading my story and thanks again to Photoion School, Ion and Tatiana and as Ion always says: Keep up the good work.”