Canberra photographer Lori Cicchini has been announced as the ACT’s Top Professional Illustrative Photographer of the Year – for the fourth consecutive year.

Top professional photographers in the state gathered in Canberra recently for the AIPP ACT Epson Professional Photography Awards presentation dinner at The Loft in O’Connor.

The awards are run annually in every state by the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) – the country’s largest photographic membership body.  This year the two day judging was held in Canberra at the CIT in Reid, and the event attracted an audience both with the AIPP nationally but also the public both visiting the venue and watching the live stream online.

Lori said she started her business a few short years ago in fashion and creative portraiture when she “jumped in the deep end with my camera and crazy ideas”.

“I love bringing together an idea formulated specifically for my clients, whether it’s based on a brief or sometimes they just give me full reign and let me just explore the potentials,” she said.

“I just love it so much, I get to meet the most extraordinary people every day each with their own unique story to tell, this is where my imagination goes wild, seeking ways to capture that story in a single image.”

For the awards, a panel of experts anonymously assesses the finalists in each category to determine the overall state winner. Innovation, content, creativity, technical excellence and impact are the key criteria when the images are reassessed.

This year, the awards were peer-judged anonymously over the course of two days by some of Australia’s most recognised photographers.

The state awards also act as a stepping stone to the country’s largest national awards for professional print photography called the APPAs (the Australian Professional Photography Awards).