You have probably seen the Photo London student award winner Cieran Jay Forster in a few places since his success at the Photo London Fair in May. His images were featured in the UK National Press and subsequently on the Hahnemühle stand at Photopia Hamburg. He can also be found on the guestlist at the Unit X event with British GQ! As part of winning the Photo London x Hahnemühle student award, Cieran had the opportunity to spend a few days at the Hahnemühle paper mill in Germany to find out more about Hahnemühle’s history, Digital Fine Art offering and gain an insight into the paper making process. Lucinda Waller, Business Partner Manager for Hahnemühle UK Ltd, takes a deep dive into Cieran’s journey since Photo London.
What was your personal highlight of your visit to Hahnemühle’s production site?
I am so grateful to Hahnemühle CEO Jan Wolfe, to have given his time to sit, have lunch and take a genuine interest in the things I had to say. He obviously cares about photographers and it’s really refreshing to get support at this level. I also thought the paper process was fascinating; following the journey from fibre to sheet was really informative.
What part of this trip do you think has benefitted your career the most?
This trip has benefitted me hugely in a number of ways – expanding my fine art printing knowledge, understanding the Hahnemühle Digital Fine Art paper range and the impact on a creatives work – but I think the standout for me personally are understanding the recent developments of the Hahnemühle My Art Registry program. I would love to be involved in this project and I will definitely be using the service throughout my career. It is a simple and well-structured service that offers photographers a quick and easy way of authenticating their prints using Certificates and serialised holographic stickers.
How did you find the experience of exhibiting at Photo London in May?
It was great and a fantastic way to build relationships with other photographers in a similar field and really boosted my career in a way I didn’t expect. From the awards evening alone I gained 400 followers on Instagram and even made the first sale of my images! As if winning wasn’t enough, the whole experience was a catalyst of my success this year.
What were your top 3 takeaways that had the biggest impact on your career?
Confidence! (He said without pause). Fiona Sheilds presence alone was huge. To have The Guardian’s Head of Photography at the awards was a real pinch me moment; this event is seriously turning heads.
My relationship with Hahnemühle Gold Certified Studio, Lucid Imaging. Denise Ebanks, the studio owner, was kind, knowledgeable and efficient when printing all the finalists work. She made us feel very welcome and walked everyone through the printing process with patience and expertise. I have worked with Denise since Photo London and is who I go to for all my fine art printing needs now.
Photo London also gave me a good insight into the chain reaction process of becoming a successful photographer. I got to follow the journey of my images from print, authentication (Certificates of Authenticity and My Art Registry), portfolio to sale.
Do you have any words of wisdom for next year’s Photo London entrants?
Get a second opinion on your image choice. I would advise next year’s hopefuls to create their own shortlist of around 10 images and show them to everyone you can – lecturers, parents, friends, strangers! Everyone has a different angle, and it will give you a much wider understanding of how your images will be received.
The Hahnemühle x Photo London Student Award has re-opened for entries for the 2024 award. For further details on how to enter, please visit the Photo London website https://photolondon.org/photo-london-x-hahnemuhle-student-award-returns/
For a full listing of the esteemed judging panel for this years award visit here.
For further details on Hahnemühle UK certified studios or for a full listing of Digital Fine Art resellers please visit www.hahnemuehle.co.uk
