AIBP

Only 2 Days till the Evoto AI Launch Event!

AIBP President Shawn Black will be in NYC for the event, but you can join live on YouTube and get a first look at what’s coming next.

He attended last year as well and can tell you what they unveiled was game changing so we can’t wait to see what they drop this year!

Sept 22, 1:00 PM ET

Register here:
https://www.evoto.ai/launch26?_uuid=pbv3usce&sId=yaqsa99y

The AIBP September Education Roundtable with Nino Batista is LIVE now, come join the conversation!

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: AIBP September Educational Webinar With Nino Batista. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: AIBP September Educational Webinar With Nino Batista. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

Don't Forget to Join Us Today for September's AIBP Educational Roundtable with Nino Batista!

Join us on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/jwH_o2TESYOCrNvsanqpoQ

Today Thursday 9/17 3PM EST/12PM PST

OVER $3000 IN CASH PRIZES

AIBP VISIONARY AWARDS 2026
ENTER TODAY: www.aibpvisionaryawards.com

Compete for recognition, industry honors, and your share of more than $3,000 in cash prizes, the only cash awards offered in a bo***ir-specific image competition.

The AIBP Visionary Awards are an inspirational and educational photography competition open to all professionals, novices, and hobbyists who photograph bo***ir. AIBP believes that pushing ourselves through competition helps us excel in the art of photography and in our ability to offer the highest standard of empowering bo***ir experiences to our clients.

To level the playing field we have built the competition to separate commissioned vs no-commissioned work which eliminates a subconscious bias in judging.

We have assembled a judging panel Cat Ford-Coates, Christina Meerloo-Cusick, Will Cadena, Monica Olvera, Craig Lamere, Zsanee Gaines, Karen Bagley, Lori Unruh Poole, and Shawn Black, that are highly qualified to adjudicate this genre.

And lastly we have included enough subcategories so that images are competing against like images.

We are proud to have the support of our amazing sponsors which are growing daily providing an incredible pool of prizes for our winners. Bay Photo Lab, Seven Rubies, Zno, SlickPic, and Geekoto!

And lastly, we’re incredibly psyched to raise the stakes this year by offering something never before seen in a bo***ir-focused image competition: CASH PRIZES!

ENTER NOW: www.aibpvisionaryawards.com

September AIBP Educational Webinar with Nino Batista

Staying in the Game: When Being a Creative Gets F***** Hard!

Join us for a Round Table Discussion where we skip the marketing talk.

No funnels. No ads. No social media strategies. No five steps to filling your calendar.

Instead, we'll talk about the person who has to keep going when none of that s**t is working, or isn’t working YET.

After nearly 18 years as a professional photographer and almost 30 years as a self-employed creative, Nino has experienced incredible highs and some genuinely frightening lows. And when your livelihood is tied to something you create, business struggles can become personal struggles REALLY fast.

A bad month makes you question your work. A bad season makes you question your business, your decisions, and sometimes whether any of this s**t is worth it anymore.
So let’s talk about THAT.

How do you stay mentally and creatively grounded when you’re legitimately scared about the future? How do you separate the success of your business from your worth as an artist? How do you handle rejection, comparison, uncertainty, and exhaustion while still finding a reason to create?

This won't be a cheesy motivational speech, and Nino is definitely not going to tell you everything magically works out if you just believe in yourself hard enough.

Sometimes things are genuinely s**tty.

This is an honest conversation about surviving those periods, supporting ourselves and each other through them, and keeping the struggle from stealing the part of photography that made us fall in love with it in the first place.

And most importantly, Nino want to hear from YOU. Your fears. Your frustrations. Your concerns. The s**t we’re usually afraid to say out loud.

Let’s talk about it.

Join us this Thursday 9/17 3pm EST/12pm PST
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/jwH_o2TESYOCrNvsanqpoQ

AIBP VISIONARY AWARDS 2026

ENTER TODAY: www.aibpvisionaryawards.com

Compete for recognition, industry honors, and your share of more than $3,000 in cash prizes, the only cash awards offered in a bo***ir-specific image competition.

The AIBP Visionary Awards are an inspirational and educational photography competition open to all professionals, novices, and hobbyists who photograph bo***ir. AIBP believes that pushing ourselves through competition helps us excel in the art of photography and in our ability to offer the highest standard of empowering bo***ir experiences to our clients.

To level the playing field we have built the competition to separate commissioned vs no-commissioned work which eliminates a subconscious bias in judging. We have assembled a judging panel Cat Ford-Coates, Christina Meerloo-Cusick, Will Cadena, Monica Olvera, Craig Lamere, Zsanee Gaines, Karen Bagley, Lori Unruh Poole, and Shawn Black, that are highly qualified to adjudicate this genre. And lastly we have included enough subcategories so that images are competing against like images.

We are proud to have the support of our amazing sponsors which are growing daily providing an incredible pool of prizes for our winners. Bay Photo Lab, Seven Rubies, Zno, SlickPic, and Geekoto!

And lastly, we’re incredibly psyched to raise the stakes this year by offering something never before seen in a bo***ir-focused image competition: CASH PRIZES!

ENTER NOW: www.aibpvisionaryawards.com

A career in photography isn’t a straight line.

It changes as we change. Our interests shift. Our work evolves. Sometimes we push forward, and sometimes we return to the things that first made us want to create.

Throughout our August Member Spotlight, Allana Taranto of Modern Muse shares a career shaped by curiosity, connection, trust, and a willingness to keep exploring.

If you haven’t had a chance to read Allana’s feature yet, spend a little time getting to know the photographer behind these images through her conversation with writer Jacqueline Tobin.

Read the complete August Member Spotlight:
https://aibphotog.com/blog/member-spotlight-august-2026/

Member Spotlight • Bo***ir Photography • Photographer Stories • AIBP

MEET THE JUDGES | Shawn Black

Rounding out our judging panel for the 2026 AIBP Visionary Awards is AIBP President and owner Shawn Black.

As both a longtime bo***ir photographer and the person behind the continued development of the Visionary Awards, Shawn brings a perspective to the panel rooted not only in creating award-winning imagery, but in his commitment to elevating bo***ir photography as an art form and pushing the genre forward within the photography industry.

Known for his dramatic lighting and bold, editorial approach to bo***ir, Shawn has spent his career challenging many of the traditional expectations of what bo***ir imagery is supposed to look like. That same philosophy has shaped his approach to education, competition, and his leadership of AIBP.

Since acquiring AIBP in 2021, a major focus of his work has been creating more opportunities for bo***ir photographers to learn, compete, earn recognition, and have their work taken seriously throughout the greater photographic industry.

The Visionary Awards are an extension of that mission, celebrating not one particular style of bo***ir, but the incredible range of artistry, creativity, storytelling, technical excellence, and individuality that exists throughout our genre.

And above all, Shawn believes the strongest images are the ones where photographers aren’t simply trying to recreate someone else’s work, but are developing a voice that is unmistakably their own.

Meet 2026 AIBP Visionary Awards Judge Shawn Black…

Shawn Black is an international award winning bo***ir photographer, author, and educator from Boston, Massachusetts. He has also been the owner and president of AIBP (Association of International Bo***ir Photographers) since 2021.

Shawn is best known for the dramatic lighting and editorial look of his images which has made him one of the most recognized photographers in the genre. He has written for and had his work featured across the top industry publications such as Rangefinder and Professional Photographer magazines.

While being behind the camera creating will always be his first love, he has always been passionate about pushing the genre forward and educating which is why in 2021 he acquired and became president of AIBP. This move has allowed him to further advocate and educate for the bo***ir community. As an educator Shawn has spoken at WPPI, Imaging, Shutterfest, ClickCon, Exposure Europe Conference, AIBP Retreat, and numerous stand alone workshops and private mentorships.

The industry recognizes Shawn as one of the top photographers in the bo***ir genre as he is sponsored by numerous industry leading companies including Geekoto, 17hats, Aftershoot, Bay/Pro Prints, Cheetah Stand, Fundy, and Evoto. He was recognized by AIBP in 2017 as The Photographer to Watch and in 2019 as The Photographer of the Year as well as garnering many other awards through out the years from different organizations and publications.

Everything Shawn does as a photographer, educator, and advocate for the bo***ir community follows his belief that bo***ir is for everyBODY, which is why his tagline has always been , with BeYou being the most important part.

Enter the Visionary Awards: www.aibpvisionaryawards.com

MEET THE JUDGES | Mónica Olvera

We are incredibly excited to welcome Monica Olvera to the judging panel for the 2026 AIBP Visionary Awards!

With an incredible 30 years of experience as a professional photographer and more than 15 years dedicated to bo***ir, Monica brings a tremendous depth of experience, artistry, and understanding of the genre to this year’s panel.

Throughout her career in Mexico, Monica has built her work around photographing real women with elegance, sensitivity, and authenticity, creating imagery that goes beyond simply making someone look beautiful and instead celebrates the individual woman in front of her camera.

She has also made an incredible impact as an educator, sharing her knowledge with more than 1,200 photographers through courses, workshops, and conferences in Mexico and internationally.

We’re thrilled to have Monica’s experience, artistry, international perspective, and deep understanding of bo***ir photography evaluating the work of our 2026 entrants.

Meet 2026 AIBP Visionary Awards Judge Monica Olvera…

Monica Olvera, a Mexican photographer with 30 years of experience, specializing in women’s portraiture, bo***ir, maternity, and newborn photography.

With more than 15 years of experience in bo***ir photography, her work focuses on portraying real women through an elegant, sensitive, and authentic perspective, turning each session into an experience that goes beyond photography.

Throughout her career, she has taught courses and workshops and spoken at photography conferences in Mexico and internationally, training more than 1,200 photographers.

She was a Nikon Mexico Ambassador for five years and currently collaborates with Tamron. She is also recognized as one of the pioneers of newborn photography in Mexico.

Her work has received several national and international awards and recognitions. In 2025, two of her images were awarded by the Association of International Bo***ir Photographers (AIBP), including one recognized among the best bo***ir images of the year.

Enter the Visionary Awards: www.aibpvisionaryawards.com