With the news that Shauna Kennedy, photographer and owner at Morning Star Photography, is a finalist in the Irish Professional Photographer and Videographer of the Year Award 2025, let’s look at the photographs submitted and the style choices and story behind each one. 

Finding Eve 

When Eve first contacted Shauna, she requested personal branding images for her site and album. Eve Stafford is a professional singer from Limerick with a debut album, Songbird, on the way. After some discussions, Eve wanted to go classic and use a grey outfit for her album cover. However, after getting to know Eve and hearing about her love for pink, they agreed Eve should bring options to the shoot and try both grey and pink. Upon seeing the photographs, Eve loved the brightness of the pink and the way it showcased her personality, choosing those to be the ones to represent her talent. Shauna said;

“We really wanted the pink to capture her bright, bubbly and sophisticated nature.” 

Fit for Life

Lift By Leanne is an online health and fitness platform run by Leanne Moore that offers health and fitness content. Shauna and Leanne discussed options for the shoot and decided they wanted it to be clean and simple, showing Leanne at the forefront as the approachable, confident woman she is.   

Shauna says:

“Leanne is a well-known fitness instructor, so I want to photograph her with a clean, fresh, but fashionable look.

Less is more.” 

READ MORE: Your Personal Brand, Your Story: Stunning Portraits for Women

Bringing new life

Maternity shoots are always fun to style and shoot. You want to capture this beautiful, vibrant moment filled with excitement and love but also ensure the woman at the centre of the image feels fantastic! This maternity image has a fashionable feel to it and captures the client’s personality and strength, as well as this wonderful moment in time for her to look back on fondly. 

Shauna says:

“I love doing images like this for mum’s-to-be. They love them, and I love being a

small part of that journey with them.” 

Capturing the Special Day 

At Morning Star Photography, Communion and Confirmation shoots are always fun. The photographs turn out beautifully, and having them to reflect on – for the child and the family – is a precious memory. 

With Communion images, Shauna likes to show the religious aspect of the day and the child’s joy in focus, commenting:

“He’s a perfect model as he has a great look for this.”  

Classic Black and White

The black-and-white images of the couple and maternity shoots are stunning. Both look thoroughly relaxed, which helps bring their love and happiness to the surface. They are fashionable and classy, and the choice of black-and-white colours creates an intimate feeling in each image. 

The coloured versions of the maternity shoot bring a softness to the image, in contrast to the fashionable feel of the black-and-white one. The idea of the maternity shoot in nature is to show the contrasts between the roughness of the surroundings and ever-changing nature, the softness of maternity, and the impending change in their lives. The colour and flow of the outfit were chosen to add to the softness and build on the natural colours surrounding her. 

The IPPVA Annual Awards Gala 2025 will occur on Sunday, March 9th, 2025, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Athlone.