Worthing photographer wins Portrait of Britain 2020 award with powerful portrait of her partner

A powerful picture of a boxer has earned a Worthing photographer a place in Portrait of Britain 2020.
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Lizzie Mills took the picture of her partner Derek while he was taking a break from training.

Her photograph, The Boxer, impressed judges at the British Photography Journal and was one of 100 winners selected from thousands of entries.

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Lizzie said: “He was born with one hand, shortened limbs and malformed feet. He is the bravest and most determined person I know.

Worthing photographer Lizzi MillsWorthing photographer Lizzi Mills
Worthing photographer Lizzi Mills

“He trained to black belt status in Thai boxing and spent three months training in Thailand. It’s not always been easy, and the challenge is as much mental as it is physical.

“I decided to photograph him during his training. This was a moment in between bouts and sparring, and I feel it really shows the man behind the boxing; his vulnerability and humanity.”

Lizzi, a single mum of three, recently graduated from Northbrook MET as a mature student with a first-class honours degree in creative media and practice.

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Her winning portrait will be among the 200 shortlisted photographs to be published in the Portrait of Britain book and it was also exhibited on JCDecaux UK’s nationwide network of digital Out-of-Home screens in September as one of the 100 winners.

The Boxer, Lizzi Mills' photograph selected for Portrait of Britain 2020The Boxer, Lizzi Mills' photograph selected for Portrait of Britain 2020
The Boxer, Lizzi Mills' photograph selected for Portrait of Britain 2020

Lizzi said: “I did a search to see how many entries they’d had and it was something like 14,000 the previous year. I nearly fainted.

“You should never give up and never stop striving to be the best you can be. I pushed myself really hard during my degree, and being a single mum of three and a mature student is not an easy juggling act.

“I was also still working part-time as a wedding photographer during my degree and there were times when I felt overwhelmed and not good enough, but my tutors Kirste McCool and Mary Tennant’s calm guidance helped me to see beyond my own self-limiting beliefs and gave me the confidence to push myself.”

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The British Journal of Photography and publisher 1854 Media credited this year’s award winners with ‘capturing the many faces of modern Britain at a momentous time in our history’.

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