1. The Leader, Barossa Mag, Pete Thornton, "Julie Fleming Milliner"

Deep in a charming shop full of bespoke hats and fascinators, Thornton has presented us with this endearing and quirky image of his subject, Julie Fleming. The photograph is rich with texture and colour and professionally composed to lead the viewer's eye through a dark corridor to an expertly lit subject. Use of a mid-range aperture has softly blurred the foreground but kept the products recognisable, again leading the eye through to the focus zone. Clever positioning and thoughtful use of the light source has created an enchanting combination of contrast and colours without crushing the deep shadows to black or blowing out the highlights to pure white. Post-production editing has been executed with a soft touch retaining a good sense of reality in the image. The subject is obviously having a good time with her photographer, a crucial element in portraiture, and the catchlights in her eyes from the light source create a mischievous, humorous twinkle behind her glasses. Great work.

2. Yorke Peninsula Country Times, Yorkes Magazine, Rod Penna, "Fisher King and Son"

A high quality environmental portrait riddled with technical difficulties that required Penna's experience and knowledge to overcome. The background has been well exposed and the off-camera flash has provided sufficient light to fill the sun's shadows and evenly illuminate the subjects. A modifier on the flash like an umbrella would help soften the shadows and highlight hotspots it casts on the subjects' skin but the hotspot from the sun is next level, really only curable with an overhead scrim held by an assistant. However, when you're knee deep in the sea with expensive camera gear, hundreds of kilometres from anywhere, alone with just your subjects, capturing an image as good as this one is almost heroic.

3. The Courier, Scott Murphy, "Keeping His Cool"

Murphy's shot of the cowboy in the bath is light and humorous but had its difficulties in the making. The exposure has come out well even though the sun was scorching at the time, a little squirt of flash has filled the shadows with light and colour and balanced the image nicely. The Akubra has been wisely tilted backward to open the kid's face to light and prevent any shadows from the overhanging brim. No doubt the hardest part of this creation was convincing the young guy to dunk himself in the trough and one can only wonder at the promise of chocolates and other prizes after the shoot.