Nine years ago, Kentucky photographer Jennifer Palumbo’s first print competition was the stuff that would make most people put down the camera forever. But not Palumbo. “It lit a fire under me,” she says. Her first competition photo was graded down from a 72 to a 68 for not meeting the competition’s “standards.” “I said: You just watch.” Four years later she earned her Masters of Photography degree from the Professional Photographers of America and began winning competitions. This year, she brought home the Sunset Print Award for her cheery image, “Dipsy Daisy,” pictured above. A former elementary school teacher, Palumbo took up photography after her son was born 16 years ago. “We decided that after we had children, I was going to stay home,” she says. “But in six months, I was bored, so I picked up a camera and started taking pictures.” The hobby turned into a flourishing business, and the family opened a portrait studio, Baby Boo Photography, in their 1,700 square-foot...

Cheri MacCallum, owner of Art by Cheri, Idaho Falls, Idaho, is one of those talented few who have had the honor of winning a LexJet Sunset Award two years in a row.