July snapshot competition winner announced

The winner of the HJi July snapshot competition is Kirsty Barratt who impressed the judges with her dramatic black and white image.

Judge Kala Laing, director at SDL says: "I was incredibly impressed with the standard of all of the shots in the Snapshot competition. There was clearly a lot of innovation and creative flair that went into putting the styles together and the direction of the shots."

But it was Kirsty's photograph that really caught Kala's eye. "I finally decided upon Kirsty's shot because it is aesthetically pleasing, forward thinking and captures the forthcoming season trends perfectly."

Kirsty was delighted to win and explains how she came up with the look. "The hair actually evolved throughout the shoot starting off very masculine and sleek, this I felt was not working with the setting in which we were taking the photographs.

"I softened the front section and made more of a feature of the back. There was a slight 80s feel to the styling which the black and white helped bring out," she says.

With a high standard, the judging wasn't easy. Says Kala: "Well done to everyone who entered... It really has been a hard contest to judge. It's great to see so much talent on show."

Kirsty wins £200 worth of Sexy Hair products so that she can create even more sexy, winning styles. "I'm so pleased to have won as it is one of my favourite pictures I've taken so far," says Kirsty.