A photographer has snapped-up first place in a global competition with a portrait of her daughter.

Carolyn Mendelsohn was named Professional Photographer of the Year 2013 in the Lifestyle section of a contest run by Professional Photographer Magazine, thanks to her picture of seven-year-old Poppy.

More than 5,100 people from across the world strived to receive accolades, with around 500 in the Shipley photographer’s category. During the awards ceremony in Cheltenham, video links were set-up to competitors in New York, San Francisco and Thailand.

The mother-of-three has been a photographer for seven years and, in 2008, was selected to appear as one of the final six photographers in Channel 4’s Picture This, which searched for Britain’s top emerging digital photographer.

“When I found out I was shortlisted, I was delighted. It’s a professional photographers competition, so you expect standards to be high,” she said. “It’s really positive for my business, and for Shipley.”

The portrait photographer used to work in theatre and film-making, but changed career when her Poppy, her third child, was born. “I could still be creative. I get so much joy out of photography,” she said.