Sarah Simmons won an international competition with her picture of newborn baby Tiger and the ashes of his twin brother, Johnny.

Losing a twin is a mother's worst nightmare but for Cherie Ayrton the loss is a little easier due to a powerful photograph.

Petone-based photographer Sarah Simmons won a prestigious international competition with her picture of newborn baby Tiger and the ashes of his twin brother, Johnny.

Wellington photographer Simon Woolf said the win was a milestone in New Zealand photography and the picture was technically perfect.

SARAH SIMMONS Baby Tiger and his proud mum, Cherie Ayrton.

Ayrton said she would be forever grateful for Simmons, who captured an image of her twins she would always treasure.

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Johnny died in the womb at five months but she still went ahead with her scheduled photo shoot, not quite sure how Simmons would handle the death of Johnny.

Simmons came up with the idea of wrapping Tiger in a cloth and using the cloth to connect with the ashes of Johnny, symbolising an umbilical cord.

"I am just so grateful she took such an awesome photo, it was all down to her vision," Ayrton said.

The photo shoot was not easy and she was not sure how Simmons was going to connect the boys.

"It was extremely emotional but it is nice to have such a strong image we can keep."

It took two shoots to get the image of Tiger right. The initial intention had been to have Tiger sleeping but Ayrton was delighted that his eyes were open and he appeared to be staring right at the camera.

Simmons said she had simple intentions with the picture.

"The whole idea was to show they were still connected and had shared the same womb."

Taking such an emotional photo had been all the more rewarding for Simmons.

"She (Ayrton) definitely loved it and she messages me a lot about how wonderful it is to them ... it means a lot to me and is my favourite picture."

The photo was entered in the Portrait Masters, an annual competition and week-long conference in Las Vegas, and Simmons was delighted when it won the newborn category.

"The judge described it as a beautiful celebration of life."

Simmons also entered the family section with a photo of twins Hayden and Kevin Eising​.

As well as the two category wins, the photo of Tiger and Johnny was judged the best overall picture of the more than 7000 entries.

A self-taught photographer, Simmons runs Charlie Horse Photography specialising in family and newborn portraits.

Her win in the Portrait Masters was not her first taste of success. She has also won categories in the 2017 and 2018 New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography awards.

Woolf said winning the Portrait Masters was a notable achievement.

"It is quite an exclusive competition. It is very well thought of, It is the best of the best."

Woolf predicted that in 10 years time, it would be regarded as one of New Zealand's most important images.

"It is a completely original work, it is very creative and cutting edge."

The award for the overall image was presented by New Zealand photographer Sue Bryce, who had Simmons live on video.

"She got a resounding standing ovation from some of the world's greatest photographers ... I have never seen an image crafted so well. it is very, very beautiful ... If I had judged it, it would pretty much be 100 out of 100. I can't see any fault in it."