Elmira Watts did her vocational education at what's now Samara State Economic University in Russia. Later in life, as a mature student in the UK, she did a full-time academic BA(Hons) in Photography at Bournemouth University's Wiltshire College, Salisbury. She joined the Royal Photographic Society, and signed up as a licentiate of two trade associations: the British Institute of Professional Photography, and the Master Photographers' Association. While still a full-time student, she submitted her best student photograph to the BIPP/MPA annual competition. It won the overall photograph of the year, and the portrait category. She has kept up her membership of these organizations ever since, and continues to enter competitions. She continues to promote her award, and herself as a photographer, in the media and through exhibitions.
