In 2009, his portraits of pilots, a symphony, and a choir won first, second, and third prizes, respectively, in the group portrait category of the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International competition. "Someone gave me a membership to the organization as a gift," said Kikkas, "and so I thought I ought to be grateful enough to enter their contest." But he never anticipated the success it brought.

This December, his image of a model covered in whipped cream was selected for the cover of Nikon Pro, a magazine produced by Nikon for professional photographers. "It's usually photographers who are my heroes who get the cover of that magazine," said Kikkas. "Now it's my work. That's not easy to get used to."

Kikkas, though, doesn't consider the work that has won him international recognition to be his best. Trained formally as a musician, Kikkas considers his best work to be his portraits of musicians. "Musicians are people I understand," he said, "and this somehow comes through in my work."