Getty Images, in collaboration with Instagram, has announced a call for entries for a new grant to support photographers using Instagram to document stories from underrepresented communities around the world. The three winners will each receive $10,000.
Instagram has introduced new opportunities for emerging voices, outside the mainstream media, to create and share projects of social importance. The Getty Images Instagram grant provides financial support and mentorship to amplify their impact.
Journalists are often criticized for parachuting into situations when a news story reaches its extreme, rather than telling a community’s stories in full and over time. That’s part of what the grant aims to address, says Elodie Mailliet Storm, Getty’s senior director for content partnerships.
"Photographers in all corners of the world use the Instagram platform to share unique and authentic stories that otherwise rarely come into focus. We’re always trying to find authentic voices and support these voices, and… not necessarily portray the world through conflict,” Storm says. “Ways to show real, if you will, everyday life, from more of a local perspective.”
Storm added, "Getty Images is guided by our belief in the power of pictures to move the world and we are excited to collaborate with Instagram on this grant to support and amplify new and important voices."
Three winners will be selected based on the existing body of work represented on their Instagram account, focusing on the quality of their imagery, their photographic skills and on the project and stories told through their photos.
Storm emphasizes that the judges want to be surprised by the images, and that applicants shouldn’t follow a template or format. However, aspiring photographers might be inspired by the approach to storytelling seen in Instagram accounts such as
Everyday Iran (the founder is one of the judges) and
Everyday Africa.
"We are inspired every day by the work being shared on Instagram by both established and aspiring photographers," said Amanda Kelso, Director of Community at Instagram. "Photographers everywhere are experimenting, stretching their creativity and offering diverse perspectives. This grant captures the global enthusiasm from photographers to continue to push their craft to new levels."
Applications will be accepted until June 4, 2015, at 11:59 p.m. GMT. Entrants can apply online at
www.gettyimages.com/grants, where they will be required to submit a biography, brief description of their approach, style, the stories they have covered and how they would benefit from the grant.
Instagram users can encourage photographers they follow or know to apply for the grant by using the hashtag #GettyImagesInstagramGrant. All entrants are required to complete the online application to be considered by the judges.
The judges are:
• Kira Pollack (
@kirapollack) –Director of Photography and Visual Enterprise, TIME
• Malin Fezehai (
@malinfezehai) – Documentary photographer
• Maggie Steber (
@maggiesteber) – Documentary photographer
• David Guttenfelder (
@dguttenfelder) – Photojournalist, National Geographic Photography Fellow
• Ramin Talaie (
@ramintalaie) – Documentary Photographer, Co-Founder, @EverydayIran
The three winners will be announced in September 2015. In addition to the $10,000 award each receives they will also be mentored by one of Getty Images' world-class photographers and invited to the Photoville photography festival in New York City in September 2015, where Getty Images and Instagram will exhibit the grantees' imagery.