Photography for Social Good Resources
I have been spending a lot of time researching individuals and organizations worldwide that use photography as a tool to promote social good. I believe that creating links between us can increase our effectiveness by sharing ideas, finding partnerships, avoiding same mistakes, collaborating, etc. This is a long road and we can start by creating visibility of who is making efforts in this area.
This list that I started is very far from being complete and working together we can make it stronger. So, if you know photographers or organizations that share the objective of using photography to promote positive change, please share them and I will keep the list in my website and will update it as I receive additional information.
So let’s get started:
Blue Earth - Blue Earth believes documentary photography can inspire positive change. We support visual storytelling on critical environmental and social issues through direct assistance to photographers and a collaborative community of professionals.
Catchlight - We believe it has never been more important to use the power of photography to drive measurable social change. CatchLight identifies innovative visual storytellers worldwide, bringing resources and community together to direct their work towards critical social issues. We drive engagement, awareness and impact.
Lisa Kristine - We aspire to touch and enhance the lives of millions of viewers worldwide through imagery. Human connection and the importance of respect in our world are central to our vision; we hope to create and distribute compelling visual storytelling about humanity that brings the world closer. We inspire connection, education and change, image by image.
Heber Vega - “Throughout our twelve years in Kurdistan/Iraq, the biggest part of our photographic journey was focused on the humanitarian world. In fact, photography was the medium that we found along the road in our social service. Photography became the way to communicate effectively the stories that surrounded us, became the way to portrait the people that amazed us with hope. At the end, without the trust of international organizations, our journey in photography would have been only our childhood dream… ”
Ripple Effect Images - Ripple Effect Images’ (Ripple) mission is to harness the power of visual storytelling to help scale solutions for women and girls globally. We identify best practice aid programs and document their innovative and sustainable solutions. With compelling storytelling assets, aid organizations are able to raise awareness and funding to advance and scale their impact. Unique to our model is the Ripple Archive, a collection of world-class images and footage that can be shared and repurposed in hundreds of ways.
Esther Havens - Esther Havens is a humanitarian photographer capturing stories that transcend a person's circumstances and reveal their true strength. For many years she has worked on social-awareness campaigns with organizations such as charity: water, TOMS Shoes, Warby Parker and Malaria No More.
Jeffrey Chapman - Jeffrey is a freelance cultural, humanitarian and world photographer dedicated to visually communicating stories of hope and dignity of those without voices loud enough to tell their own stories. He is interested in the human experience and strives to nurture cultural appreciation and preservation. He works primarily for humanitarian NGOs and leads photography adventures around the world. He is an inaugural member of the Guild of the International Guild of Visual Peacemakers and is on the Advisory Council of Focus for Humanity.
David duChemin - When on assignment David creates powerful images that convey the hope and dignity of children, the vulnerable and oppressed for the international NGO community. Past clients include World Vision, Save the Children, and the BOMA Project.
Gary S. Chapman - Because impacting lives matters, I help organizations tell their stories visually. I have covered humanitarian stories in more than 70 countries around the world, helping groups create awareness, express their vision and build their community. You can trust me to bring an honest, photojournalistic approach to your commercial, corporate, editorial, or non-profit assignments.
Storyline Media - We are a creative production studio making provocative stories that matter.
We blend mediums and form to create rich, nuanced portraits of people and communities that investigate society's biggest challenges. Collaboration is in our DNA. We partner with companies, organizations, and individuals to craft original stories that make sense of complicated issues, provoke discussion and inspire action. And we excel at bringing together dynamic teams to help our partners tell and distribute stories and engage their audiences.
Alcala Torreslanda - Mexico social documentary photographer Francisco Alcala Torreslanda creates documentary images and visual narratives that bring to light the positive sides of society. His natural sense for composition and light in combination with his optimistic and empathetic attitude enable him capture significant moments through photographs with strong formal qualities that inform both the intellect and the emotions. His aim is social change with specific emphasis on community empowerment initiatives.
