AOPf22 Behind The Scenes

BEHIND THE SCENES

PROFESSIONAL FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHERS

editorial / lifestyle / portrait / fashion / beauty / documentary / sport / food & drink / animals / advertising / project

The Association of Photographers’ (AOP) is a membership organisation ‘created for photographers by photographers.’ Originally formed in 1968 when a group of influential photographers came together to form the Association of Fashion & Advertising Photographers (AFAP) and would later become the AFAEP, when editorial photographers were added before becoming the AOP in 1993. Established to protect photographers copyright, this remit has expanded to include further protection and support through business and legal expertise.

The AOP is the leading membership organisation representing professional photographers From student level through to the highest levels of the profession

AOP Members include:

Photographers, Assisting Photographers, Agents, Commissioners, Associates, Affiliates, Students and Affiliated Courses.

www.the-aop.org

www.aopawards.com

#ProtectPromoteInspire

The AOP f22 group was first created in the 1980s and then reformed in 2019, due to demand and recognition that inequality within the photographic industry was not being addressed as it should.

f22 is run by a voluntary group of AOP accredited photographer members and is open to all women and non-binary members of the AOP. The AOP f22 champions their work, and provides a space for those with similar experiences, to share, learn and grow. Through regular meet-ups, exhibitions and workshops f22 provides a dedicated platform offering the best business practice support Together, f22 continues to explore ways in which to grow the visibility of women & non-binary commercial photographers at all levels

www.the-aop.org/information/f22women

@f22aop

#thefstopshere

30TH ANNIVERSARY

International Women’s Day 2024

30th anniversary of the f22 - BTS with f22 photographers

“If women don’t make that 50/50 then the people taking decisions about our communities are never going to be reflective of the needs”. Jo Cox

In a world where we are constantly bombarded by photographic imagery, if the majority of those images are created by men, then we are all looking at life through a male gaze. Therefore, decisions about what and how we wear, consume, drive, holiday etc., will predominantly be made from a male perspective.

An exhibition shot by women photographers also shows in parallel each of the photographers in action behind the lens. See it, be it. By increasing the visibility of women photographers they hope to inspire and encourage the next generation of female image makers rise up and help achieve that magic 50/50.

This year’s IWD theme is #inspireinclusion

Key themes:

Why do we need a women’s group?

Women photographers are still in the minority within the industry and minority groups always find strength in grouping together

It is important to encourage more women to enter the industry, and for us to create a supportive and safe space for them to grow their photographic practice

AOP f22 Working Group

Chair: Tabatha Fireman | Accredited Photographer

Karen Yeomans | Accredited Photographer and Nicola Tree | Accredited Photographer (f22 project co-ordinators)

Chantel King | AOP Board Member and Accredited Photographer , Eleanor Church | Accredited Photographer and Sujata Setia | Accredited Photographer (Instagram / pr / marketing coordinators)

ROCIOCHACON

ELEANOR CHURCH

HEIDICOPPOCKBEARD

FELICITY CRAWSHAW

SOPHIEEBRARD

KASIA KOWALSKA

LAURALEWIS DENISE MAXWELL

CAROLYN MENDELSOHN

ANNE-MARIE MICHEL

JOSAX CAROLSHARP

ADÈLESPICER

DEBBIETODD

NICOLATREE

Olivia Brabbs

oliviabrabbs@gmail.com

Instagram: @oliviabphoto

Working in France for Courvoisier with Wunderman Thompson US. Styled lifestyle product scene promoting ’The Gala’ cocktail.

Narrative focused image with beautiful soft airy lighting. Styling by Lois Parisot and Elena Horn.

Wendy Carrig

wc@wendycarrig.co.uk

Instagram: @wendycarrigphotography

2019 Editorial for PERFECT BOUND magazine: The small footstool was lent to us by an intrigued and friendly couple, whose camper van was parked with a good view of our strange performance.

CREDITS :

Photography - Wendy Carrig

Digital Operator – Julie Stewart

Creative Director and BTS photography – Geoff Waring

Art Director – Jo Bell

Fashion Stylist – Sophie Kenningham at Frank Agency

Hair & Make up artist – Helen Walsh at S.Management

Talent - Dayane Gomes at PRM Agency

Location – Dymchurch Wall, Kent – a vital sea defence with the motto “Serve God, honour the King, but first maintain the Wall”

Rocio Chacon

rociochacon.photography@gmail.com

Instagram: @rocio chacon studio

Date: February 2023

Location: Cape Town

Title: Golden hour

“Golden hour is a series that shows black beauty, in freedom and power. The colours, the movement in the bodies and the materials, the shining sun in the skin, all is vibrant, full of life, projecting energy I work with dancers because they are connected with their bodies and their beauty, and therefore with their feelings. And I think this comes through the images.”

Credits: dancers @jody blue and @zintle ndindwa

Eleanor Church

Instagram: @larkrisepictures

Waitrose worker’s rights in UK fishing. December 2022

It was taken as part of a 6 month project documenting life on four fishing boats, working in four different fisheries (nephrops, crab, white fish and scallops), in all four countries of the UK for @waitrose in collaboration with @stellamaris the @seafarerscharity and @itf

I spent up to five days on each, sleeping, eating, working alongside the fishermen and the results were a photo series and short info films for the international fishing crews that come to work in our seafood sector to better understand the working conditions, their rights, pay, hours, contracts etc to reduce abuse

Heidi Coppock Beard

coppockbeard@icloud.com

Instagram: @heidicoppockbeard

Shot in August 2023 for a National Christmas campaign for Greggs going into over 2100 stores Nation wide !

The photography was super tricky using very wide angle lenses, lots of gels and many lights .

We were super close in on the food and as funky as the lighting was the food still had to look super appetising. The creative brief was very tight and thankfully the agency gave us quite a few days to test and create the look and feel they were after before the weeks of shooting I was so pleased with the results and apart from extending backgrounds here and there everything was shot through the lens without much retouch.

Client was thrilled.

Felicity Crawshaw

info@felicitycrawshaw.com

Instagram: @felicitycrawshaw

100 Years, Stoke-On-Trent - for The Portland Inn Project’s 100 Year Plan. September 2023

In an historically marginalised part of Stoke-on-Trent, the residents have embarked on a 100 Year Plan to defend their land and the wider ecology. A series of actions collectively made to improve the neighbourhood for the community and the planet We worked collaboratively with the local community, from concept through to execution to photograph this image and the rest of the campaign, which illustrates the four pillars of their 100 Year Plan

Sophie Ebrard

sophie@sophieebrard.com

Instagram: @sophieebrard

I shot this campaign for Lloyds near Penrith, UK in May 2023.

We shot this campaign with the help of @the devilshorsemen horse handlers and Ludo the horse. It was such a dream and so much fun to shoot this campaign. All my favourite things reunited in one day: horses and photography.

Fiona Freund

fiona@fionafreund.com

Instagram: @fionafreund

Project 3: EdwardLordOBE

The pictures attached are from my shoot with Edward Lord OBE for my CorporateQueer exhibition.

Edward wanted to be photographed in both his corporate attire of a City Councillor, City of London Corporation and as queer and gender queer Charliepronouns they them, his out of work persona. Shooting a double exposure on a day when the weather went from pouring rain to bight sunshine in a matter of seconds, meant we both had to be very patient.

Julia Fullerton-Batten

julia@juliafb.com

Instagram: @Julia fullertonbatten

“Tough at heart” was inspired by our heart failure patients and the ‘warrior’ mindset they have taken when facing their condition.

They don’t give up and they find inspiration and purpose in the passions they pursue The portrait we want to create will have a depth and richness to celebrate the things that keep them going.

Claudia Gannon

Claudia@claudia-gannon.com

Instagram: @claudiagannon

I recently shot images for a local care company who provide in home care to elderly and other people in the area They are updating their website at the moment and wanted to show how their carers can help people spend more time outside and experience the fresh air and go for walks at the river and maybe visit a cafe or a pub, go shopping etc rather than being stuck at home all the time

We had to change the dates of the shoot several times due to the weather not being great, but finally got some sunshine and the mother of the care company owner was happy to be our model

Nina Ijomone

Nina.ijomone@gmail.com

Instagram: @ninaijomone.studio

February 2023 / BTS from personal project

Self-portrait

Work in progress and final image for the cover of a self-published book, "Do You Ever Remember Me?" (2023). The book is a collection of reimagined objects and places that evoke memories of growing up, enabling me to reconnect with a younger version of myself who left my hometown.

The photos show the work in progress in the studio, but also the mental process of trying to grasp the project's underlying meaning that I chose to develop. It was a lonely journey to undertake this project and to accept the changes that time has made, but it proved to be exceptionally rewarding at the end of the journey.

Chantel King

mail@chantelking.com

Instagram: @chantelkingphoto

Candice Carty-William - Guardian Saturday

I shot author Candice Carty-William for the Guardian Saturday a few years ago. I was very excited as I have just read her first novel ‘Queenie’ and loved it so much.

It’s so great to see another fellow black creative shine and I felt very privileged to be given this opportunity to photograph her I felt I really captured her strength; plus, it was an all-female team.

Kasia Kowalska

kittykowalska@gmail.com

Instagram: @kasia kowalska photography

For 'Goddess' project: 'Goddess' formed part of my degree show project. One of the best compliments I have received as a photographer was from the model Amy Johnson - who also took the BTS photograph; she told me it was one of the most comfortable sets she had worked on because we prioritised her wellbeing throughout the shoot.

For 'Flora' project: 'Flora' is my botanical large format photography project. Every setup takes a long time to create before the shutter is finally pressed, in part due to the fact that the specimens are very fragile to handle

Laura Lewis

info@lauralewisphotography.com

Instagram: @photolauralewis

Alexandra Burke photographed for Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Andrew Lloyd Webber).

This was the first time I photographed Alexandra and we have since worked together several times. She is a joy to photograph and always brings an amazing warmth to every shoot.

I loved seeing these images outside the London Palladium as part of the Joseph show. I must have listened to the cassette tape of Joseph a hundred times as a kid. I just about managed to refrain from singing all the songs to Alexandra on the shoot

Denise Maxwell

denise@lensi.co.uk

Instagram: @lensi photography

7th August 2022

Birmingham, Commonwealth Games, Smithfield Venue

Canada's Sam Schachter jumps for a high volley in the title match against Australia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

“I was there covering the games for my news agency. I had also been shooting for the Commonwealth Games themselves for the past twp years, covering much of the PR and marketing in the pre events I had seen this venue at the very beginning, when it was just a vast piece of concrete that used to house a wholesale market. I shot the "Two years to go" event here, on a cold spring day, where they had literally put a court in the middle of the concrete I remember thinking, surely this is not what Birmingham is going to present to the world, when I was told this is going to be the Volleyball court.

Being on the final court, it being worthy of the world stage it was on, seeing the transformation from what I had seen two years ago to now, on a day that felt like we were abroad in sunnier climates with world class athletes reminded me of why I am so blessed to do what I do as a living. I had seen and photographed this from the beginning to the end ”

Carolyn Mendelsohn

carolynmendelsohn@mac.com

Instagram: @carolynmendelsohn

Portrait of Paul Pogba for Bloomberg News

In May 2022 I was sent on assignment to photograph and film The world cup winning French Midfielder Paul Pogba for Bloomberg News, along with journalist Aisha S Gani – would also assisted me, as well as interviewing Pogba about his life, his investments, and what he would be moving onto do.

The location was the Manchester United Training Ground. I hadn’t been before, and didn’t really get the chance to do a proper recce I had no idea about the location and the only thing I knew was that Paul was going to be much taller than me ( I brought a footstool to stand on ) , and filled my car with lighting equipment and anything I felt I may need I was told by the person responsible on Man U’s side that I

wasn’t allowed to take any photographs that showed the location in a way that it could be identified Pogba was in the process of leaving Manchester United and therefore they were very sensitive about this.

I had to very quickly look for promising locations, areas that didn’t look like the training ground. I found some nice greenery and could see that this may work. I tested my footstall, but it sank into the damp ground – so that was not going to be used.

I found an area with lovely dappled light and Ivy - and used this as the backdrop, in the event I used natural light Paul was very easy to work with, and we found various different locations that we felt would work A really interesting and slightly challenging job, that was really enjoyable - and one that I had to turn around very quickly.

Anne-Marie Michel

annemariemichel@me.com

Instagram: @annemariemichel

Subject - Idella Hansen - trucker woman - from the series ’Sisters of the Road’

Date shot - 2018 - book published 2022currently on touring exhibition in USA 2024

Location: Arizona desert USA

In this behind the scenes shot, I am photographing trucker, Idella Hanson, for my project Sisters of the Road, a series of portraits and stories of American trucker women.

Idella has been a trucker for over 50 years, and she is already famous in the world of trucking Even has a truck stop named after her.

When I met her in the Arizona desert to take her portrait, she was a fascinating subject to photograph she flitted between a fierce facade and a soft grandmother vibe. I think I caught some of that duality in this portrait. It is my favourite of the series.

info@katepeters.co.uk

Instagram: @misskatiepeters

Comedian, actor and all round legend Aisling Bea, photographed in Camden for the Telegraph Magazine Commissioned by Andy Greenacre, H+MU by Brandon Gaunt, assisted by Elena Cornila.

Kate Peters

Soulla Petrou

soullapetrou@btinternet.com

Instagram: @soullapetrouphotography

Shot for Apricot clothing Spring/ Summer 2023 campaign in Tenerife This is one of the locations used over a 3 day period.

The images were used for online and social media purposes as well as press and point of sale posters printed on a large scale for all their shops here and abroad

The model was Tia Rolf at Models One. Make-up by Natacha Schmitt and hair by Jaime Hernandez. Be prepared for all types of weather when on location, wear layers. At 6am it was around -5 degrees at one point, poor model was freezing, so had to work quick before she turned blue. This shot taken in the afternoon all the heavy layers and gloves were off.

Helen Roscoe

iamhelenroscoe@gmail.com

Instagram: @helenroscoephoto

I was commissioned to photograph the fellows and honorary members as part of RNCM's 2023 graduation event.

It was a pleasure to spend time with YolanDa Brown OBE for this BTS submission. Yolanda is prolific in the world of Jazz, an award winning saxophonist, broadcaster and author. I had a short window of opportunity to capture the joy Yolanda brings through her infectious smile and personality, and given the

formality of the day, it was great to be able to capture something more playful overall.

I had a lot of fun taking this image which forms a collection of imagery from her day in Manchester and has been gifted to her as a keepsake from her time at RNCM that day.

BTS image shot by Ash Sealy @whatabouttheash

Ruby LDN / Karen Louise

karyn@rubyldn.co.uk

Instagram: @rubyldn.uk

Project 3 - Personal - UK Black Business

Furthermore, I've sought out opportunities to collaborate with black female-owned businesses, recognising the importance of gender diversity within this context. In a recent photoshoot project, I had the privilege of partnering with two

remarkable black female-owned businesses, Blackson Jewellery and House of Ansa Jewellery, both of which I discovered through Instagram This collaboration allowed me to not only promote their exquisite products but also align with my mission to uplift and empower the black business community.

Nyla Sammons

nyla@nylasammons.com

Instagram: @nylasammons

I did a portrait series on Tough Women in sport and adventure, telling the stories of string women who have gone beyond the ordinary to push boundaries and break world records.

This is Annouche a paraclimber, born missing her right arm below the elbow, living with multiple health conditions, a cancer survivor Anoushé is a muslim but she has never let what society or culture thinks she should do, limit her or dictate the direction of her life.

Jo Sax

jo@josax.com

Instagram: @josax5339

I shot this project during lockdown in a very empty Richmond theatre

I wanted to create a post-apocalyptic vision of human spaces overtaken by flora and fauna, illustrating the endurance of nature and the transience of human life.

Carol Sharp

carol@carolsharp.co.uk

Instagram: @carolsharp.artist

The 209 women project was to present my allocated email MP in a visually interesting way. Caroline Lucas is the only Green Party MP in parliament, so I depicted her imagining a greener future The trees also represent connection and collaboration.

We managed to do the portrait in the Houses of Commons. I did the collage using trees which as we now know also represent connection and collaboration Something MPs could do more of!

Caroline Lucas

Project - 209 Women - a public exhibition in Parliament to mark 100 years of women achieving the vote: 209 new portraits of all women MPs, by 209 women photographers.

Exhibition launched 14th December 2018

Houses of Parliament

Parliament have confirmed that the full 209 women collection of prints will now be part of one of the most important public collections in the UK, to be preserved and shown for years to come

Adèle Spicer

aspicerphotography@gmail.com

Instagram: @adele spicer photo

This is the first image from my project documenting young creatives who live in converted warehouses in response to the current cost of living crisis.

This image depicts Em who has been living here for two years and works in Publishing.

Debbie Todd

debbietoddphotographer@outlook.com

Instagram: @debbietoddphotographer

This shoot was for Anna Harris on Instagram she is @thenutrition nurse and we photographed it at the hidden heights studio in Gateshead as part of her PR campaign for her new business.

Nicola Tree

nicola@treemail.org

Instagram: @nicola tree

These images were taken at the Labour Party Conference October 2023 whilst working for Getty Images. Another member of the Getty team Ian Forsyth kindly took a moment to photograph me at work

Labour Conference - Day Three And Leader's Speech

Sir Keir Starmer the leader of the Labour Party is interrupted by a protester while delivering his speech to conference on October 10, 2023 in Liverpool, England. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer address's delegates and party members at the annual Labour Party Conference in the Liverpool Conference Centre

This leaders speech is always the biggest event of the conference, by this point you have kneeled couched and sat at the front of the stage for four days amongst your fellow photographers. For the final speech the press were allowed only in the front aisle area which put everyone closer together. There were three other female photographers and about forty male colleagues We were given strict instructions on what height we could be as the television cameras were behind us. The delegates were packed closely in next to us and disabled participants in their wheel chairs on the end of the rows This tight bundle of hot tired photographers waited

Sir Keir was Introduced by a delegate and then everything changed. As Sir Keir began to address the conference a young man came on to the stage and all photographers were shooting, we had no idea what was happening or how long it would last. The standing rule went out the window and everyone was on their feet trying to capture the moment which seemed to go on forever. When security finally arrived and the protester was dragged away, I had managed to position myself at the front from being right at the back of the pack. For the rest of the speech we were all left unsure whether there would be more protesters or if we should be filing our images

Karen Yeomans

karen@karenyeomans.com

Instagram: @karen yeomans

Red Bull Half Court: Key visuals to promote halfcourt ball basketball launch. A commission to create the key visuals for Red bull half-court basketball to fit within a specific composite artwork.

Technically this shoot was challenging as I needed to get the right perspective and point of action to fit within the finished artwork.

Subject: Redbull Half-Court

Location: London

Date: 14.02.2020

A Short History of (the new) AOPf22

Abridged version of a talk at The Photographers Gallery by Wendy Carrig, February 2020 / Updated to

February 2024

Over the past few years, we have witnessed a wave of activism by new women’s groups: #TimesUp #MeToo movements, BBC gender pay issue, women’s marches and more

The photographic industry has also come under scrutiny, and businesses and organisations have started to question the deep-rooted inequality that has existed in the world of photography for so long

French company Kering, parent company of luxury brands Gucci, Saint Laurent, and McQueen conducted surveys and discovered that back in 2018, over 80% of students studying photography are women. This is good news, and completely the reversal of my experience as a student. But their survey also showed that women only account for 15% of professional photographers… who earn less today, than their male counterparts did in 2008 !

These statistics were borne out by other similar surveys carried out by Fast Forward, the women’s photography research group at the University of the Arts Farnham, who also discovered that only 5% of pictures bought by leading publishers are taken by women;and that women accounted for only 2% of photographers hired by the major agencies!

These statistics triggered discussion, questions were raised on Women’s Hour, and the AOP’s former Marketing Manager, Rachel Rogers began contacting some of the women photographer members to gauge opinion. Before long a few of us had got together to address the issue of gender inequality within the industry, and concluded that we needed space within the AOP for a separate women’s group And so on 8th March 2019, International Women’s Day, f22 was re-born.

We needed to decide on what we wanted f22 to achieve, and as a starting point, and with the support of the AOP, a separate forum was created for women members. We also created the f22 Instagram feed for sharing news and images.

An inaugural meeting was organised which had a resounding response from members who filled the space at the Leica Gallery. And we listened to theories, discussed ideas, and many questions were asked.

- What happens to all the female photography students when they leave college?

- Why aren’t women photographers getting as many commissions as their male counterparts?

- Why don’t women get paid the same as their male counterparts?

- And how is society affected when the majority of commercial images are taken by men, have the #malegaze?

- The University of The Arts in Farnham say 6 months after graduation 85% of their female students get jobs in the industry but admit only a small percentage of them actually go on to pursue careers as commercial photographers, acknowledging that it is a tough industry to break into

- Apparently one of the reasons that has been given for not commissioning women photographers is that some commissioners don’t know we are out there! Creative producer at Adam&Eve DDB, Jaki Jo Hannan, came up against this problem when trying to encourage her team members to commission more work from woman photographers. Her team said they didn’t know many, so Jaki created the platform Equal Lens, a comprehensive register of women photographers that can be easily accessed by commissioners.

Similarly, Women Photograph is a directory exclusively for women documentary photographers

Another overriding message that came from our meeting was the issue of confidence

- Over the previous year I had attended many talks by respected women photographers and high profile women’s photography groups, and the confidence issue was a recurring theme Unfortunately, this appears to be in part governed by our genetic makeup, as research shows that a women’s confidence doesn’t generally equal that of a man’s until perhaps their seventies!

So, we began considering ideas for Workshops where we could attempt to address the issue of confidence.

- Our first was hosted by Sheryl Garratt, former editor of The Face & Observer magazines, and now a coach for the creative industry – her workshop Survival Skills for Freelance Creatives was a sell-out success.

- We also created our own workshop Entering Photography Awards – another area which can be a huge boost to confidence

LOOKING BACK / THE AWARDS

The annual AOP Awards books, have turned out to be be a really useful source of information on the history of women’s contributions to commercial photography.

In the past images by women photographers have had a low presence in the Awards which is likely a combination of reasons :

– The [then] low number of women photographers in general, and therefore women members of the AOP.

- The high number of male judges there used to be – one year shockingly all 17 judges were men!

(This presumably reflected the low numbers of women in other areas of the creative industry that could be called upon as part of the judging pool.)

- The invisible barrier of including commissioned categories, as we now know that women photographers have low representation in this area.

- And as previously mentioned, lower confidence levels could deter women from entering the Awards in the first place.

(It is of course important to interpret this information with regard to its social and now historical context )

LOOKING FORWARD

The good news is there has been positive change in these areas, since 2019:

- In 2023, the ONS reports that there is a 4% gender pay gap.

- The AOP’s 38th Photography Awards in 2023 saw a positive increase in female winners, achieving 41% overall, and 50/50 for their respective ‘Best In Commissioned and Non-Commissioned’ Awards!

- The number of accredited women photographers at the AOP has increased by 4% to January 2024.

- If we include all female photographer members at all levels we could now call ourselves f1001

- The choice of who to judge/curate is of course still decided on individual expertise, and with numbers of women increasing in all areas of the creative industry there is now a greater pool from where to choose judges. In fact, in the last few years there were more women judges than men.

- The recent 38th AOP Photography Awards book (2023), shows how these changes have helped to bring greater balance, with an above industry average of 55% representation by women photographers.

There is still lots to do, and lots of questions to be asked, and in some ways, we are only at the beginning.

We are certainly a long way from gender equality in our industry

But by working together as a group, and collaboration with other women’s groups, we have the potential to engineer change towards fair access and representation

Abridged version of a talk at The Photographers

Gallery by Wendy Carrig, February 2020

Updated to February 2024

Snapshot of AOP Statistics

As at January 2024

As a trade association our aim is to protect, promote and inspire members within our organisation and to encourage professional practice across the industry, which includes treating everyone on an equal footing. The industry has come some way in aiming to reach parity, but more needs to be done, therefore looking at our own representation and reporting on it is an important part of that process.

Female photographers currently represent 44% of the total AOP membership

The percentage of current/active members of the AOP who are female is 44%. This represents the combined membership categories of: Accredited, Assistant, Access, Associate and Student members. The membership data does not include contacts of agents, college courses, affiliated companies, honorary etc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without the prior written permission of the copyright holders. The copyright in the individual photographs in this book remains with the Photographer or relevant rights-holder unless otherwise stated.

The Publisher does not accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions

Copyright © 2024 The Association of Photographers Limited

All rights reserved.

AOP f22 continues to explore ways in which to grow the visibility of women & non-binary commercial photographers at all levels