© Anthony Lycett © Rob Murray

The Association www.the-aop.org

of Photographers membership@aophoto.co.uk

Photographers Membership
Information
Photographer membership
The Association of Photographers is one of
the most prestigious professional trade bodies
in the sector and we welcome like-minded
individuals who share our passion. If that’s
you, then welcome.
Here you will find information on the Associa-
tion, its current membership and the benefits
of becoming a member as well as the criteria
to be fulfilled for membership.
When you join the Association, you are joining
a peer group that is recognised throughout
the industry; recognition as a member places
you amongst your peers. Commissioners
and clients alike will be assured that they are
working with a photographer who represents
quality, professionalism and innovation. As a
member you also have access to a group of
photographers with shared values, knowledge
and experience.
We are passionate about photography. We
provide a channel for the combined voices
of our members and we are recognised by
legislators, governments and other trade bod-
ies as a credible, authoritative and respected
professional body.
All our members, staff and supporters share
this passion. We actively support, promote
and work to protect professional photogra-
phers’ interests and our views and policies are
recognised as benchmarks for rights, ethics
and good business practice. We create an
effective network to encourage the highest
standards in creative, technical and commer-
cial practice within the photographic industry.
We provide access to lifelong learning and
we show photographers how to protect their
rights and their businesses through the litera-
ture we supply, the advice we give and the
workshops and talks we hold.
Who are our members?
The Association was formed over 40 years
ago by professional photographers, when
they needed a unified voice to settle a
dispute. Since then Photographers, Assist-
ing Photographers, Photographers’ Agents
and Photography Students have all been
welcomed as members. Through affiliation,
we have a number of photography courses,
many at degree level, at colleges and uni-
versities throughout the UK. Furthermore
we are supported by the industry through
the breadth of our affiliated companies who
range from manufacturers and lighting
companies to industry-specific insurance
brokers and accountants. All our affiliated
companies have a relevance to the Associa-
tion and its members.
The vast majority of our members are pro-
fessional photographers who have high pro-
file clients that include advertising agencies,
design groups, businesses in the private and
public sectors, publishing houses and music
publishers. Our members’ work is published
worldwide in magazines, newspapers and
books and used in advertising campaigns.
Additionally many of our members sell their
images as fine-art through traditional galler-
ies as well as on-line.
Why do Professional Photographers
become members?
For many, the over-riding factor is the sense
of community that being a part of the As-
sociation provides.
Today that immediate sense of community
can be found on the E-list, where a question
asked on any subject will have a credible
answer provided almost by return, by
someone with knowledge, experience and
no conflicting interests.
The Association provides great benefits at an
individual level, but it is the collective benefit
that sets us apart from other associations
and service providers. Not only are we seen
as a centre of excellence because of our
members, we are also known and respected
as a body and voice that acts for the benefit
of our members as a whole.
Many join to benefit from the business, legal © Richard Maxted
and educational support we offer, others
join to enter our prestigious Photographers
Awards, which promote members and their
work to commissioners, potential clients and
those looking for inspiration.
© Lottie Davies
Here are a few comments from
existing photographer members and
their feelings about the Association:
Lottie Davies
“I consider my membership
of the AOP as a standard
yearly investment in my
business.  My main reason
for being a member is to
promote my work – my online
folio with the AOP is a great
additional web presence and
drives traffic to my website,
and I enter the awards in the
hope of getting my images
in front of more people, both
photographers and commis-
sioners.
Membership gives me access
to help when I need it, in the
form of other photographers
via the e-list, legal support
from the AOP offices, and
generally as a resource of
people-who-might-know-the-
answer-to-that-really-specific-
photography-question. AOP
events give us a good reason
to get together and talk shop,
while drinking beer; as most
of us don’t meet other
photographers during our day
to day work it’s great to have
occasions to catch up”
George Logan
“I’m a big fan of the AOP.
When I left college, all the
photographers whose work I
admired and aspired to were
members, so joining was a
no-brainer. Since then, I’ve
benefitted in countless ways,
from organising exhibitions to
complex legal advice.
Success in the Awards also
provided a significant increase
in the number and quality of
my commissions. Given all the
ongoing changes and
developments in photography,
having the support of
the AOP has never been
more essential”
© Chris Frazer-Smith
Morgan Silk
“I joined the AOP initially so
that I could enter the Awards
and while winning certainly
helped put me on the map in
this competitive industry, I
do feel that being a member
of a group where my peers
are of such a high level has
helped me to raise my own
standards”
Christian Schmidt
“The main reason for me, as
an overseas member, to join
the AOP was the Awards. I
think its still the best Pho-
tography Award with the
greatest work from the year
- Its an honour to be chosen
for the book and very excit-
ing every year. Also a great Anthony Lycett
opportunity to get your work “I joined the Association to
seen by so many people” have the security of a group
of people who are always
Chris Frazer-Smith fighting for the rights of the
“Having been a member of photographer.
the AOP for longer than I The exposure you can get
care to remember it is good through such things as the
to know that they are out Awards is still the best way of
there working hard at looking getting your name out there”
after the future of photogra-
phy and image rights at the
highest level in the UK. Being
a member of the AOP means
we can turn to a wealth of
legal and commercial experi-
ence for advice & ideas as
well as pushing the rights for
photographers into a safer
place for a healthy future”
What we do and how that
can benefit you

Awards Programme
The Awards programme comprises of 3
separate competitions run in parallel; the
Photographers Awards, the Assistants Awards
and the Open Awards. The Open is the only
competition we run where professionals
and amateurs compete on equal terms. It is
indeed ‘open’ to anyone and because there
are no categories or themes the choice of
work submitted is entirely up to the entrant.
We encourage all our members to enter the
Open, which is very well supported and en-
joys very good exposure in the photographic
and cultural press.

There are a great number of photography

competitions available for professionals to
enter but the AOP Photographers Awards is
still regarded as the original and the best. It is
a celebration of exceptional work by those at
the very top of their game and is regarded by
many as THE awards for professional pho-
tographers. Being selected for entry into the
Awards Book and accompanying exhibition is
considered one of the highest accolades avail-
able to photographers around the world and
one of the reasons why the best professional
photographers are among our members.
The Awards Book is a high-quality publica-
tion that showcases the images selected for
that year’s exhibition; it includes additional
information about the judges and the awards
themselves. It is distributed free to the top
500 advertising and creative agencies in the
UK, as well as to our photographer members.
We hold an Awards Night to celebrate the
exhibition, which is attended by the movers
and shakers in the industry. Before this
evening event, presentations are made to
those who created the best images, and
after the event we hold Exposure,
which provides a day of talks, demonstra-
tions, exhibitors and networking, as well
as further time to see the exhibition.
Business & legal support
We provide help, guidance and up-to-date
business and legal information to photog-
rapher members who may have a range of
concerns including contracts, copyright and
usage. If full legal representation is required,
members can speak to our retained special-
ist lawyers for a half-hour consultation at a
discounted rate.
Education
Our education programme is not limited to
Students and our affiliated courses, it also
reaches out to the wider membership through
the workshops, seminars and portfolio
critiques that we organise and run. ‘Beyond
the Lens’, a 200-page reference book written
and published by the Association, is known as
the definitive authority on rights, ethics and
business practice for professional photogra-
phy and is incorporated into the syllabuses of
many photography Degree-level courses. We
also provide a range of business templates for
the various documents needed to carry out
© Christian Schmidt
a commission or license an image. Lastly, we Members’ work can also be seen in our on-
run a website specifically aimed at helping our line Gallery, where there is the opportunity to
member’s clients understand the importance purchase limited edition prints of members’
of copyright www.copyright4clients.com work from our Print Sales collection.
E-Newsletter Folio mailout
Our monthly e-newsletter is sent to more A HTML newsletter for photographer mem-
than four thousand recipients made up of bers’ folios is created randomly and automati-
members (past and present), industry movers cally twice a month and sent to approximately
and shakers, other affiliates and ‘Friends’ of ten thousand commissioners of photography.
the Association. The e-newsletter is packed This enables us to promote our members’
with information on the activities the Asso- work by providing direct links to them.
ciation is involved with as well as important
dates in the Association’s diary.
Exhibitions
We exhibit our Awards at selected venues
in central London. Each of the competitions
(Photographers, Assistants, Students and the
Open) has its own exhibition, presentation
and awards night held at a range of exciting
venues. We are also able to curate members’
solo and group shows (please enquire regard-
ing specific costs).
© George Logan
Image Magazine
Our bi-monthly magazine is written by pho-
tographers for photographers and littered
with beautiful photography and insightful
articles and commentary. We showcase work
by established photographers as well as new
rising talent. We list the photography exhibi-
tions currently on show around the UK and
we offer expert opinion on legal matters as
well as advice surrounding the latest tech-
nological developments. The magazine has a
distribution of 2000 per issue and we estimate
a readership of over 10,000.
Lobbying & campaigning
Over many years the Association has cam-
paigned hard to protect its members’ rights
and was instrumental in setting out the Copy-
right, Design & Patents Act of 1988. Most
recently, we were involved with the Digital
Economy Act (providing briefing documents
to shadow-ministers hours before the final
vote in Parliament). Currently we are working
on the new legislative developments following
the publication of the Hargreaves Review of
Intellectual Property & Growth.
Website
Our website receives 20,000 unique visitors
each month. It is a great place for members
to get their work seen by creatives and pho-
tographers agents. Members’ work is shown
through Image Folio and the Awards area of
the site where visitors can view images from
our Awards programme, including archived © Morgan Silk
images going back over ten years.
In summary we can provide
you with:
Recognition as a member of a peer group
that represents those at the top of their game.
Business and Legal support. Referral to
specialist lawyers, retained by the Association
(first half hour consultation at a discounted
member’s rate).
Opportunity to upload 12 images into the
Members Folio. Contact details, web & email
links can also be uploaded.
Opportunity to be included in the HTML
mailshot for the Members Folio. Created
specifically, automatically and randomly
then sent regularly direct to commissioners
of photography.
Eligibility to enter the Photographers Awards.
Complimentary copy of the Photographers
Awards book.
Monthly e-newsletter and blog.
Access to the Association’s Applestore where
items are discounted (UK residents only).
A subscription to Image magazine.
Access to workshops/seminars & portfolio
critiques at member prices.
Access to our e-mail list; a 24/7 community
that shares advice and always has an immedi-
ate answer to a question.
Various special discounts and offers from
3rd party companies.
Discounts on all the Associations’ publications
including the Awards book, Beyond the Lens
and any future publications.
24/7 free web access to Beyond the Lens
(non-members are charged).
Free buy/sell advertisements on the
Association’s website.
Free Job Shop advertisements on the
Association’s website (not to be used
to advertise for freelance assistants).
Voting Rights: Full Photographer
members of the Association have voting
rights. This entitles you to attend our Annual
General Meeting and vote on any motions
regarding the Association and/or members of
the Association’s Board of Directors.
Price:
£315 p/a – plus VAT (UK)
£240 p/a – no VAT (Overseas)
Provisional membership available to profes-
sionals with less than two years practice:
£240pa plus VAT (UK)
Provisional membership has no voting
rights. Your membership will automatically
be upgraded to Full Photographer member
after 2 years.
Criteria
You will have been working as a
professional photographer for more than
2 years and your clients will be commercial
buyers or professional commissioners of
photography. We need to see examples of
your work and copies of documentation
that support this (less than 2 years for
provisional membership).
In addition, we would like you to submit a
portfolio of your work, together with docu-
mentation to support your choice of 2 of the
remaining requirements shown below.
All evidence should be submitted by e-mail © Mark Polyblank
when you submit the application form to:
membership@aophoto.co.uk Remaining requirements
(please choose 2 of the following, 1 if
Your portfolio: applying for Provisional membership):
The portfolio that you submit should con- 1. Tearsheets: 5. Commissioning contracts/
tain 15 (20 for Provisional) images that will We need to see copies of at least 10 purchase orders:
show us the level and standard of your work. (4 if applying for Provisional membership) A copy of a recent contract or purchase or-
There should be a mixture of commissioned examples of your published work. der together with a list of at least 3 others
and personal work; you will need to provide 2. Library Sales reports: (that can be produced if requested). These
proof of who commissioned which image and To cover the last 12 months (value of sales may be contracts with publishers, stock
where/how they were published. not required). libraries, galleries, your commercial clients
Each image must be no greater than 800 pix- 3. Gallery Sales reports: or with your agent.
els along the longest edge and the file format To cover the last 12 months 6. A professional recommendation
we require is jpeg with low compression (level (value of sales not required). to be given by one of the following:
10 quality is recommended) in sRGB colour 4. CV of Exhibitions: AOP Photographer, not the same photog-
space and at 72ppi. Work produced post-education and ex- rapher who introduced you (if applicable)
We upload your images anonymously to a hibited in commercial/professional gallery An Agent
secure on-line facility, so that a panel of venues only. A Publisher
members can review the work and confirm A Stock Library
that it is to the level and standard we expect A Gallery
of a Full/Provisional Photographer member. A Client (Art Buyer or Art Director).
Please visit our website to download an
application form www.the-aop.org