It has been a great privilege to be commissioned by a number of charities and third sector organisations to provide photography. As an advertising photographer I have always been commissioned to produce images that pursue and inform ,its that skill set that is required by the charities, to inform but also to persuade people to support the charity, and give generously so it is important to ensure that the communication is powerful and appropriate, often it is subtle positive communication that is the most effective.

Natural portraits and lifestyle images are seen across the media and in today's visually saturated digital landscape, images have to be effective, a simple communication can often be with just a portrait of a face, but as many will testify, images have to be genuine and instill trust in the audience.

How do you commission photography for a charity?

Many charities are well informed and set up with marketing and communication managers they often have industry experience and know how to produce a photography brief and maybe able to coordinate the location and the subjects for a photo, they may already have model / subject release forms that the subjects must sign before the images are published, however some smaller charities or third sector organisations are inexperienced and do not engage a photographer but use images that are supplied, or even stock images, that maybe ok, but with a professional photographer the process can deliver a great visual resource for the organisation that can be used across all media and help create a 'Brand' that people recognise and respond to.

That is where my experience can help, I have worked with children, vulnerable adults and members of the public and will ensure that the images delivered are suitable for use and have the clearance required. I also have PL insurance liability, a requirement if an accident occurs, protecting the organisation, subjects & myself.

Consider this, who are you communicating to and what are you saying?

That should be the start of the brief and it should not try and be, all things to all people, try to understand who you want to reach and what the outcome should be. Then a concept or stylistic approach maybe easier to deliver.

Free Photography ?

I am a photographer who works for charities, not a registered charity, I would love to provide my services for so many good causes and every year I do some Pro Bono work, however I am a professional and as such I deliver, I have always heavily discounted my fees for the third sector, but I provide images that shall help generate awareness and may potentially help raise a great deal of income for the organisation.

I am very happy to give a free appraisal of the charity website and visual assets and suggest if there can be cost effective ways to improve, I can also help with training for volunteers and staff so they can improve the visual content for social media, please contact me for a free no obligation chat about what your charity needs to improve its visual communication - it won't cost a penny! lorentz@gullachsen.com. 01608 695050