DEADLINE EXTENDED! You now have time to submit to #FotoRoomOPEN | Belonging until next 15 September.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first edition of #FotoRoomOPEN (yes, now we’re calling our bi-monthly open calls #FotoRoomOPEN). For our new and fourth call we’ve partnered up with London and New York based commercial agency East, who are offering a 3-month professional mentorship to help develop your career in the world of commercial photography. Great, isn’t it? Read on for all the details, submit, and good luck!

The Juror — East

East is an agency for creative artists, based in London and New York. Founded in London in 1996, East has over 20 years of experience in creative career guidance, and is committed to championing work they believe in and providing a personalized service to their clients. They have worked for hundreds of brands and titles, including AirBnB, AnOther Magazine, Apartamento, British and American Vogue, Burberry, Google, The Gourmand, Hermes, HSBC, i-D, Johnnie Walker, Miu Miu, The New York Times, Nike, Vanity Fair, Veuve Clicquot and Wallpaper* Magazine.

East‘s roster has been carefully curated to include a broad spectrum of talent in photography, moving image, set design and styling. From the beginning, the agency focused on practitioners who truly embody their creative vision—both commercially and in their personal projects—while working at the highest level.

The Opportunity — East Mentorship

East will offer a 3-month professional mentorship (from October to December 2017) to their chosen recipient—a beautiful opportunity if you’re looking to launch a career as a commercial photographer but don’t really know where to start, or would like some professional support.

The mentorship includes:

— A tailored written career strategy to provide clear goals and identify key areas for progression and development, target markets, collaborators and clients;
— Online and / or printed portfolio edit of existing work;
— Bespoke, ad hoc advice on promotion, pricing and legalities.

This is the same personalized guidance East usually only offers to their boutique roster of artists, and is a fantastic opportunity for growth and development for an artist at any stage of their career.

The Theme — Belonging

‘Belonging’ is a theme contemporary photographers often explore. Belonging to a family, a group of friends, a community, a subculture, an idea, a place. Feeling like you belong, or feeling like you don’t belong.

No restrictions apply in terms of the chosen photographic genre, style or approach. For this particular call, you can submit commissioned work as well.

Who can participate, and in what categories

Only FotoRoom members can enter #FotoRoomOPEN — East Edition (Not a member yet? Sign up today). You can enter in two categories:

— Single Image (open to both Amateur and Pro members);
— Series (open to Pro members only).

Important notes — Make sure you read these!

East can provide guidance remotely over email or Skype, meaning that if you are not based in London or New York, you can still submit your work for judging.

Please note that only the winner of the Series category is eligible for the East mentorship. In the circumstance that the East team, at their exclusive discretion, not deem any of the entrants a good fit for the mentorship, the prize will remain unassigned.

The winning entries in both the Single Image and Series categories will appear in FotoRoom; as has been the case in the past, we may decide to feature a selection of non-winning entries as well.

Submission guidelines

To enter the Single Image category, please send a maximum of 3 pictures.

To enter the Series category, please send a maximum of 10 pictures from the same project—remember that for this call you can choose whether to submit a personal or commissioned work. It’s currently not possible for Pro members to submit more than one series, but they can submit in both the Single Image and Series category.

You should send your images via WeTransfer to calls@fotoroom.co in one PDF document, which must also include the following information about you:

1. Your full name and current location
2. A short text, introduction or project statement
3. A link to your portfolio website and / or Instagram account (if you have one)
4. An email address we can use if we need to get in contact
5. The email address you used to sign up as a FotoRoom member (in case it’s different from the contact email).

Copyright and terms of use

All submitted images must be the sole property of the entrant and not infringe on the copyright of any third party; full ownership of the copyright for every submitted image remains with its author.

If you are submitting commissioned work, you must have obtained permission from the client to use this imagery to promote your work, whether part of a pre-existing agreement or a permission obtained at a later stage.

By submitting your images to the #FotoRoomOPEN — East Edition you grant FotoRoom permission to use the submitted images—properly credited—on its website and social media channels with the exclusive purpose of promoting your work.

The Deadline

#FotoRoomOPEN — East Edition closes next 31 August 2017 15 September 2017 at midnight (Central European Time). Winners will be announced in mid-September early October.

Have questions?

Feel free to ask. Good luck to all and we look forward to seeing your submissions!