In a perfect world, using photography to create the kind of personal projects we showcase on FotoRoom would pay the bills, but the reality is that photographers can only make a living from commissioned works. London-based agency Kiosk, the juror of the new #FotoRoomOPEN edition, is happy to offer a 6-month professional mentorship to introduce the winning photographer into the world of commercial and editorial photography: a fantastic opportunity for both young photographers looking to launch their career, and more experienced ones who would still benefit from some expert guidance.

Applications close next 31 July 2018. Read on for all the details, submit, and good luck!

The Juror — Kiosk

Kiosk is a London based boutique agency representing artists working in the fields of advertising, editorial and fine art photography. Working by choice with a small roster of photographers, Kiosk manages, supports and promotes their artists in all areas of their practice. The list of clients they’ve worked with includes Dior, DREAM, FedEx, Harper’s Bazaar, L’Officiel, Louis Vuitton, Manolo Blahnik, National Geographic, Open Table, PORT Magazine, Selfridges, The FT Weekend Magazine, The New York Times, TIME and Wonderland.

The Opportunity — 6-month professional mentorship by Kiosk

As the juror of this #FotoRoomOPEN edition, Kiosk is happy to offer a 6-month professional mentorship to the winning photographer. During monthly meetings (or Skype calls, if you can’t reach their offices in London), Kiosk will provide professional development advice and will help the selected photographer to build the necessary skills to expand his or her professional practice. The mentorship will include advice on portfolio editing and presentation, reviewing the photographer’s existing pricing strategy, as well as strategies to identify key professional goals and ways to achieve these.

If, at the end of the mentorship, the selected photographer proved to be a good fit for Kiosk, the agency is open to taking in consideration the idea of including him/her in their roster of represented artists (this is not a promise, though!).

The Mentor — Anna-Maria Pfab

The winning photographer will be mentored by Kiosk’s Anna-Maria Pfab, who has a 10-year experience in mentoring photographers. Anna-Maria has worked at Foto8, Host Gallery, Schilt Publishing, Institute for Artist Management and her freelance clients include Jerwood Foundation, Photoworks, Ditto Press, Atlas Gallery and many more; she also teaches Professional Practice at the Falmouth University’s Online MA in Photography and mentors 3rd year BA students. Besides photographers, Anna-Maria has experience in working with contemporary artists at large (she’s collaborated for years now with White Cube, one of the largest contemporary art galleries in the world).

Who can participate

As mentioned above, the mentorship can be conducted via Skype, so all photographers can submit, no matter where you are in the world. The call has no theme, either: you’re free to submit any work regardless of subject, style or approach.

The call is only open to FotoRoom members. Remember: signing up gives you access to not just one but all #FotoRoomOPEN calls that run while you’re a member (a new one opens every two months), on top of unlocking resources like our super-useful FotoCal. Become a member today!

Submission Guidelines

FotoRoom members can enter in two categories:

— Single Image (open to both Amateur and Pro members): participants in the Single Image category should send a maximum of 3 pictures.

— Series (open to Pro members only): participants in the Series category should send a maximum of 10 pictures from the same project. 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.

Please note that, as always, only the winner of the Series category is eligible for the opportunity offered by Kiosk.

Images must be sent via WeTransfer to calls@fotoroom.co in one PDF document per submission (so, if you’re submitting for both the Single Images and Series categories, you should create two separate documents). Besides the images, each PDF must include the following information about you:

1. Your full name
2. A short text, introduction or project statement.
3. A link to your portfolio website (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 in the sole ownership of the entrant and not infringe on the copyright of any other party; full ownership of the copyright for every submitted image remains with its author.

By submitting your images to #FotoRoomOPEN | Kiosk edition you grant FotoRoom the possibility to use the submitted images—properly credited—on its website and social media with the exclusive purpose of promoting your work and the FotoRoom platform.

The Deadline

#FotoRoomOPEN | Kiosk edition will closes next 31 July 2018 at midnight (Central European Time). We hope to announce the winners in August 2018. Good luck!