Three Female Photographers Collectives You Should Follow

They showcase the work of female journalists and organize workshops, amongst other activities which strengthen the participation of women in the creative industries and their work towards gender equality.

Women Photograph

Is a catalog of independent female photojournalists. The objective behind this huge project is to work to elevate the voices of women and nonbinary visual storytellers. Their website allows you to browse by region a database with works by many photographers. Women Photograph was launched in 2017 as a non-profit and includes more than 1,000 independent documentary photographers based in over 100 countries. 

If requested in private any commissioning editor or organization can access the full database. Women Photograph also organizes mentorships, grants, and skills-building workshops. The non-profit has a travel fund to help women and nonbinary photographers access opportunities that are important for their professional development. 

This collective of journalists argues its mission is to "ensure that our industry's chief storytellers are as diverse as the communities they hope to represent." They believe that inclusion and equity work must be intersectional, and support and highlight photographers across the spectrum of all identities. More than half of their funding and opportunities go to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) photographers as they are particularly committed to centering the voices of women and nonbinary photographers of color. In terms of inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community, they state: "We believe that gender is a spectrum. Women Photograph is inclusive of a plurality of femme voices including trans, queer and non-binary people."

Also read: WOMEN MURALISTS: WHEN TALENT TAKES OVER THE STREETS

Más Mujeres Fotógrafas

"More Women Photographers" is a photographic research and dissemination project to give visibility to all women photographers who have not had visibility neither in academic circuits nor in international recognition or professional works. This Spanish-English bilingual project highlights each day the work of a different woman. They are also creating a Crowdfunding campaign to build a website with a database of women photographers from around the globe.

The collective was created by Sarai Deza and Yolanda García, two Spanish photographers based in Madrid that believed in the possibility of not only teaching about female photographers but also doing feminist activism. Each day they talk about a different photographer, her formation, style, and message. They narrate this in a close and easy-to-understand vocabulary for non-art specialists and they highlight details in the work of the female photographers that make each of them unique.

Fotógrafas Latam

"Latin American Photographers" is a Spanish language project that was born to promote and make visible the work of emerging Latin American female photographers. This space seeks to highlight the role of Latin American women in the visual industry and the generation of high-impact content. Started by Colombian photographers Fernanda Patiño and Lorena Velasco, this process emerged at the beginning of 2018 as an interactive platform in social networks where emerging talents had the opportunity to expose their work and be visible, establishing a community of female photographers at a Latin American Level.

"Discipline, creativity, dedication, and courage to address sensitive issues, as well as the enormous talent of female photographers from all over the continent were some of the reasons that drove the formation of this community." They state on their website. This open space focuses on highlighting, sharing, and accompanying all those who have been part of the initiative to enhance its dissemination, promote professional growth and generate learning and inspiration spaces. Based on the importance of sisterhood and the role of women in the profession of photography, they are creating a network of women who give voice and face Latin American realities while strengthening initiatives in different territories.