Buyers’ guide
The Guild of Photographers › photoguild.co.uk Appealing to enthusiasts and professionals alike, the Guild of Photographers helps you get the best from your camera. To do this, it offers a range of training, including online courses and workshops along with networking opportunities and further support.
The Master Photographers’ Association › thempa.com
membership benefits becoming available to MPA members. There’s also a simplified MPA subscription and payment offer, including a subscription donation to the RPS. As full members of the RPS, new opportunities for MPA members will include: the ability to exhibit and promote work at RPS House and other UK venues; having their say in future development of the RPS-PPA; enjoying developments to the MPA’s networking ‘Hive’ and a closer alignment of MPA and RPS technology; plus joint RPS and MPA communications throughout 2023 that will move both organisations towards the full emergence of the RPS-PPA in early 2024.
Traditionally, the MPA’s sales pitch to members has been that it offers a dedicated community to gain help from and share ideas with. This includes qualifications, training, awards, mentoring and certifications, if these are among your goals. Established in 1952 and based in Darlington, it rates itself as the premier professional organisation for wedding, portrait and commercial master photographers. This year, the MPA began forging a closer relationship with the RPS, with a plan to bring the organisations together as the RPS-PPA from March 2024 and provide a new representative body for all pro photographers. An upshot of this is RPS
Editorial Photographers UK › epuk.org EPUK looks after the interests of editorial photographers in the UK and Ireland. Though it has a website which updates its members on trade news stories, it describes itself as primarily an email group for professional editorial photographers who want to talk business.
The Association of Photographers › the-aop.org The Association of Photographers, a trade association for British and European image makers, is commonly referred to by the abbreviated AOP, and is involved in advocacy and rights protection. Its mission is to promote, defend and fight for the rights of individual photographers. It does this by submitting responses to government consultations on any changes to copyright legislation, participating in the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) governmental working groups, working closely with other visual arts organisations and being part of the British Photographic Council and British Copyright Council. The AOP exists to support photographers through every stage of their career. Membership starts from £38 per year for the Access package. Alternatively, the top membership package of Accredited Photographer includes unlimited business and legal support, along with a bespoke professional indemnity insurance package, ‘find a photographer’ profile and more. PN
British Institute of Professional Photography › bipp.com This not-for-profit outfit, commonly known as the BIPP, lays claim to being the world’s oldest association for professional photographers, having formed in 1901. Based in Preston, Lancashire, the BIPP team combines experienced photographers and industry experts. It aims to offer the highest standard of photography and knowledge. Core to its ethos is providing a voice for photographers while representing professionalism. The association has a qualification structure that it describes as ‘challenging’, not to mention regional and national networking, events and workshops, national and regional awards as well as various membership benefits. It also offers a ‘find a photographer’ service for those outside of the organisation to locate and select a BIPP photographer for any occasion – be it a wedding, commercial shoot or press event!
Issue 110 | Photography News 25
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