Working as a photographer can mean making a good living, and it’s also quite a fulfilling career in creative terms. But it can go beyond that. It can be fulfilling in another way: by helping out a cause using the power of your photography alone.
Every cause needs good images. Whether it’s a website explaining why the cause is important, flyers and other marketing materials, an ad campaign in magazines and online, or even social media posts, images are crucial to raising awareness of an issue. They help to persuade and sway the hearts of those whose donations are needed, as well as helping more people to understand the issue at hand.
If you want to do more, do good, and give back to your community, this guide will tell you how to help a cause with your photography.
Here is what we will cover:
- Finding a worthy cause
- Offering your services
- Getting the most impact, while staying respectful
- More ways to help
Recommended Reading: Want a simple way to learn and master photography on the go? Grab our set of 44 printable Snap Cards for reference when you’re out shooting. They cover camera settings, camera techniques, and so much more. Check it out here.
Finding a Worthy Cause
The first thing you’ll want to do is to find a worthy cause that you can spend your free time helping.
There are lots of options out there. They range from the small and local, like providing youth services or cleaning up a neighborhood, to the national, like veteran charities or medical aid, and the global, like poverty support or disaster aid. Many of these causes will probably feel worthy of your time and attention, but the important thing to recognize is that you can’t help everywhere.
Making a change is important, but where do you focus your efforts? Photograph by Katt Yukawa
Choose just one cause, at least to start with, that you are very passionate about. You have to be passionate because you might end up dedicating hours of unpaid work and sleepless nights to a charitable project. It will be worthwhile in the end, but you’ll need it to be something you care about enough to get you through those hard parts.
Take your time on this and consider the causes where you can make the most impact and which you feel you’d be most comfortable donating your time and work to.
Key Lesson: There are so many causes vying for your attention that it can be hard to assess what matters to you. Compare how much impact you can make against how passionate you are regarding the issue to see what would be the best fit.
Offering Your Services
Reaching out and making a connection has to be the first step! Photograph by Branimir Balogovic
When you’ve decided on which cause you to want to help, don’t just barge in and start doing things your way. With a lot of issues, it’s important to tread carefully and respectfully. You don’t want to make incorrect assumptions about the people who need your help, and you certainly don’t want to misstep by trying a project that actually harms the community you want to help.
You don’t want to make incorrect assumptions about the people who need your help, and you certainly don’t want to misstep by trying a project that actually harms the community you want to help.
The good news is, there are lots of people out there who are already experts in this kind of thing. Find a charity with a great reputation – make sure that you look into the work they have already done and find out if they are transparent about how their funding is spent. Find out if there is a local volunteer office you can head to.
If not, contact their head office online and explain who you are, why you want to help, and how you think you could. If you don’t have any ideas yet, that’s fine! Just let them know that you’re available. They should be able to help you understand the best way your efforts can help the cause.
Key Lesson: Talk to charitable organizations that are already working around the issue you want to support or raise awareness of. They already have the expertise, know-how to approach things respectfully, and can direct you to the best way of using your skills.
Getting the Most Impact, While Staying Respectful
Your photographs must make a lot of impact when you’re working to support a cause. You need to pack in those punches – a strong image could make the difference between receiving a donation, changing someone’s mind, making someone care… or leaving them with no reaction at all.
But at the same time, we don’t want to overstep our boundaries. We don’t want to embarrass, disrespect, humiliate, or shame the people or places we’re photographing, and we especially don’t want to exploit them.
A little human kindness can go a very long way. Photograph by Matt Collamer
So, how can you avoid this? One way is simply through communication. For example, if you are doing a campaign to raise awareness of homelessness, you’ll want to talk to homeless people before you photograph them. Make them comfortable and understand their story. Make sure they are okay with having their photograph taken – they might not want to be captured in an ad campaign.
We don’t want to embarrass, disrespect, humiliate, or shame the people or places we’re photographing, and we especially don’t want to exploit them.
Try to be a good person in all that you do. Ask for photographs, don’t just take them. If you do take photographs of someone, it’s a good idea to make sure they get something out of it too. For example, you could use the charity’s money to pay them for their time, get them a hot meal, or so on. And you certainly don’t want to make the mistake of taking someone’s photograph for free and then making a lot of money on the back of their misery. You might not ever get pulled up on it professionally, but it definitely won’t reflect well on you as a person – and you won’t be truly helping any cause but your own.
It’s the same concept if you’re taking pictures of something that isn’t people; for example, in a campaign against animal abuse. Don’t force an animal to unnecessarily suffer just to get the shot, and make sure they are well cared for afterward. Keep the cause foremost in your mind.
Key Lesson: Communicate with your subjects to ensure you aren’t embarrassing, taking advantage of, or disrespecting them. Get their written consent for the images to be used and try to reward them for their time as well. Treat them as you would wish to be treated if you were struggling!
More Ways to Help
Bear in mind that going out on the street and taking photographs of the cause you’re supporting is just one way you can put your skills to good use in this case. There are lots of other ways to help out, too.
Auctioning your work can help raise a lot of money for a cause. Photograph by Raychan
As a photographer, here are some ideas you could try to raise money or awareness for a cause:
- Sell charitable sessions: A certain percentage of every sale you make goes to the cause. For example, you could do puppy photoshoots and donate half the proceeds to the local animal shelter.
- Take part in a charity auction: You can put up either a photography session for free, or some signed prints, or something else that you are already selling to be auctioned off at a gala event.
- Share other images: If you have a good social media following for your photography, you could make a regular feature where you share the work of others who are highlighting honorable causes – calling it Giving Sundays, for example.
- Donate part of your business profits each month to a local cause, changing it up regularly to spread the benefit around.
- If you already have a good reputation in the photography world, you could donate the rights to your bestselling stock image or newsworthy photo to a charity, so that they claim all the royalties in the future.
Key lesson: Don’t get stuck on the one idea of being a photojournalist for a cause, especially if that’s not your thing. There are lots of other ways your photography can benefit a local cause, even if just by raising money for them!
Recommended Reading: Want a simple way to learn and master photography on the go? Grab our set of 44 printable Snap Cards for reference when you’re out shooting. They cover camera settings, camera techniques, and so much more. Check it out here.
Conclusion
Helping a cause with your photography is a noble pursuit, but it shouldn’t be undertaken lightly. Consider these points first:
- Choose a cause you’re truly passionate about
- Be clear about whether you can make a difference
- Don’t exploit anyone (or anything) in pursuit of a great shot
- Be kind and respectful, and remember that communication is king
- Talk to a professional instead of making assumptions
- Offer your help instead of rushing in
- Think outside the box for other ways you can help a cause other than simply taking pictures of the issue itself
Photograph by Rhiannon D’Averc
Self-Check Quiz:
- How can you tell if a cause is worth putting your time into?
- How should you get started with helping out a cause?
- What checks should you carry out when looking into charitable organizations?
- What should you do before taking someone’s picture for a cause?
- How can you make sure someone is rewarded for giving you their image?
- What are some ideas for raising money if you aren’t into photojournalism?
- When doing anything for a cause, what’s the number one thing to keep foremost in your mind?
Learning Assignment:
Make a shortlist of up to ten causes you feel you could support. Besides them, give them a rating out of 10 for your passion – 10 being something you would die for, and 1 being something you wouldn’t bother helping out with even if you could. Be honest! Now you can also go through the list again and make a note of how big you think your impact could be – 10 is making a huge difference and changing someone’s life, and 1 is just a drop in the ocean no one will notice. The cause which has the highest combined score will be the one you should go for!
