Getty Images, in collaboration with Instagram, launches photography grant to support photographers using Instagram to document stories from underrepresented communities around the world

Three winners will receive $10,000 USD each, mentorship from a world-class Getty Images photographer and will be featured at the Photoville photography festival in New York City September 10-20, 2015

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Getty Images

May 07, 2015, 06:58 ET

NEW YORK, May 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Getty Images, the global leader in visual communication, in collaboration with Instagram, today announced a call for entries for a new grant to support photographers using Instagram to document stories from underrepresented communities around the world.

Instagram has introduced new opportunities for emerging voices, outside the mainstream media, to create and share projects of social importance. The Getty Images Instagram grant provides financial support and mentorship to amplify their impact.

"Photographers in all corners of the world use the Instagram platform to share unique and authentic stories that otherwise rarely come into focus," said Getty Images Senior Director of Content Partnerships Elodie Mailliet Storm. "Getty Images is guided by our belief in the power of pictures to move the world and we are excited to collaborate with Instagram on this grant to support and amplify new and important voices."

Three winners will be selected based on the existing body of work represented on their Instagram account, focusing on the quality of their imagery, their photographic skills and on the project and stories told through their photos.

"We are inspired every day by the work being shared on Instagram by both established and aspiring photographers," said Amanda Kelso, Director of Community at Instagram. "Photographers everywhere are experimenting, stretching their creativity and offering diverse perspectives. This grant captures the global enthusiasm from photographers to continue to push their craft to new levels."

Applications will be accepted until June 4, 2015, at 11:59 p.m. GMT. Entrants can apply online at www.gettyimages.com/grants, where they will be required to submit a biography, brief description of their approach, style, the stories they have covered and how they would benefit from the grant.

Instagram users can encourage photographers they follow or know to apply for the grant by using the hashtag #GettyImagesInstagramGrant. All entrants are required to complete the online application to be considered by the judges.

The judges are:

Kira Pollack (@kirapollack) –Director of Photography and Visual Enterprise, TIME
Malin Fezehai (@malinfezehai) – Documentary photographer
Maggie Steber (@maggiesteber) – Documentary photographer
David Guttenfelder (@dguttenfelder) – Photojournalist, National Geographic Photography Fellow
Ramin Talaie (@ramintalaie) – Documentary Photographer, Co-Founder, @EverydayIran

The three winners will be announced in September 2015. Each will receive a grant of $10,000 USD and mentorship from one of Getty Images' world-class photographers. They will also be invited to the Photoville photography festival in New York City in September 2015, where Getty Images and Instagram will exhibit the grantees' imagery.

About Getty Images:
Getty Images is the world's leader in visual communication, with over 170 million assets available through its premium content site www.gettyimages.com and its leading stock content site www.istock.com. With its advanced search and image recognition technology, Getty Images serves business customers in more than 100 countries and is the first place creative and media professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage images and other digital content. Its award-winning photographers and content creators help customers produce inspiring work which appears every day in the world's most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and online media. Visit Getty Images at www.gettyimages.com to learn more about how the company is advancing the unique role of digital media in communications and business, and enabling creative ideas to come to life. For company news and announcements, visit press.gettyimages.com, and for the stories, innovation and inspiration behind our content, visit Stories & Trends http://stories.gettyimages.com. Find us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gettyimages/, Facebook at www.facebook.com/gettyimages, Twitter at https://twitter.com/GettyImages, or download Stream, our free consumer app, to view and share the world's best imagery.

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