INTRODUCTION

Submitting process:If you are a professional visual journalist and have a meaningful project that you want to do we would like to hear from you. We are looking for projects that are interesting, do-able and, perhaps most importantly, that you are passionate about.

Any professional visual journalist can submit a project proposal to Emphas.is. Each project will then be reviewed by three members of our review board and evaluated on the basis of a set list of criteria.  What we will need for a story pitch:

1. A short written proposal of two or three sentences
2. A one page proposal outlining the scope of the project and its relevance
3. A bio outlining your experience as a professional and expertise in the subject area addressed in the proposal
4. Links to your work
5. A short video pitch of 1:30 – 2 min.
6. A selection of 15-20 images relevant to the project
7. A detailed budget
8. A list of incentives

You can find the full guidelines here.

The video pitch is of particular importance. You should put time and effort into the video pitch. It is the most important part of your pitch and appeal to the public. People want to know who they are giving their money to. You should describe your project in a direct and personal manner and make people feel your passion. Let them know you really care about making this happen and that you need their support. Here is a good example of a strong video pitch: link Tomas’ video

In return for people backing your project, you agree to enter into a dialogue with your backers, keeping them informed about your work in progress and sharing your thoughts and insights about the subject matter in a special “project zone” created for each project on Emphas.is. This project zone will only be accessible to backers of your project. Link to general terms-and-conditions.

In addition to access to the project zone, think about offering exciting rewards to your backers. Every backer will get access to your “project zone” for the minimum pledge of $10. To get to your goal faster you should create incentives for people to make bigger pledges, such as limited edition prints, postcards from the field, a private showing, a meeting with you, a lecture to a backer’s circle of friends or colleagues – anything that allows a further glimpse into your working process.

In order to promote your project campaign through your social networks and other online outlets, Emphas.is will provide photographers and enthusiastic backers with the possibility to export a widget linking to your video pitch. This way you can create a snowball effect around your campaign reaching beyond your immediate target group.

Please, take a moment to complete your profile before entering your project pitch here.

Once you project is submitted for reviewing, the review process will take a bit of time, so please, allow a few weeks for a response from Emphas.is. We believe in transparency so the results of the review will be made available to you.

Due to the volume of submissions we get at Emphas.is, you can only enter one project at a time.