Mission
The Young Photographers Alliance (YPA) is a global community where young photographers connect with the inspiration, resources and contacts they need to build successful and sustainable careers as the great artists and communicators of the future.
All across America there are young people who are passionate about expressing their vision of the world through photography—but every year, it becomes harder and harder for them to do so. The photography industry is chaotic and complicated, with no clear track to artistic and commercial success. Survival often depends on one’s ability to build a small business independently with limited resources and little, if any, access to advice or direction. This lack of support not only affects aspiring photographers directly, it will also have a long-term negative impact on the future of professional photography.
YPA is an educational foundation dedicated to rallying the resources of the creative community and general public in support of young talent. Our mission is to inspire and empower the next generation of image-makers by offering the real-world knowledge, insight, experience and contacts they need to build sustainable careers as photography professionals.
YPA is unique in its focus on community and the fostering of direct, meaningful connections between emerging and established photographers. Our vision is to create powerful synergies between the two groups, recognizing that collaboration benefits both, and ultimately energizes and advances the profession as a whole.
Great talent isn’t just born. It’s developed.
The Young Photographers Alliance provides financial grants and skill-development opportunities for emerging photographers and photography students enrolled in college programs across the United States.
Our Vision
1. We believe in the power of photography.
In 1826, the world of visual communications changed forever with the development of the first photographic image. Suddenly, the objects and activities of daily life could be captured with a clarity and sense of realism no drawing or painting had been able to achieve before. From the early days of still-life images and portraits, to the advent of photojournalism and conceptual photography, photography has been a vital and irreplaceable medium that has literally changed the world by enabling Mankind to inform and educate, document knowledge and history, and inspire human creativity.
2. Behind every great photograph is an artist.
In 1888, George Eastman made the tools of photography accessible to the general public with the Kodak camera, instantly commoditizing the act of image making. Today, anyone can “point and click” with everything from a sophisticated single-lens reflex camera to a mobile phone. But photographs don’t take themselves. They still require the action of a photographer—and great photography requires the eye and vision of an artist.
3. Successful photographers aren’t just born. They’re made.
Whether a photographer creates images for practical use or creative expression, it takes education and the development of tactical skills to work at an expert level and bring new ideas or techniques to fruition. Sadly, students who aspire to become photographers today are challenged by the ongoing elimination of arts education in public schools, along with the ever-increasing cost of a college degree. Students with the heart and vision to become photographers desperately need a support system that will help them acquire the skills they need, and make the professional connections that will help them succeed.
4. The history of photography still has a future.
The first photograph was considered magical. The first point-and-click camera was revolutionary. The first digital camera was game-changing. Who knows how the medium will evolve in the years ahead? There’s no telling, but the story isn’t over, by any stretch. Wherever the future leads, we believe in the art and power of photography, and in photographers as visual storytellers capable of changing the world.
We’ve come full circle.