What we do

Crowd in a gallery

©Jayne Lloyd- The Shutter Hub OPEN 2018 Private View, London

Shutter Hub is a photography organisation providing opportunities and support for creative photographers worldwide.

Through our awards, exhibitions, publications, website and meetups we enable photographers to promote their work, access curated opportunities and make new connections within the photographic community. What we offer is unique and personal. We are dedicated to creating fair access to photography, making a positive impact within the industry and opening up opportunities for everyone – be it through our Membership Bursary Awards, Camera Amnesty Projects, or other similar initiatives.

Our searchable portfolio directory features hundreds of photographers working in wide-ranging styles, subjects and locations.

Our growing community makes us proud to represent them and the photography industry wherever we can. We have:

  • spoken at industry events and places such as FOAM Museum, London Art Fair, FORMAT Festival, National Photography Symposium, Festival of Creative Industries and dozens of universities across the UK.
  • curated exhibitions at London Photomonth, Cambridge University, Old Truman Brewery and St Bride Foundation, to name just a few in the UK, and taken work to Belgium, Denmark, France, Israel, Portugal, Romania and The Netherlands.
  • worked with some wonderful organisations, including Fujifilm, Newspaper Club, Free Range, Photomasters, Metro Imaging, British Journal of Photography, FORMAT, London Photomonth, World Photography Organisation, Cambridge University, Photovoice, POW! WOW! Rotterdam, and The Photographers’ Gallery.
  • reviewed portfolios in the UK, Europe, the US and Israel; at Unseen Amsterdam, FORMAT International Photography Festival, Belfast Photo Festival, London Photomonth, The Photographers’ Gallery, Getty Images Gallery, Griffin Museum of Photography, the Photographic Resource Center, Photo Vogue Festival and more.

And there’s lots more!

Our membership has always been heavily subsidised by our own income – we receive no external grants or funding, and we’re proud to be able to offer our members access to over £1000 worth of benefits:

  • Exhibitions: We organise shows in galleries and exhibition spaces across the UK and internationally, as well as online. We subsidise the costs for our members and promote the exhibitions widely within the photographic community and global media. Exhibitions are always well attended – particularly our buzzing private views! We also offer our members the opportunity to create their own shows with our ‘Curate for the Community’ programme.
  • Portfolio Reviews: All Shutter Hub members are invited to have one free online portfolio review and get tailored feedback and support from the Shutter Hub team. Download our free Portfolio Review Guide for all the advice on getting the most out of these experiences.
  • Publications: In 2020 we launched our publishing house, Shutter Hub Editions, creating a collection of beautiful printed publications, featuring themed and solo books for people who love photography.
  • Awards: We offer a range of awards throughout the year, including our OPEN exhibition Best in Show, FORMAT Festival Shutter Hub Portfolio Prize, YEARBOOK Award and our popular Membership Bursary Awards.
  • Opportunities: We share a curated selection of opportunities, awards, exhibitions, benefits and discounts especially for our members.
  • Networking, Professional Development & Support Sessions: It’s important to build relationships and connect with each other in the real world, as well as online. Whether it’s meeting up at an event, exhibition, for a digital Lunch Break or a Professional Development session, we love getting to know our members and collaborating with other organisations to make sure we continue to grow our strong and supportive community.
  • PR & Publicity: We love sharing good news and promoting our members’ updates and achievements through features on our award-winning blog, in our newsletter, press releases and on social media – keep us updated with your new work, upcoming exhibitions, awards and other photography news, and we’ll spread the word.
  • Online Portfolio: Showcase your photography with your own portfolio and personalised URL on the Shutter Hub website. Browse our Photographers page to see how they look!
  • Commissioning: We connect members with potential clients through our networks, and also commission them for photography, exhibition support, design, project management and more.
  • Grants: Members can apply for awards of up to £500 to help towards photography projects that focus on matters surrounding humanitarian issues and social injustices.
  • Shutter Hub Logo: You can embed your own Shutter Hub member logo to add to your website and/or blog so your visitors can see that you are part of a respected organisation in the photographic industry.
  • Newsletter: Calls for exhibition entries, invitations, news, opportunities and useful information, all in your inbox once a month (and sometimes more if it’s something time-sensitive we think you need to know about). Sign up here.
  • Support: We invite everyone to be part of a friendly, positive and supportive community. We’re here to support our members, answer questions and find ways to help them progress.
  • Supporting others, too: We are dedicated to creating fair access to photography, making a positive impact within the industry and opening up opportunities for everyone – be it through our Membership Bursary Awards, Camera Amnesty Projects, or other Shutter Hub projects. Being part of our community enables you to make more of a difference too.

See what some of our members have to say about us!

For those who aren’t Shutter Hub members we have, and always will provide free knowledge, opportunities, advice, behind the scenes projects, and much more on our award-winning blog. We also organise free online events and send out regular newsletters to our mailing list (sign up here), and you can keep in touch with us on Instagram and Twitter.

Want to know more? Check our FAQs or get in touch if there’s anything you’d like to know more about.

We bring photographers together to be part of something positive and supportive. We’d love you to get involved – join now!