About Us
Image: © Angela Ferro
What We Do
Image Makers Association Australia represents both professional and emerging photographers across Australia through education, advocacy, celebration, and connection.
We work on behalf of our members to enhance the business landscape for the photography profession, fostering confidence in the value of photography and ensuring it remains a sustainable career path for the future.
Our members include commercial photographers working in diverse fields such as portraiture, editorial, architecture, food, advertising, corporate, lifestyle, travel, social media content, still life, studio work, and more. In today’s evolving market, many photographers work across multiple areas, and the lines between these specialisations often blur. It’s crucial for photographers to understand how to manage a variety of client types and navigate different licensing agreements as needed.
We are a single tier association where all members are valued equally, and we operate on the premise that success is calculated in the marketplace. Our role is to support members so that they each can confidently establish and maintain viable businesses that thrive in a competitive market.
Our Structure
Image Makers Association Australia is an incorporated association under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic) and was registered on 18th May 2022 with Model rules adopted. The Association is also an Australian registrable body under section 601CB of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
Image: © Lean Timms
Proud Sponsors
Our Volunteer Committee
Sharyn Cairns
President
Natasha Alessio-Mulhall
Secretary
Dianna Snape
Committee Member
Scott Burrows
Committee Member
Ben Guthrie
Vice President
Anthony Basheer
Treasurer
Shannon McGrath
Committee Member
History
Image Makers Association Australia acknowledges the critical advocacy of past associations and endeavours to carry on this important work.
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Australian Institute of Professional Photography | 1944 – NOV 2021
The AIPP began in 1944 when photographers from various states collaborated to form an Australian association, providing a united voice for photographers nationally. Its roots can be traced back earlier to the 1930’s and the creation of the Professional Photographer’s Association of Victoria.
The AIPP contributed to shaping copyright and privacy laws in Australia and advised on and supported tertiary education for photographic training. The AIPP also ran the annual Australian Professional Photography Awards program.
With a membership of thousands, it was a source of professional development and community.
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Association of Commercial & Magazine Photographers | 1990’s to 2015
The ACMP was an extremely important and respected industry body during the 1990’s. The association start-up was funded by the AIPP with a focus on supporting commercial/advertising photographers, specifically with a focus on advocating for copyright. Contrary to overseas law, in Australia, the photographer did not generally have rights to the images they produced. The campaign to change this to reflect equity on an international stage was a ten-year campaign across both the Labor Keating and the Liberal Howard governments. It is an absolute credit to everyone involved, and in 1998 the law was changed in favour of photographers.
Every year the ACMP would produce the ‘Fuji ACMP Australian Photographers Collection’ inclusion in which was a result of an extensive judging process by some of Australia's best photographers, designers and copywriters. The Collection was a celebration, an exhibition and an archive of contemporary Australian photography.
In 2015 the AMCP joined forces with the AIPP to work together and give more weight and credibility to commercial photographers.’