PRESIDENT’S Message

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS!

With 11 months under our belt, I'm extraordinarily proud of the foundation we have laid and what we have achieved together as an association. I am grateful for the incredible volunteer effort, counsel and expertise of our committee and the contribution they have made to make Image Makers Association Australia possible.

Below is a snapshot of what we have achieved in just 11 short months:

• Member Forum

  We held a Member Forum and survey gathering information, about our Membership and informing the forum questions and our 2023 Roadmap. 

• Inaugural Member Exhibition | 1 Shot 22

  We launched our inaugural Member Exhibition, ‘1 Shot 22 – Defining Moments in the Built Environment’ at Sun Studios Melbourne in November 2022 and aim to hold an annual Member Exhibition.

• affiliate member of the Australian Copyright Council (ACC)

  We became an affiliate member of the Australian Copyright Council (ACC), the preeminent authority on Australian copyright law, and are recognised in their literature as the relevant industry body for commercial photographers in Australia. 

• ARTS LAW WORKSHOP & Affiliation

  We funded an Arts Law 1 hour webinar workshop for Members, covering an introduction to Arts Law, including how to access their services as well as issues most relevant to our Members including copyright, credits and contracts. We have also affiliated with Arts Law and a selection of their Photography contract templates are available to our Members with a 20% discount.-

• partnered with the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA)

  We partnered with the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA), making Image Makers Association Australia Members their preferred photography suppliers.

• affiliated with Regional Architecture Association (RAA)

  We affiliated with Regional Architecture Association (RAA), allowing our Members to promote their regional travel; RAA can inform their database of a photographer’s trip, leading to potential leads for more work in a given area.

• affiliated with Authentic Design Alliance

  We affiliated with Authentic Design Alliance, setting up a unique opportunity for mutual support, allowing our organisations to share information, education and promotional opportunities.tion and our community.

• affiliated with Stylecraft Furniture

  We affiliated with Stylecraft Furniture, giving our Members trade discount on their furniture; Stylecraft’s walls in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are also available to our Full Members for exhibition opportunities.

• two Founding Industry Members

  We signed up two Founding Industry Members - EIZO, the industry leader in colour LCD monitor equipment and Specular, Australia’s high end photo equipment experts.

• Advocacy

  We began the process of advocating for our Members in disputes over unlawful use of their images and moral rights infringement, undertaking research to tabulate the breadth of sites and publications utilising photography and their upload terms.

• Instagram takeovers

  We run ongoing week long member takeovers on Instagram which has grown organically to over 1000 followers; this allows our members to share some of the exciting and different things they do and issues they may have overcome, an opportunity for us to collectively benefit from individual experience.

• INDE Photography awards

  We negotiated a strategic partnership with Indesign Media Asia Pacific, opening up an ongoing dialogue and allowing us to have input to the terms of their newly announced INDE photography awards. Our members receive 50% off entry into the awards.

• Government Copyright Enforcement Review Response

  We created a survey to all Australian photographers whose responses informed our reply to the Australian government copyright enforcement review. We will soon be taking part in further engagement with the department of the Attorney General as they reach conclusions around how laws might be updated to make enforcement of copyright more achievable in Australia.

• EDUCATION

  We established communication with educational institutions and are working on establishing partnerships into the future.

• Guide to Copyright, Commissioning & Publishing Architectural Photography

  We released our ‘Guide to Copyright, Commissioning & Publishing Architectural Photography’, authored by us, reviewed by the Australian Copyright Council and endorsed by the Australian Institute of Architects and Regional Architects Association.

• Usage License & Professional Service Agreement

  We drafted a Usage License & Professional Service Agreement for Member reference. These are currently undergoing legal review.-

• Mentorship opportunity

  We established a Mentorship opportunity for Student and Assistant/Emerging Members to apply for made possible by the generosity of Sharyn Cairns, Tom Blachford, Dion Robeson, Nicole England and Mark Syke.

• Ministerial Roundtable on Copyright

  The Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, has established a Ministerial Roundtable on Copyright to provide an opportunity for dialogue between key stakeholders on copyright priorities and emerging issues and to increase effective collaboration between government and key stakeholders in developing copyright law reform.

  Image Makers Association Australia has been invited to participate in this discussion in early June and will be representing the interests of Australian Photographers.

In just under 12 months we have more than doubled our membership to 111 Members made up of 98 Founding Members, 12 Assistant/Emerging Members and 1 Student Member. Our Assistant/Emerging and Student Members are new categories of Membership that we will continue to promote and grow.

To make all of this possible there have been endless unpaid hours that have been critical in paving the way for establishing the association and increasing our capacity and membership. These unpaid hours are not sustainable long term for the committee alone.  As we move forward into our second year the committee volunteer effort will reduce to give our committee some reprieve while we continue to seek funding to support more paid hours.

Our communications Manager Rhiannon Slatter has done an incredible job of ensuring all the critical tasks have been taken care of and she will continue to support the organisation to grow and evolve by juggling and managing our priorities. Our membership funding currently supports 10 hours per week of paid support and we ask that everyone respect that this requires a constant juggle of priorities and effort.

We are actively seeking more support from our membership to continue this important work and make sure it doesn't rest on the shoulders of just a few people. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and volunteered their time in this inaugural year.

Please contact Rhiannon if you have the capacity to support our work into the future. We look forward to having you with us we grow this important organisation and community.

Dianna Snape - President