BBC and Getty Images call for photographers' help in building a more diverse image library of families

The BBC Kids Collection will feature images and videos of children and families currently underrepresented in the media, with grants available to amateur and professional photographers who pitch in response to a brief.

Date
21 October 2020

The BBC and Getty Images have partnered to create a more representative and inclusive library of images of families and children in the UK, titled, the BBC Kids Collection. Looking to better reflect the diversity of British family life in media, the initiative has issued a call out to photographers across the country – amateur or professional – to submit their pitch in response to a brief (more details below). Successful applicants can win a grant of £250–£1000 from a total fund of £10,000, to shoot the photographs. The work will then be included in the Getty Images library, with the photographer receiving royalties every time their images are licensed.

It is hoped the library will feature a representative group of photographers and videographers, whose work shows the breadth of kids’ lives and experiences around the UK. The brief asks for images of children aged 0-16 from across the UK’s nations and regions, BAME families, children with a range of disabilities and using a variety of technology. Shoots must be model released (ie. have legal approval from children’s guardians and parents for the images to be captured and hosted on Getty Images’ website) and compliant with government social distancing guidelines.

Applications will be reviewed by the BBC and Getty Images and successful applicants will be chosen based on their ability to execute a “compelling commercial visual narrative” which meets the selected brief. The seed fund will be open across three phases of briefs, closing 31 December 2020.

The BBC Kids collection will be available for licensing by media and businesses, for uses such as news reporting, marketing communications and advertising campaigns. The library will be live, meaning photographers and videographers who contribute to Getty Images can continue to add images and videos which match the library criteria.

“We know the crucial role the media plays in shaping children’s view of themselves and the world around them, it is therefore vital that we all get it right,” says the BBC’s head of creative diversity, Miranda Wayland. “This is a fantastic initiative from BBC Children’s who are already trailblazing diversity and inclusion within the industry, and this work will go even further in leading the way, along with Getty Images, to develop new creative talent and build a living library of images for use by all. The BBC Kids Collection is an important game changer and will help ensure we authentically represent all of modern Britain.”

Getty Images has worked with other organisations to develop more inclusive photo libraries, such as Project #ShowUs with Dove and Girlgaze, created by womxn to “put an end to the narrow definition of beauty”; as well as The Disability Collection with the National Disability Leadership Alliance and Verizon, the Disrupt Ageing Collection with AARP, and its collection with MuslimGirl.com.

Find out more information on the BBC Kids Collection and how to submit pitches, here.

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Jenny Brewer

Jenny oversees our editorial output across work, news and features. She was previously It’s Nice That's news editor. Get in touch with any big creative stories, tips, pitches, news and opinions, or questions about all things editorial.

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