Good news for all photo enthusiasts who want to make the difficult transition from casual photographer:in to professional: Canon Europe is hosting a series of exciting virtual lectures as part of the Canon Student Development Programme 2021, now in its fifth year. The best in the business - including documentary photographers, photo editors and international publishers - will share practical advice in a series of high-level panel discussions. For those who didn't have the opportunity to sign up for Canon's 1:1 mentoring programme, offered as part of the Canon Student Development Programme, these talks will give you the best tips and tricks for your future career.
© Canon Europe
The talks by top photo experts are part of the Canon Student Development Programme 2021 - register here: students.canon-europe.com/register-for-event.
The free events are open to all. Highlights include Canon's Thinking social-first panel discussion, which will explore the unique opportunities (and challenges) that social media platforms present for photographers.
Social media should not be ignored in the early stages of a successful career - 1,074 photos are uploaded to Instagram every second and 68 per cent of users use Instagram to interact with their favourite creator.* The Thinking social-first panel will address the following questions: "How can I attract the attention of potential clients via social media? What are the risks of publishing my images? How can I use social media to build a community?" Whether you are a pioneer:in the industry or a complete newcomer to photography, social media can broaden your horizons and help you reach a whole new audience. In addition to Canon's knowledgeable experts, the following personalities will also take part in the panel discussion:
- Documentary photographer and Canon Ambassador Gabriele Galimberti has over 278,000 followers on Instagram and often uses social media as a research tool to connect, discover new stories and tell his own. Documentaries on topics that would have been out of reach twenty years ago are now easy to research thanks to the internet.
- Laura El-Tantawy, whose award-winning work explores the experience of living between East and West, offers interesting perspectives on topics such as being mindful of published information, complying with local authority regulations when travelling and protecting oneself from cyber-theft.
- Lars Lindemann is head of photography and deputy creative director of Geo and PM as well as a former freelance picture editor and photographer. He has served on the jury of prestigious competitions such as the World Press Photo Contest. He will talk about how social media can be used to discover photographers and network throughout one's career.
- Anastasia Taylor-Lind is a TED Fellow and works for magazines such as National Geographic, for which she reports on current issues related to women and violence. For those who are willing to take risks yet can handle sensitive topics with care, Anastasia Taylor-Lind has the expertise when it comes to taking a compassionate approach to interviewees:inside and creating high-quality, investigative content. She focuses on social-first content creation and how to use social media to earn commissions.
Those who aim to break into the mainstream of traditional media will benefit from the experiences of internationally renowned photographers and media companies such as Politiken, Reuters and The Guardian, who will share fascinating insights in additional lectures. These will include topics such as the power of multimedia, the role of scholarship in jump-starting careers, insights into the mindset of photographers and the dynamics of portrait photography. The lectures aim to rethink everything you think you know about photography. They also serve as motivation to look to the future and consider how one's own individual style can establish itself in the industry.
Gabriele Galimberti, Documentary Photographer and Canon Ambassador, says: "I am delighted to have the opportunity to encourage and share my experience of telling people's stories through portraiture and film. Social media is constantly changing and is an important part of my research process - I look forward to discussing my findings with the Canon team and helping the next generation of talented photographers.
Susie Donaldson, ITCG European Marketing Director for Canon EMEA, says: "For the second year running, the Canon Student Development Programme is entirely digital. This means that our panel discussions are easily accessible worldwide and available to the widest possible range of aspiring talent. We focus on topics that we know are most relevant to talent at the start of their photographic careers, and hope that these talks will be the springboard to successfully establishing themselves in the industry as professionals."
Since 2017, more than 800 talents have participated in the Student Development Programme. Some of them have gone on to incredible careers at publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Each day of the event will feature exciting talks as well as question-and-answer sessions that are not to be missed. You can become part of the Canon Student Development Programme 2021 via the following link: students.canon-europe.com/register-for-event
Daily highlights include:
- Wednesday 1 September: Meet the alumni - from student to professional with Ilvy Njiokiktjien, Ksenia Kuleshova and Michele Spatari, and From field to front page: The tools for your stories with Brent Stirton and Vincent Jolly, moderated by Laura El-Tantawy.
- Thursday 2 September: Moving to motion: the power of multimedia with Ilvy Njiokiktjien and Magnus Wennman, and How to get hired as a photographer: insights into the industry with Gulshan Khan, Thomas Borberg, Rickey Rogers and Fiona Shields.
- Friday 3 September: Getting ahead: how bursaries and awards can boost a career, moderated by Ilvy Njiokiktjien, with Catalina Martin-Chico, Monica Allende and Acacia Johnson, and Thinking social-first: the importance of social media to the success of your photography with Ilvy Njiokiktjien, Gabriele Galimberti, Laura El-Tantawy, Anastasia Taylor-Lind and Lars Lindemann.
- Saturday, 4 September: The Portraiture Power Dynamic with Bieke Depoorter, Lindokuhle Sobekwa, Muhammad Salah and Rein Deslé.
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