Since the earliest days, photographers have formed groups to promote the art and craft of photography. Pioneering associations like the Photographic Society of London (later Royal Photographic Society), founded in 1853, and the Société Française de Photographie (1854) were not limited to professionals. However, the expansion of commercial photography in the second half of the 19th century led to the proliferation of professional groups. In Britain, there was pressure to create a national organization from the 1880s; and 1890 saw the formation of a photographic assistants' union, a Photographic Manufacturers' Association, and a National Association of Professional Photographers (NAPP). NAPP was succeeded in 1901 by the much more durable Professional Photographers' Association (PPA), founded to ‘Improve the status of those who practise photography as a profession; to defend their interests; to assist its members by advice; to afford them opportunities of meeting and discussing matters pertaining to the craft; and to uphold the rights and dignities of the profession by all legitimate means’. Membership was open to studio proprietors and principals; assistants were excluded. The PPA concerned itself particularly with the copyright and royalty issues raised by the emergence of a national illustrated press, and contributed to the consultations leading to the 1911 Copyright Act. After several changes of name, it became the British Institute of Professional Photographers (BIPP) in 1983.
The legal status of professional bodies varies from country to country, as does the type of membership. Some organizations require only a subscription, while others stipulate a minimum level of competence within a given area of practice. The latter requirement allows the association to award qualifications to its members. The BIPP, for example, has three levels of corporate membership: Licentiate, Associate, and Fellow.
Most countries have organizations equivalent to the BIPP. In the USA, the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) represents many practising professionals. With over 14, 000 members in 64 countries, it claims to be ‘the world's leading certifying agency for imaging professionals. And the world's largest not-for-profit association for professional photographers.’ In Germany, the Gesellschaft Deutscher Lichtbildner (1919) was overshadowed after the Second World War by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie (1951); Freelens was founded in 1995. Two major French groups are the Groupement National de la Photographie Professionnelle and the Organisation des Photographes de l'Édition et de Publicité. The Japan Professional Photographers' Society (JPS; 1950) is the largest Japanese professional group; the Japan Photographers' Association (JPA; 1989) includes both professionals and amateurs.
The diversity of professional photography is matched by the diversity of groups: in Britain, for example, the Association of Photographers (advertising, fashion, and editorial), the Guild of Wedding Photographers, the Association of High Speed Photography, the Association for Historical and Fine Art Photography, the British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies, and so on. Similar variety prevails elsewhere.
— David Matthews
See also agencies, photographic.Bibliography
- European Photography Guide (1982- ).
- Hannavy, J., Images of a Century: The Centenary of the BIPP, 1901-2001 (2001)
