Women Photograph Grants 2025

The Women Photograph Grants offers $5,000 and $10,000 grants to support new or in-progress documentary photography projects by women, nonbinary, transgender, and intersex photographers worldwide, aiming to uplift diverse voices in visual storytelling.

Overview

Thanks to generous support from MPB, these $5,000 grants will support photography projects—either new or in-progress—by visual journalists working in a documentary capacity. Five grants are available, with at least one specifically reserved for a nonbinary or transgender photographer. Funding may be used to cover the hard costs of reporting, photographers’ creative fees, and any other expenses directly related to the production of new work. This grant is not intended to support the production of books, exhibitions, workshops, or other secondary materials.

Additionally, Women Photograph has partnered with Leica USA to award a $10,000 grant to a photographer focused on an ongoing documentary project.

Practical Info

These grants are open to women, nonbinary, transgender, and intersex documentary photographers of any nationality. A core part of Women Photograph’s mission is to be inclusive and supportive of photographers who reflect a wide range of identities, geographies, and experiences. Membership in Women Photograph is not required to apply.

Applicants are encouraged to submit a cohesive story, rather than single images, as part of the grant application. The images submitted do not need to relate directly to the proposed project, but applicants should specify in their application if the images are unrelated to their proposal.

The Women Photograph + Leica Grant is open to photographers who can demonstrate a long-term commitment to their story. Applicants should submit portfolios indicating that a substantial amount of work has already been completed, and that the photographer has a clear vision of what further work is needed to complete the project. Additional consideration will be given to applicants who are engaged with the communities they cover beyond traditional journalistic documentation. Funding should primarily be used to support the production of new work, including the hard costs of reporting and photographers’ creative fees, but may also partially fund community engagement programming.

About Women Photograph

Women Photograph is a nonprofit organization launched in 2017 to elevate the voices of women* and nonbinary visual journalists. Its private database includes more than 1,400 independent documentary photographers across over 100 countries and is accessible to commissioning editors and organizations. In addition to maintaining this database, Women Photograph offers annual project grants, a year-long mentorship program, an annual skills-building workshop, and collects data on hiring and publishing trends in the visual media industry.