Industry News
With just a few days left until the presidential election on November 3, there is still an abundance of ad campaigns, television commercials and social media messaging urging people to go out and vote. Photographers are doing their part as well by participating in the #PhotographersVote Instagram campaign. #PhotographersVote is a community movement launched by FlakPhotoProjects‘ founder Andy Adams and Humble Arts Foundation co-founder Jon Feinstein earlier this month to encourage photographers to use their Instagram feeds and show the world why they’re voting.
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“The project’s goal is to make it easy for photographers everywhere to show why they’re voting in this U.S. Presidential Election, and we enlisted a group of 30+ photography organizations and platforms to activate their communities to join the cause,” Adams told PhotoShelter Community Marketing Manager Caitlyn Edwards in an interview she did with him that was posted to PetaPixel yesterday.

As Edwards herself summarized, “It’s no secret that photography plays a huge part in how we see and feel about political candidates. But only a handful of talented photographers get access to Air Force One, town halls and socially distanced debates. There are plenty of other valuable stories about where, why and how people are voting, especially this year. The #PhotographersVote campaign encourages photographers to show the world why they’re voting on November 3rd the best way they know how: photography.”
On the FlakPhotoProjects blog two weeks ago, Adams wrote that “like a lot of you, I follow politics closely. The 2020 Presidential Election is critical to the United States’ future, improving BIPOC and LGBTQ lives, responding to the climate crisis, improving global relations, and countless other issues. Voting isn’t a magic pill but it is a step toward progress.”
To participate (and no, it’s not too late), the instructions are straightforward, as outlined by Adams on his blog: Use the hashtag #PhotographersVote on your posts (as well as @photographersvote) and follow @PhotographersVote on Instagram. “You can post a single photo or a series of images and use the caption to elaborate on why this election matters to you. And you can post as many #PhotographersVote Stories as you want between now and November 3. Our goal is to create a photo community groundswell around getting out the vote. A picture is worth and thousand words, and socially networked images can spread like wildfire.”

Participating partners include Humble Arts Foundation, Lenscratch, The Luupe, and many more who also have their own voting initiatives taking place, with online exhibits dedicated to the power of photography and the power of voting. Take, for example, the very compelling images on The Luupe’s blog, asking its community of women and non-binary photographers to share images that “speak to their visions of democracy in 2020 with a few words about why voting is important to them.” Check out the selections here.
And remember: Make it your priority to get out and vote!