Female in Focus is a photography award from 1854 Media. Having launched in 2019, the award aims to highlight and give a platform to the exceptional work of women photographers around the world.

Female in Focus was conceived to address gender inequality in the photography industry. 80% of photography graduates are women — yet women make up only 15% of professional photographers. These women photographers are earning, on average, 40% less than their male counterparts.

Our mission is to open up the photographic landscape to a broad and representative range of talent, empowering woman-identifying people the world over to own their own stories.

We know we have to start at home. We’re proud to say that 54% of the photographers we commission through Studio 1854 are women. Gender balance in our awards programme is improving, but not yet equal: currently, 41% of our winners are women. We are determined to see this number rise.

The Female in Focus award is comprised of two categories: the Single Image Category and the Stories Category. 20 winning images from the Single Image Category and two winning bodies of work from the Stories Category will be exhibited in a dedicated group show in a leading gallery based in New York, US between 2020 and 2021.

As part of 1854 Media’s globally established platform, Female in Focus aims to elevate the work and careers of woman-identifying photographers around the world.
Up to 22 chosen photographers will have their work exhibited at a New York gallery. 2 series winners will be flown there for launch. Plus, get featured in BJP-Online, get judged by industry leaders and receive extensive international press coverage