Vital Impacts Environmental Photography Fellowships and Mentorships 2027

Overview

The Vital Impacts Environmental Photography Fellowships and Mentorships support visual storytellers who carry out long-term documentary photography projects on environmental and conservation challenges, and on the people and communities working toward solutions. The programme has a dual purpose: to give financial support and mentorship to photographers developing significant bodies of work, and to encourage collaboration with communities and organisations engaged in environmental and wildlife conservation. It is especially interested in stories that go beyond documenting problems to show the people and initiatives working toward meaningful solutions.

What you get

In 2027, Vital Impacts will award one $20,000 fellowship to an established environmental photographer and six $5,000 fellowships to emerging photographers from around the world. It will also offer ten mentorships to photographers whose work shows strong potential and would benefit from additional guidance and professional support.

Who can apply

The programme looks for photographers with a meaningful, established relationship with the people, places and issues they document, and strongly encourages photographers covering environmental and conservation stories in their own communities. Photographers who do not live permanently in a place may still apply if they can show sustained knowledge and engagement through recurring travel, long-term collaboration, or professional or academic experience. Applicants should explain why they are the right person to tell the story: what they know, whom they know, what relationships they have built and what perspective they bring. Commitment to long-term storytelling over short-term access is expected.

How to apply

Applicants submit up to 20 JPEG images from one or two bodies of work, either 10 from each of two projects or 15 to 20 from a single one, chosen to show documentary storytelling ability. They also provide a 25-word synopsis, a 500-word project statement describing the project, the environmental issue and the personal connection behind it, and a biography of up to 1,500 characters. Requested social media information is included, and applicants must agree to the Vital Impacts Code of Ethics and sign the fellowship or mentorship agreement if selected.

Key dates

The application deadline is December 1, 2026.