Deadline: 1 May 2025
The Doug Pensinger Photography Grant provides support to emerging and early-career sports photographers.
Benefits
- Up to 3 of those seven grant recipients will be chosen to receive a year-long mentorship with leading industry professionals on the DPPF Advisory Board.
Funding Information
- 7 photographers will be chosen to receive $5,000 grants to be spent on career development.
- After the Primary Grants of $5,000 are awarded, up to three of the remaining applicants will be chosen to receive a Development Grant of $2,500.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Doug Pensinger Photography Fund supports emerging and early-career sports photographers. Photographers with more than 3 years cumulative paid professional sports photography experience are considered beyond the scope of the DPPF’s programs.
- DPPF programs accept international applicants, but the DPPF is unable to award grants to photographers from countries for which the U.S. has active sanctions in place.
- Previous DPPF grant recipients are not eligible to apply.
Application Requirements
- Resume: Must include dates and be in English. Please note that in addition to demonstrating that you are a serious aspiring sports photographer, the resume is also the tool that the DPPF uses to determine that your level of experience does not exceed the limits of eligibility.
- Professional Bio: 1500-character maximum
- Portfolio: 20 sports photography images (action and portrait both accepted), minimum size 1500px long side. All 20 required images must be taken on or after 1/1/2021. 15 of the required 20 images must be taken on or after 1/1/2023
- Optional Mentorship Essay
- Up to three Primary Grant winners will be chosen to receive a year-long mentorship during which they will receive access to leading industry professionals on the DPPF Advisory Board.
- Applying for a mentorship is not required to compete for a DPPF grant.
- The 2025-2026 mentors are DPPF Advisory Board members Jessica Carroll, Frank Franklin, and Matthew Stockman.
- Mentorship applicants are required to answer the following question: How would you benefit from a mentorship with members of the DPPF’s Advisory Board? (1500-character maximum)
- Optional Development Grant Essay
- Applying for a Development Grant is not required to compete for a Primary Grant.
- DPPF Development Grants support sports photographers whose portfolios demonstrate talent and technical skills while their biographies and essays reflect significant economic, geographic and/or cultural challenges that have impacted their ability to advance their careers.
- Development Grant applicants are required to answer the following question: How have significant economic, geographic and/or cultural challenges impacted your ability to advance your photography career? (1500-character maximum)
For more information, visit DPPF.
