Could you help Manchester's Digital Strategy to tell the story of what ‘digital’ really looks like in the city?
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Manchester’s Digital Strategy is looking for talented, locally-based photographers to help bring our vision for Manchester’s digital future to life – and showcase how people across the city are benefiting from digital and technological change.
We’re looking for a photographer – or group of photographers – who can capture vibrant, narrative-driven images that bring to life how digital and technology are experienced by people in Manchester. Your work will complement and fill gaps within our existing image library, helping to improve representation across our four priority themes.
WHO WE ARE
Manchester’s Digital Strategy is a five-year plan to make Manchester a leading digital city, where everyone benefits from advances in digital technology. Prioritising human needs and values, the Strategy sets out an ambitious vision ensure that technological advances make a meaningful, tangible and positive difference to people’s lives. Helping more people in Manchester to become digitally equally is also a vital part of our work. Our #LetsGetDigital campaign champions the importance of digital inclusion in shaping a more equitable future for Manchester, supporting residents to access the skills, training and resources they need to get online.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
Our current image library, developed in 2023, and has helped to establish the foundations of our Digital Strategy brand.
It’s important that the images we use continues to embody our vision and values, centering the people who live, work and visit Manchester.
We’re looking for photography that is:
- Warm and vibrant, capturing the human stories behind digital and technology.
- Authentic and rooted in real life, showcasing the different ways that digital is experienced across the city.
- Inclusive and representative, reflecting Manchester’s unique identity, character and diversity.
Over the last five years, our priorities and projects have evolved. Your photography will help us to better articulate the Strategy’s ambitions and values, alongside the project activity enabling its progress. While your work should sit comfortably alongside our current library to maintain a cohesive visual identity, we want our new imagery to feel fresh – reflecting your own perspective and creative style.
We’re passionate about photography in which people can see themselves and the way they use digital represented.
New imagery should capture how digital and technology are experienced in real locations across the city, highlighting real communities, organisations and businesses to promote a sense of connection with both the digital world and the Strategy’s ambitions.
This is an opportunity to help connect people with the role digital plays in their everyday lives. Your work will be used to support a wide range of communications activity - including use across different platforms, campaigns and promotional material – helping to amplify the Strategy’s visibility and impact.
THE BRIEF
- Develop five ‘image sets’ (between 15 – 30 images each) to complement, broaden and fill gaps within the Digital Strategy’s existing image library. Key areas of focus include:
o Digital inclusion
o Artificial intelligence
o Digital infrastructure
o Manchester’s innovation ecosystem
- Edit photographs to a high-quality publishable standard, providing files suitable for print and digital use.
- Work collaboratively with Council teams to arrange and coordinate visits to partner organisations, over a maximum of three working days.
- Engage confidently and professionally with a wide range of residents, community groups, organisations and businesses.
Budget: Up to £1,500.
TIMEFRAMES
Application deadline: Applications will close at 23:00 on 19th June. Successful applicant(s) will be notified by 30th June.
Delivery period: The project will begin shortly after appointment, with a view to be delivered by the end of September 2026.
HOW TO APPLY
Interested in helping us to share what digital looks like in Manchester? To apply for this role, please email us at [email protected] with:
- A short introduction outlining your interest in the brief (no more than 300 words).
- Up to two photographs representing one of our key areas of focus for this project: digital inclusion, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure or digital innovation. Please include a short caption for each image, describing why the example you’ve chosen relates to the theme (between 50 – 150 words).
- Up to three examples of your recent work, ideally including people-focused or community-based photography in Manchester. Please include a short caption for each image, describing why you have chosen each example to demonstrate your approach and style (between 50 - 150 words).
- Your day rate.
- Your availability over the project timeframe (June – September).
We are particularly interested in receiving applications from locally-based photographers with a strong understanding of Manchester and its communities.
Any materials submitted as part of the application process will be used for assessment purposes only and will be deleted once the selection process has been completed.
Good luck – we look forward to hearing from you!
Pay: £500.00 per day
Work Location: In person
