500px is committed to providing photographers with opportunities to participate in evolving trends within commercial advertising. We not only want to provide an authentic look at global experiences, but redefine representation and drive inclusivity within commercial photography.

To do this, we launched the 500px Commercial Grants program to help develop content representative of evolving trends around the world. In May 2020, we launched Commercial Grants: Intersectional Diversity which saw the 500px Content Team partner with creators in an effort to provide inclusive representation across a variety of themes and concepts ranging from age, disability, people of color, sexual identity, and body type.

We awarded five Commercial Grants of $1,000 US each to the following photographers:

Anna Neubauer

London, England

“I am a photographer from Austria based in London. I love working with people of all abilities, telling their inspiring stories, hoping to inspire others. With my images I like to remind people that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

I grew up in a small Austrian town with little to no diversity and a recent trip to Austria showed that not much has changed in the past few years. Unfortunately, the lack of authentic representation portrayed in mainstream media is still shocking. Showing diversity within commercial photography and breaking traditional stereotypes is really important for me, as I believe that everybody has the right to be seen and heard, no matter what they look like or where they come from.”

Nadia Ramahi

Kitsap County, United States

“I have 11 years of experience with photography and 13 years living as an amputee. It has been a gift to view the world as a differently abled person, and I believe that it is profoundly important that in a world with so many different body types, ethnicities, beliefs, and cultures that everybody gets a chance to be represented and have a voice.”

Natalie Zotova

Ko Phangan, Thailand

“I’m from Russia but I live in Thailand. I shoot people from different countries. Diversity within commercial photography means not to shoot just slim models. There are many interesting people with their own peculiarities. I love people and my task is to show the beauty of their soul.”

Eman Mansour

Cairo, Egypt

“I’m from Egypt and I work as an full-time Art Director. I love to tell stories through my photography, freezing moments and feelings. I live in Cairo, which feels like the most crowded, hot, magical, and above all, diverse city I have ever experienced.

I always admire Egyptian women with their different beliefs, cultural backgrounds, choices, and lifestyles, and I love how they support each other and their community. My goal was to provide a simple glimpse into the beauty and diversity of Egyptian women for this project.”

Edward Grant

Teaneck, United States

“My name is Edward (Eddie for short) I was born and raised in a multicultural town in New Jersey which has shaped my upbringing and has branched out into my photography. Every culture, race, gender, ethnicity, and nationality deserve to have their stories told and represented in the commercial photography space to show that other communities exist and are living in this world together.”

The 500px Commercial Grant: Intersectional Diversity is part of the 500px Commercial Grants program, which has awarded over $15,000 US to photographers worldwide. You can learn more about 500px Commercial Grants and how you can contribute to diversifying representation here.

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