Disabled photographers are out there making names for themselves, and it's not talked about enough.
It was around 2pm on a bright Sunday afternoon. I was taking part in a Zoom call with photographer Charlotte Dormoy, talking about her work and what inspired her to start her career. She spoke to me about one of her favourite photos, a picture of a male and female couple she took at the Peak District to commemorate their engagement. “I had to hold myself back from posting everywhere”, she said. Charlotte went into great detail about the composition of the photo; the outfits they wore on the day, the area where they were standing, the array of colours that could be seen, the fact that you could see a peak behind them. The passion she had for her photography was clear.
Dormoy has a condition known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), which is usually referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome. This mainly causes extreme tiredness, which has been a challenge for Dormoy, especially since her work means she may have to travel long distances. “The predominant thing it affects is energy. I struggle with my energy a lot so I have to be careful”, says Dormoy. “It affects me day to day. I really have to manage what I do, so I don’t go out and about a whole lot. I tend to stay indoors most days, most weeks, most months.”
Unfortunately, disabled photographers like Dormoy Photo:s Charlotte Diormoy 43 aren’t highly recognised. According to the State of Photography Report (2022), disabled photographers, alongside women, non binary and POC photographers, were severely underrepresented. They account for only 23.6% of photographers recognised for their photography via awards. For years, disability has been underrepresented within the media. Regardless, disabled photographers most definitely do exist, and there are organisations out there that help them with their photography.
Originally starting as a disability-friendly photography club, the Disabled Photographers Society (DPS) has helped make photography accessible for everyone since 1968. The charity, which is mainly run by disabled photographers, provides various types of support. They give advice, as well as providing their members with special adaptations and equipment to take photos, depending on their disabilities.These can all be loaned for free. The charity has also provided many opportunities for members to come together. They host exhibitions, seasonal photo competitions and have a quarterly magazine, In Focus, which showcases the photos that members have taken.
“Some of our members would go to camera clubs,” says Eddie Currall, the current chairman of the DPS. “Back in those days, they were very niche and they weren’t really catering for people with disabilities.”
The charity has gained national recognition, holding a stand at The Photography Show and Video Show 2022 at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham. They plan to return with the stand in March 2024. The stand allowed for people to donate their cameras, tripods and any other photography equipment, which was then sold to help fund the charity. Currall doesn’t want to stop at just the UK. He is also trying to branch out overseas to help disabled photographers.
“We also support people that live in different parts of the world like New Zealand and America, who are trying to set up the same type of organisation, but don’t know how to,” says Currall.
Even without the aid of the DPS, disabled photographers continue to thrive through platforms like Instagram and Pixlr. Originally starting off as a fashion photographer, Charlotte Dormoy became more interested in the people than the fashion. She was inspired by India Earl’s photography, a fellow relationship photographer based in the US.
“I kind of realised that through what I enjoyed when I was in fashion” she says. “It wasn’t the fashion itself, it was more meeting people, getting to know people and their whole excitement through the process of photography. The way I connected with India’s work, that perhaps made me see that fashion wasn’t for me and I preferred more intimate and personal work.”
Dormoy has been steadily growing her following on Instagram and her work has taken her across different parts of the country. When it comes to preparing her photoshoots, she likes to look deeply into certain spots that could make for a good photo. “If I haven’t been to the location that we’re going to, I tend to research it a lot,” she says. “I go on things like Google Maps and AllTrails and I look at locations or specific little spots that there are photos of, so I can have an idea of perhaps, where I want people to stand or what angles will look nice.”
In Kent, photographer Jenny-Louise Read is taking on the great outdoors. Being a pet and wildlife photographer, Jenny frequently receives requests from pet owners to have photoshoots. Using a questionnaire, she finds out information about her pet clients to ensure that they have the best experience. "I want to know if they have a prey drive. I want to know if they’re terrified of men in hats. I want to know if they’re scared of cars, if they can be off their leash," says Jenny. “Once you scare an animal or they’re nervous or stressed, you’ve lost the magicalness of the photo shoot.”
Jenny’s condition is known as Phocomelia, a rare condition that can cause arms and/or legs to become shortened. In Jenny’s case, her right arm is shortened and she only has two fingers on her hand.
“The best way I can explain it really is that what I call my fin, which is my right arm, is like a T-Rex arm,” says Jenny. “I only have the top part of my arm, and the wrist and the two digits.”
There is a lot of discussion about the use of the term “disabled” to describe someone with a disability, regarding whether the term is offensive or not, which is especially important when it comes to being labled as a disabled photographer. However, for Jenny, she feels her disability is a superpower.
“When I was younger I was definitely offended by it because I never had the chance to prove myself otherwise,” she says. “But as I grew up and became stubborn and you know, mouthy, I started standing my ground and now I just view it as a superpower.”
Disabled photographers have not been represented enough and it is an issue that has not been spoken about nearly as much as it should. While it is uncommon, there are definitely disabled photographers who have managed to become successful. In Indonesia, photographer Achmad Zulkarnain has created a successful fashion photography business, despite being born with no arms or legs.
Disabled photography has also changed people’s lives, especially in the DPS and as the new chairman, Eddie Currall wants to help more disabled photographers, with some help from partnered companies. “I’m working with a lot more bigger organisations. We’ve got several good working relationships but we need to develop more as well,” he says. “I think sometimes they see us as a smaller organisation, yet we have over 600 members and countless members on our two Facebook pages that they miss out on."
Words by Ryan Say
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