Creative Director of Photography & Visual Storytelling (Volunteer)

Mentor A Promise is a New York City–based nonprofit serving children and youth (ages 5–18) experiencing housing instability, grounded in the belief that every child is a Promise—full of potential, dignity, and possibility. We deliver consistent, high-quality programming across mentorship, literacy, social-emotional learning, and creative expression in shelters, schools, and community spaces, creating structured environments where students can grow, be seen, and build lasting skills. Through signature experiences like The Imagination Studio, The Kitchen Table, The Sound Lab, and The Story Space, we nurture academic development, emotional well-being, and creative voice, all within a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and accessibility-centered framework. Our work prioritizes dignity-protective storytelling, consent-driven engagement, and deep community partnership, ensuring that how we serve is as intentional as whom we serve.

About the Role

Mentor A Promise is seeking an experienced and imaginative Creative Director of Photography & Visual Storytelling to lead the creative direction of MAP’s photography work and help build and develop our Photography & Visual Storytelling team. This is not simply a photographer position. The Creative Director will establish the visual vision, lead photographers and visual storytellers, develop concepts, direct productions, review work, mentor creative talent, and help create a distinctive photographic language across PromiseStudios.

The role may support:

• Documentary photography
• Editorial storytelling
• Portraiture
• Program and community storytelling
• Campaign photography
• Fashion and product photography
• Events
• Behind-the-scenes documentation
• Organizational storytelling
• Photo essays
• Publications
• Digital and social storytelling
• Special creative projects

We are looking for someone who understands both sides of exceptional photography: the technical discipline required to create the image and the human responsibility that comes with capturing someone else's story.

Responsibilities

Creative Direction & Visual Strategy

• Establish creative direction for photography and visual storytelling within PromiseStudios.
• Develop a distinctive and recognizable photographic point of view for MAP.
• Translate stories, campaigns, programs, and creative briefs into compelling visual concepts.
• Develop shot direction, visual references, mood boards, treatments, and photographic approaches.
• Determine how photography can best communicate emotion, context, character, and meaning.
• Maintain exceptional standards for composition, lighting, storytelling, authenticity, and execution.

Build & Lead the Photography Team

• Help recruit, onboard, mentor, and develop photographers and visual storytellers.
• Build a team with complementary strengths across documentary, portrait, editorial, event, fashion, product, and other photographic disciplines.
• Assign photographers to projects based on experience, style, and project needs.
• Establish clear expectations, workflows, and creative standards.
• Lead critiques and portfolio reviews.
• Provide thoughtful, specific, and actionable creative feedback.
• Identify and develop emerging creative leaders within the team.

The goal is not simply to build a roster of photographers. It is to build a creative community where photographers learn from one another and continuously strengthen the quality of the work.

Photography & Production Direction

• Direct photography productions from concept through final image selection.
• Collaborate on locations, environments, lighting, styling, composition, and visual approach.
• Create or review shot lists and production plans.
• Provide on-set creative direction when appropriate.
• Work collaboratively with subjects rather than treating them simply as visual material.
• Guide image selection and sequencing to ensure photographs work individually and collectively as stories.

Documentary & Human-Centered Storytelling

• Help develop thoughtful approaches to documentary and community photography.
• Ensure photographs provide appropriate context rather than relying on stereotypes or simplified narratives.
• Prioritize dignity, agency, authenticity, and respectful representation.
• Help photographers understand the responsibilities involved when documenting children, families, and communities experiencing housing instability.
• Challenge imagery that unintentionally sensationalizes hardship, poverty, trauma, or vulnerability.
• Look for photographs that communicate not only challenges, but also identity, relationships, creativity, resilience, joy, ambition, and everyday humanity.

Visual Story Development

• Develop photo essays and long-form visual storytelling projects.
• Help photographers move beyond individual images toward narrative sequences.
• Collaborate with writers, filmmakers, editors, designers, and producers where photography forms part of a larger story.
• Identify opportunities to document MAP's history, programs, people, partnerships, and impact.
• Help build a thoughtful visual archive that preserves important moments in MAP's development.

Cross-Division Collaboration

The Creative Director will lead photography as a PromiseStudios discipline while collaborating across MAP. This may include working with:

• PromiseBrands on fashion, product, merchandise, and brand campaigns
• PromiseVoice on editorial and communications storytelling
• PromisePages on books and publications
• PromisePublic on public-facing campaigns
• PromisePrograms on program-related storytelling
• Other PromiseStudios creative teams on multidisciplinary productions

When photography is required for another division's initiative, PromiseStudios retains leadership of photographic production while collaborating closely with the requesting team's creative and strategic leadership.

Youth Photography, Consent & Safeguarding

Photography involving children and families requires particularly careful judgment. The Creative Director will help ensure that applicable MAP requirements are followed regarding:

• Parent or guardian permissions
• Youth assent where appropriate
• Image and likeness releases
• Privacy
• Safeguarding
• Location and identifying information
• Appropriate storage and access
• Publication and distribution
• Sensitive or vulnerable circumstances
• Respectful representation

A technically beautiful photograph is not successful if obtaining or publishing it compromises someone's dignity, privacy, safety, or trust.

Qualifications

Strong candidates may bring experience in:

• Photography
• Creative direction
• Photo direction
• Documentary photography
• Editorial photography
• Portrait photography
• Photojournalism
• Commercial photography
• Fashion photography
• Visual journalism
• Visual storytelling
• Multimedia production

The strongest candidates will demonstrate:

• An exceptional photography or visual-direction portfolio
• Strong visual and narrative judgment
• Deep understanding of composition, lighting, framing, and photographic technique
• Ability to develop visual concepts and communicate creative direction
• Experience directing or mentoring photographers
• Strong editing and image-selection ability
• Sensitivity when photographing people and communities
• Excellent communication and collaboration
• Ability to balance creative ambition with ethical responsibility
• Strong organization and production judgment
• Commitment to MAP's mission and dignity-centered values

What Success Looks Like

• MAP develops a strong and recognizable photographic language.
• PromiseStudios builds a talented and collaborative photography team.
• Photographers receive meaningful direction, mentorship, and opportunities to grow.
• Photography becomes more intentional rather than simply documenting activities.
• Major projects begin with clear visual concepts and production plans.
• MAP develops compelling documentary, editorial, portrait, and creative photography.
• Visual storytelling reflects people with complexity and dignity.
• MAP's photographic archive becomes an increasingly valuable record of its programs, people, history, and impact.
• Photography works effectively alongside film, illustration, design, writing, and other storytelling disciplines.

Why This Role Matters

A photograph can become the way a moment is remembered. That creates both an artistic opportunity and a responsibility. MAP does not want to photograph children and families simply because their circumstances create an emotional image. We want photography that allows people to be seen as whole human beings—with personalities, relationships, ideas, talents, aspirations, challenges, and stories that belong to them. The Creative Director helps establish that standard.

Build the team. Find the frame. Protect the dignity of the story. Create images worth remembering.

Commitment

• Approximately 5–10 hours per week
• Minimum 6-month commitment required
• Remote leadership with NYC-based production as needed
• Regular participation in creative reviews and production planning
• Timely, professional communication and follow-through
• Completion of applicable MAP onboarding, safeguarding, privacy, and organizational requirements

Benefits

• Leadership of a growing Photography & Visual Storytelling team
• Opportunity to recruit and mentor photographers
• Creative direction experience across documentary, editorial, portrait, campaign, and multidisciplinary projects
• Collaboration with filmmakers, designers, writers, producers, and other creative professionals
• Opportunity to help establish MAP's long-term photographic language and visual archive
• Portfolio-building and creative-credit opportunities where appropriate
• Professional references and letters of recommendation
• Meaningful opportunity to use photography in service of thoughtful, human-centered storytelling