AHFAP was founded in April 1985 by groups of photographers in the photographic studios at some of the national museums in London.
This is the final draft of the constitution agreed at the committee meeting held in July 2013 and ratified, subject to two accepted amendments, at the AGM.
AHFAP was founded in April 1985 when it was realised that it would benefit the photographic studios at the national museums in London to form an association. The following year the inaugural meeting was held, attended by photographers from the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery, the Science Museum, among others, and, significantly, a sponsor, a representative from the manufacturer Ilford.
Prior to this the photographic departments had been working in isolation and there was little communication between them. It was recognised that closer ties between the departments themselves and with the industry which supplied them would benefit the profession. The association has met regularly ever since, with annual conferences held both in London and elsewhere.
The association’s existence straddles the major upheaval of the greatest revolution in image-capturing since its invention. It quickly became obvious that AHFAP was well placed to facilitate communication between photographers and manufacturers as the painful transition was made into digital technology.
The association ensured an even distribution of information as equipment appropriate to achieving the standard of quality required was located and tested, even if it was not fully understood what the indicators of digital quality were or how its parameters would change. The move to new technology stimulated dialogue with individuals and organisations abroad including the USA, China and of course mainland Europe. In 2011 AHFAP organised an ambitious inaugural International Conference in Brighton. This conference became the model for a wider-reaching and more targeted international conference now held every two years at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, attracting representatives from 22 countries.
As AHFAP’s position of authority became established, its membership widened. The association, originally the sole domain of museum and gallery photographers, attracts a more diverse group of imaging professionals. It now includes Special Interest Groups from major libraries and archives, including universities, as well as independent professionals and commercial digitisation companies.
The success of high-quality reproduction is dependent on high-quality multi-purpose digital images. Confidence in technique and commonly held quality standards is rightly demanded by picture libraries and can now be delivered efficiently with confidence by in-house teams and independent specialists alike. Quality control over image reproduction has always been fundamentally important to ahfap and progress in this area has helped strengthen the image-maker’s hand.
Image-making in the sector is seen as an attractive professional option whereby individuals can follow both their technical and creative ambitions. Crucially, budget-holders recognise the expertise of their in-house teams. Specialist work, such as architectural and advertising photography, web creation, film-making or project management, which was commissioned externally is now entrusted to in-house staff. With the professional framework promoted by AHFAP, heritage sector image-makers are now recognised as leading the field rather than following it, which was certainly not the perception in 1985.
AHFAP now has over 400 members and communicates with countless delegates and speakers at its annual conference
This is the final draft of the constitution ratified at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held November 2019
1. The Association shall be called ‘The Association for Historical and Fine Art Photography’ (AHFAP).
2. It shall exist for the promotion of photography in the fields of history, fine art, archaeology, museum and gallery display, conservation and fields related to the cultural heritage sector. It shall encourage the interchange of ideas and general support among photographers practicing in these fields and promote workplace access, thereby increasing opportunities for experience.
3. The membership shall be open to imaging professionals working in the cultural heritage sector.
4. The business of the association shall be conducted by an elected Management Committee comprising, but not limited to the following roles: Chair, Deputy Chair, Membership Secretary, Treasurer, Minutes Secretary, Events Officer, Assistant Events Officer, Website Officer and Assistant Website Officer, with the facility for co-opting other Management Committee members as required.
5. The business of the association, including the election of the Management Committee, shall be open for scrutiny and discussion at an Annual General Meeting (AGM).
6. The Management Committee members shall be elected at the AGM.
7. A Management Committee member shall be voted to serve for twenty-four months before re-election. Committee members co-opted are to perform a specific function ratified at the AGM. Members failing to attend three successive committee meetings, without reasonable cause, shall be disqualified.
8. The Management Committee requires a quorum of five members (which must include either the Chair or Treasurer) as a minimum in order to carry out the business of the association.
9. The Chair shall have the power of vote and shall have the casting vote.
10. The association awards the role of Honorary President to a member who has served the association or the industry with distinction. The Honorary President shall be proposed by the Management Committee for members to ratify at the AGM and will serve for 24 months. A president may only serve for one term.
11. A quorate Committee shall have the power to dissolve the association on notice of one month, with any funds held being distributed to a charity or organisation named in the same notice to dissolve.
Association for Historical and Fine Art Photography
AGM
Chair: Kira Zumkley
email: chair@ahfap.org.uk
Minutes of AHFAP AGM 3rd November 2022
1. Minutes for 2021
No oissions or corrections.
Proposed by Colin Maitland
Seconded by Ken Jackson
2. Chairs Report
Kira took some time to explain what the AGM was and how it was structured those new members who have joined us this year.
She then went on to talk about how challenging the last two years have been but also how there have been positives to come from changes in how we work. Most notable of these changes has been the move to conduct all our committee meetings online. This has meant positions in the committee have been opened to members from the wider UK. We are no longer a committee restricted by geographical location.
A few achievements for AHFAP this year
i. Memberships and Webteam have moved to a online platform for fees and event bookings which has drastically improved workflow and reduced the time taken to answer membership queries.
ii. Webteam have been regularly updating the website with new content. They have added a commercial members page and regularly update the jobs page.
iii. We have had two successful online events this year as well as this years in person conference.
a. A panel discussion covering imaging standards which is now available to view on our website.
b. A salary guidelines event which gave a forum for members to discuss the salary guidelines paper. The paper is available on the website. The event was not recorded as it was felt this would give people a safe space to ask questions or comment. Any job now posted on the AHFAP website that does not fit within the salary guidelines will be posted with a disclaimer to that effect.
iv. A new special interest group (SIG) has been created in AHFAP especially for managers or people fulfilling the roles of managers. In this group members will be able to share knowledge and get advice and support from their peers. Anyone in an eligible role should get in touch for more information.
3. Treasurers Report
Simon showed a detailed breakdown of finances for 2021/22
See Appendix 1.
These figures do not include paying for catering etc for this year’s conference. We are in a good financial position and have been able to subsidise tickets to this year’s conference as a result.
4. Membership report
Mary showed a detailed breakdown of memberships for 2021/22.
See Appendix 2.
Our membership has increased by 40 this year from 281 to 321 members
We have introduced membership terms and conditions which can be viewed on the website. These include instructions for using WebCollect.
Mary said that the next step is to get all members of institutions to create their own logins so they can individually book onto events and change their info. This should be initiated by the admin for each institution. Mary has said she will be in touch with larger teams in the coming weeks to ensure this is done.
Mary has asked for outdated supplier info to be updated by institutions if they had not yet done so.
5. Election of Committee Positions
Chris Viney is standing as web support officer.
Proposed by Richard Everett
Seconded by Kevin Percival
Claire Collins is stepping down from the role after 6 years of excellent service. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication Claire.
Kevin Percival is standing for the position of Chair
It was thought that Kev would benefit from some time on the committee prior to taking on the role as Chair. The role of Co-Chair was reintroduced to help Kev in the transition over the coming year.
Proposed by Sarah Duncan
Seconded by Ken Jackson
AHFAP Annual General Meeting, 3rd November 2022, National Museum of Scotland
Income and Expenditure Report Year ended 31 March 2022
Income
Donations (Bursary) £1500.00
Membership subscriptions £5625.13
Bank interest £0.85
Total Income £7125.98
Expenditure
Public liability insurance -
Committee expenses £33.99
Postage and stationery £3.95
Accountancy fees £408.00
Software (Zoom/WebCollect/GoDaddy subscriptions) £633.74
Website (Google account) £79.07
Total Expenditure £1158.75
Income over expenditure £5967.23
Accounts independently audited by Stephen Godfrey, Godfrey Anderson Accountants,
28th October 2022.
Appendix 1.
Appendix 2.