Our testimonials and the focus groups we conducted with programme participants have highlighted the emotional and therapeutic impact of our work:
1. Our preliminary findings have shown that participants feel greater self-confidence and pride after having received training with us.
2. Participants have felt that their ability to express themselves and share their own feelings have improved with photography training.
3. Finally, many of our programme participants have developed and maintained a social network and friendships after the workshops, lowering feelings of isolation and loneliness, which are common in the communities we work with. 100% of our participants would recommend our training to others.

Lensational has sold more than £30,000 of photographs since our launch. 50% of each sale goes directly to the photographer and 50% is re-invested in Lensational to further programme work and continuous support.
– We have plans to scale sales significantly in order to increase the economic empowerment of our photographers. We have secured strong corporate partners such as Getty Images, Affordable Art Fair, Standard Chartered and a global beverage company in order to do so.
– We have also developed on-demand modules in stock photography, videography, photography services, and are developing a new mentorship programme, so women participants can continue learning new skills with us as they grow their own portfolio. Some of our students have gone on to earn income from being event and wedding photographers, or to enhance their product income through better marketing on social media.
– At the same time, we have been partnering with brands on bespoke creative and strategic projects, and commissioning Lensational students as part of this work

A big part of our work is raising awareness of the issues faced by the groups we work with, as well as challenging gender and cultural stereotypes.
1. Since launching in 2013, Lensational’s social media platforms have grown substantially to total over 25,000 fans across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Medium. Our posts have reached a total audience of over 1 million. Our work has been featured in respected news outlets worldwide such as The Guardian, ABC News, The BBC and Huffington Post.
2. Lensational volunteers have spoken about the organisation at over 50 events in 20 countries, and over 6,000 people have seen our students’ photographs at exhibitions across the globe.

Read our full impact report.