A recent post about “scams” in photography by Rob Haggart resulted in a lot of discussion. While most of it concerned competitions, I also came across some comments about portfolio reviews that I thought needed to get addressed.
(Updated - twice - below; further updates will be in separate post)
Last year, I was given the opportunity to be a reviewer at two portfolio reviews, but since I don’t think that what I think about such reviews is necessarily representative I decided to do a little survey. I came up with four questions (hoping to cover different aspects, while trying not to be too restrictive), which I sent out to a variety of people (photographers, both fine art and commercial, gallerists, etc.), and this post contains the first set of answers. Once I will have more answers I’ll continue posting them.
My thanks to everybody who took the time to send something! Please note that the fourth question applies only to photographers who, at some stage, were reviewees, which is why not every person provided an answer for it.
If you’re reading this and if you didn’t receive an email from me and if you’re an art buyer, photo editor, photo rep, gallerist, or a photographer (who has attended such an event as a reviewer - this is important!), I’d like to hear from you - the four questions are listed below, and please stick to them.
David Bram (Fraction Magazine):
Q: What do you see as the purpose of a portfolio review?
A: I see the review as a way to get advice and assistance for furthering ones work and career. A review will help you see your work with different eyes and will hopefully open some doors for you.
Q: What questions might photographers ask themselves before deciding to go to one (or apply for one)?
A: What do I expect to get out of this? Who do I want to see? What will I do with the advice I will get? And most importantly, Am I ready for this?
Q: What should a photographer do to make a portfolio review worth her/his while?
A: Plan to see the reviewers who could do the most for your career. If you want to do magazine work, don’t sit in front of museum people. Make your portfolio the best it can be. Keep the size and content consistent. Show your absolute best. Edit edit edit.
Jörg Colberg:
Q: What do you see as the purpose of a portfolio review?
A: I’m coming from a fine-art angle, and I see a portfolio review as either an opportunity to present work to people who might otherwise be hard (if not impossible) to reach or to get feedback and/or input concerning one’s work.
Q: What questions might photographers ask themselves before deciding to go to one (or apply for one)?
A: What do I want to get out of this? For any given review, are there enough interesting reviewers that I would love to hear from? How can I make sure that the reviewers give me the feedback I need to get (in other words, what questions should I ask them if they don’t address what I’m interested in)? Is my work ready for this?
Q: What should a photographer do to make a portfolio review worth her/his while?
A: Be prepared from A to Z, and make sure things are as perfect as possible. Bring your best prints (not too big, not too small!), bring something to leave behind (postcard, booklet, whatever), be incredibly open to anything, especially to whatever you never even thought of before, and realize that even though you might end up disagreeing with everything someone tells you that person is a reviewer because s/he knows a lot about photography in some capacity. So if you disagree make sure you know why you disagree.
Q: What do you see as the purpose of a portfolio review?
A: To be able to get yourself and your work in front of relevant reviewers who can give good, honest constructive feedback and can also offer some advice/help. To establish relationships. To get experience showing and talking about your work.
Q: What questions might photographers ask themselves before deciding to go to one (or apply for one)?
A: Will I see people I wont be able to get a meeting with on my own. Why am I going ? Show new portfolio ? Network ? Get feedback ? Get Work ? Do I really need to be there or do I just feel like I don’t want to be left out of the party and I might miss something. Would I be better spending the money on something else.
Q: What should a photographer do to make a portfolio review worth her/his while?
A: Prepare. Be clear in your mind why you are there and what you are hoping to get out of it. Know who they are seeing and why they could be of benefit to you. Try to make the most of all interactions. You never know who might be of help. Make friends/fans!!!!! Be pro-active!!!! Then follow up!!!!!!
Q: If you attended (a) portfolio review(s) as a photographer in the past what did you learn from it (them)?
A: It can be a bit of a crap shoot when it comes to seeing your preferred reviewers. While all in all a positive experience I haven’t done one in 2 years because at the moment I don’t think I would get bang for my buck. The last one I went to I knew 3 of the 5 reviewers quite well already.
These events can be quite social though and that aspect is important. I think living in New York helps in ones physical exposure to people/events. If one lived elsewhere where I can see how valuable the face, networking socializing time can be.
I would encourage all reviews to have some sort of after event, whether it be a walk through, open house or just a few drinks and a dinner.
Bill Hunt: “I have done a lot of reviewing, and it can be the longest 20 minutes or my life, and sometimes - wonderfully enough - the 20 minutes is too short and I can hardly wait to see more work later and a friendship begins.”
Q: What do you see as the purpose of a portfolio review?
A: (These answers are from the reviewer side) To get the work out of the studio, out of the house. To connect with a network greater than the one you left. You as the “reviewee” can also determine if you want critical input or career advice. Indicate which.
Q: What questions might photographers ask themselves before deciding to go to one (or apply for one)?
A: Am I ready? Do I have my shit together? Can I do this uncomplainingly? DO NOT TAKE WORK IN PROGRESS!!! Think of this as a first date, a seduction. Marriage comes later, and that is the time a reviewer will be interested to know ALL about you. Know that. A career is a cumulative process. This is a step.
Q: What should a photographer do to make a portfolio review worth her/his while?
A: Rehearse. Edit. Get some sleep. Practice modesty. Shut up. LISTEN. Take notes. Shut up. Let the pictures do the talking. Consider the possibility that the reviewer may actually like you and the work and that you may be solving a problem for them because you are sooooooooo talented that you will make thousands of dollars for them or make their boss think they are brilliant for discovering you and that you will make everyone famous. (It’s unlikely, but, hey, give it a shot.) Bear in mind that the reviewer’s network is bigger than yours. The reviewer may be able to offer you a half dozen referrals which may change your life. Just because someone works for Magnum and you’re a food photographer doesn’t mean that you can’t be referred by that reviewer to colleagues, to other people in the field. Also people who have been looking at photographs for a long enough time have critical faculties. They have point of view. (Not all of them but most.) If there is a critical response, listen to it. DO NOT BE DEFENSIVE. Be charming. The photo world is amazingly small. Use it to your advantage. Nothing electrifies a room full of reviewers like great work. What do you think reviewers talk about at lunch? Good work and bad behavior.
Melanie McWhorter (photo-eye):
Q: What do you see as the purpose of a portfolio review?
A: For the reviewer, the portfolio reviews are great for discovering new work and new artists. There are so many places to see work in the contemporary art world and there are so few chances to see the work first hand. Time just does not allow for unsolicited viewings. I have found that meeting the person and being able to discuss the work one on one can influence how you view the work, mostly in a positive way. Personally, I have lived with many images in my head for years and found ways to promote some of the photos or entire portfolios through photo-eye, Fraction, my blog or other connections.
For the reviewee, this is some, if not all, of your marketing allowance. If you want to participate in the mainstream photography world for editorial, commercial or artistic avenues, you have to expose your work to the audience and this is a personal way to do that. If you are not ready to expose yourself in such a way, then portfolio reviews may not be for you. It is your art and vision you are putting out there, but you can not wear your heart on your sleeve. Photography is very subjective and consistent advice among reviewers is what you might choose to guide you. Many of the people acting the part of reviewer are approached so often and this is a guaranteed one-on-one with someone who could change your career path, even though it is a lot like speed dating (not that I have ever done that).
Q: What questions might photographers ask themselves before deciding to go to one (or apply for one)?
A: I have a few off the top of my head: What do I want to get out of this and am I really ready to expose myself and my work? If the results are not positive, am I willing to live with the constructive criticism and use this to move my work forward? Is this a wise use of my marketing dollars?
Q: What should a photographer do to make a portfolio review worth her/his while?
A: 1. Be prepared and focused, but do not limit yourself. If you have more than one body of work considering showing more than one, but remember that you are limited on time. Research your reviewers if you have that luxury. You can try to cater your presentation to that individual. What a magazine editor wants may not be the same as what a gallerist wants. If time allows, show the other body, but leave time for discussion. Have a list of questions or requests, but keep the review open to see where it goes.
2. TAKE NOTES! Follow up on any valid suggestions or interest in your work. (Don’t record me, I hate the way I sound on those machines).
3. Make sure your website is up today before the review. Many reviewers also check out the websites of the reviewees before the meeting as well.
4. Bring marketing materials even if it is a business card with your iconic or signature image. I have kept some of the marketing materials in the past—precious little books; small prints; or the product of a unique promotional idea, like Andrew Buurman’s Wack Rooms, which was package of tissues with his name and portfolio name on the outside.
5. Get each reviewers’s contact info and keep a mailing/emailing list for all your contact. Be somewhat selective on how many emails you send out and make them visual if possible because you are dealing with visual people. Remember reviewers can get many emails so keep it short and sweet because he or she might not read it. The emails/postcards will help to keep your name in the reviewers mind. Rachael Dunville sends out a nice newsletter, I believe through MailChimp, with one or more images and a letter. Sarah Small’s email is replete with links, timely announcements of publications and exhibitions featuring her work. She also has funny or intriguing subject lines, A Mosquito and a Squirrel Fall in Love…, for example, to peak your interest.
6. Send thank you/follow up notes.
Q: If you attended (a) portfolio review(s) as a photographer in the past what did you learn from it (them)?
A: I learned that I was not ready for a portfolio review. My memory is fuzzy on this one, or maybe I blocked the pain, but I had three reviewers at SPE in Austin in 2002. One, as I remember was a young and now very prominent figure in the photo/gallery world today and also now a friend of mine. I need to revert back to my notes, but I believe one question in the review was “What do you want from me?”. One of the other reviewers I got that day was Jessica Todd Harper. She was so sweet and gracious, but I do not recall to this day a word she said, but I still have her little catalogue. I still make images although not as a working photographer, but, needless to say, I have since moved on from that body of work. It was a great and humbling experience to have especially now that I am on the other side of the table.
David Sebbah (Sr. Art Director at T, The New York Times Style Magazine):
Q: What do you see as the purpose of a portfolio review?
A: To meet the man/woman behind the work, hear what they have to say about it, what is their vision, where they stand now and where they want to take it….
Q: What questions might photographers ask themselves before deciding to go to one (or apply for one)?
A: What can i do for this magazine? What can I bring that they do not already have?
Q: What should a photographer do to make a portfolio review worth her/his while?
A: Stay short and focused, there is nothing worse than people who “can do everything”…. Have a vision.
Q: What do you see as the purpose of a portfolio review?
A: The purpose is determined by the participating photographer. Like any educational experience, they get out of it what they put into it. They can use it to become better creatively or technically. Or they can use it to make business connections. Whatever. It is up to the photographer.
Q: What questions might photographers ask themselves before deciding to go to one (or apply for one)?
A: What do I want to gain from this experience (see above).
Q: What should a photographer do to make a portfolio review worth her/his while?
A: The photographer should research the reviewers and tailor their presentations and expectations accordingly (within the parameters of their of their overall goal).
Q: If you attended (a) portfolio review(s) as a photographer in the past what did you learn from it (them)?
A: I’ve attended one review as a photographer and have been a reviewer a couple of times. It is informative to see the experience from the perspective of a reviewer. In my case, I wasn’t looking to gain anything. I don’t have any expectations. I always ask the participant: “what do you want from this.” If they don’t know the answer, it is hard to know what to give them in the time allotted.
Q: What do you see as the purpose of a portfolio review?
A: This really depends on your agenda coming into it and the agenda of the reviewer. In some cases these are very unclear. At worst the photographer is coming to seek some sort of insightfulness mixed with opportunity, while the reviewer took the opportunity to hang out in with other industry professionals and look over some work. A good review is one where the photographer knows his reviewers from some research and therefore has a realistic expectation of what they may get some meeting with that person. Each situation is very different and some could work well to give professional insight into the work, while others can be specific about what opportunities/venues may be receptive to a certain type of work.
In general I always think it’s a good idea to show the work and show it often. The art world, magazines, collectors, curators and all the like need new work, it just so happens you make some, it doesn’t have to be much more than that.
Q: What questions might photographers ask themselves before deciding to go to one (or apply for one)?
A: Research the review and the reviewers. There are times when you or the work (or both) is not ready to seek feedback and reach out. Some reviews are great for simple critical discourse on the work, ideas and concepts. Others are more geared towards professional development.
A big question to ask oneself is, are the reviewers people I could meet on my own? Or are they people who are so busy and unavailable that I can take advantage of having a one on one even if I have to pay for it.
Q: What should a photographer do to make a portfolio review worth her/his while?
A: Prepare. Know who the person across the table is, what kind of work they like and keep in mind that you’re making an impression that does affect a lot.
Make sure the work is strong, do not ask someone to edit for you, give a title to the project, or otherwise. if you haven’t considered those decisions yet it’s not ready. Not all work has to be packaged and gallery ready but it should be fully considered.
Keep a sense of humor. The people you meet are busy and meeting ten people a minute (you as well). If they don’t like your work don’t take it personally but ask them who might be interested in this. If they can’t help, they can’t help but if they like you personally it’ll have a better impression (than sometimes the pictures!).
Q: If you attended (a) portfolio review(s) as a photographer in the past what did you learn from it (them)?
A: There have been some not so good ones and some great ones. I’ve been on both sides of the table and I keep in mind that in the world today it’s a complete luxury to be able to do any of this stuff. So having the opportunity to meet someone who potentially cares as much about photography and art as I do is pretty cool. I can potentially learn something.
Meeting the other photographers is almost more important than meeting the reviewers. It’s also easy to spot the types that want to shake your hand holding a business card. They’re almost hunting for opportunity. Be yourself, relax and it’s really not that big a deal in the long run. Sure some important things can come from meeting professionals but sometimes it takes time and keeping in touch. If you’ve signed up for a lifetime of art making, well then you’ve got the time.