fotoworks aftermath

Posted by editor on Nov 7, 2011 in EVENTS | 0 comments

By Ashley Shufelt

NYCFotoWorks recently put on their fifth Portfolio Review, a semiannual event that brings together industry veterans and young professionals of the photography world through one-on-one meetings. The event took place at Canoe Studios from November 1-3 and featured a propped-out lounge, LowePro giveaways, free coffee, and much more.

“We’re bringing photographers from all over the world and making a meeting place where they can meet with galleries, graphic design firms, buyers from ad agencies and photo editors,” said Mark Asnin, co-founder of NYCFotoWorks. “This is our fifth event and around 30 percent of photographers from this event were at our previous events,” Asnin said.

“I think this is the most important thing I’ve done in my career,” said Tony Blei, a photographer from Phoenix who specializes in portrait photography. “For the most part, the feedback is amazing. It’s really nice when, at the end of the meeting, they hand me their card,” he said.

The NYCFotoWorks Portfolio Review is unlike other events of its kind because of the screening process that every photographer goes through before showing their portfolio. “All the work has to be on a certain level, which really differentiate us from other portfolio reviews,” Asnin explained.

With high standards and higher expectations, waiting to show your work to potential employers is undoubtedly a nerve-racking ordeal for photographers. But attendees of this season’s event were slightly more at ease thanks to the cooperative efforts of Resource Magazine, thepropstylist.com, and Eclectic Encore props rental.

“This session we’re working with thepropstylist.com and it’s made the photographers’ lounge more intimate for the photographers, being able to sit in this beautifully designed area,” said Asnin.

Eclectic Encore provided props to create a safari-themed lounge area while Resource Magazine kept the attendees well caffeinated, with endless coffee courtesy of Brooklyn Roasting Company. Photographers could grab a cup of Joe and a magazine and enter to win one of three awesome LowePro photography bags while they waited in the lounge for their next review. Resource held a raffle at 5 p.m. every day of the event for the bags, kick-starting the hour-long happy hour session where the magazine helped the photographers unwind with a glass of wine.

Elizabeth Tichenor, a professional food photographer from California, said she enjoyed meeting other photographers in the lounge during her down time between meetings with industry reps. “You feel like you’re with your peers,” she said. “It’s not as competitive of an environment as I thought it would be.”

Getting face time with representatives from various publications and agencies is one of the most beneficial aspects of this event. “This (event) gives you a great opportunity to sit down and have face time. I love that aspect,” said Richard Gary, a NY-based commercial still life photographer. Gary explained that one-on-one meetings are crucial in this industry.

“The opportunity to have 20-plus meetings with people you’d (normally) never see every day – that’s the biggest thing,” said Mathew Guido, a fashion photographer. “One of the best things is being able to put a face to a name. Otherwise it’s just a name on a card,” he said.

Fashion photographer Adrianna Favero equated NYCFotoWorks’ Fusion Portfolio Review to “portfolio speed-dating.” For her, the most valuable aspect of attending the event is the variety of perspectives she has been able to gain from meeting with various industry pros. “It’s nice that there are so many people to talk to – they’ve all been incredibly helpful. I’ve gotten really, really good insight,” she said.

The broad range of reviewers is a key highlight and something that photographers wishing to attend the event in the future should keep in mind. Conceptual photographer Geg Ceo offered the following advice to future attendees: “Bring as many varied bodies of work as you have because you never know who you’re going to see.”

It’s also important to make a lasting impression at this type of an event. “I really need to stand out,” said Blei. “I’m walking among giants at this place.” In order to make his mark, Blei attached a miniature photographer action figure to his business card and handed them to reviewers. “One of the reviewers told me, ‘I loved it so much I put it on a shelf in my office!’” he said.

Photographers, reviewers, and Resource Magazine staff were not the only people who attended the event. Bob Greenberg – founder and president of photographers.com – was also there. By attending this event, Greenberg was able to introduce photographers and reviewers to his site.

“Photographers dot com is a searchable database of professional photographers from around the world,” he said. “We facilitate searching by the photographers’ specialty and geographic location.”

The site was founded in 1995 and provides photographers with the means to show their work online for a decent price. It also allows photo editors or art producers to easily find photographers either locally or across the world. “We provide profile pages with image display for photographers as well as member websites at the member’s own domain name with up to 20 gallery categories,” Greenberg explained.

The price of packages ranges from $100 to $300 per year and can be paid in monthly or yearly payments. “We want to make it available to photographers at all levels of financial stability,” Greenberg said. The more expensive packages have a few more useful features, including the ability to upload or create your own logo for your profile page. Members also receive pretty regular discounts, and one lucky attendee of this session of the Portfolio Review – Elizabeth Tichenor – was given a promotional code for 50 percent off the first year of the site’s most valuable package.

While the overall response to the event as a whole was a positive one, some photographers offered suggestions that would make it an even better experience in the future. “Sometimes you get meetings that are useless to you,” said Ceo. “There should be a meeting swap board or table where you can trade meetings with other photographers.” He also suggested that photographers should be able to write the name of the publication or agency at the top of their lists – rather than the name of the reviewer – to avoid wasted meetings in the case of unexpected cancellations.

Representation from larger publications and agencies was another suggestion, given by Gary. “I would love to see larger catalog houses,” he said. “And (the photographers) would really welcome some sort of European presence, if possible. People here are really interested in the European markets.”

Asnin mentioned that NYCFotoWorks is already working on expanding the variety of reviewers for their next portfolio review in the Spring. “We try to consistently find new reviewers; this was the first time we had reviewers come in from Washington D.C.,” he said. “For the sixth event, we’re trying to get more and more reviewers from out of town.”

So keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming NYCFotoWorks Portfolio Review in Spring 2012 and apply now! You definitely don’t want to miss it.