Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Getting Feedback
By Jerry Monkman
As I plan for my upcoming trip to Reno, Nev., next week for the North American Nature Photography Association's (NANPA) Annual Summit, I'm inspired to talk about how we as photographers improve our craft. Books and tutorials are great ways to learn about photography, but to truly excel as photographers we need to get our work out there in front of people and get some feedback. This is why many new photographers, especially nature photographers, have traditionally gravitated to camera clubs and, more recently, to photo-sharing sites like Flickr and user forums like those on Naturescapes.net. These are great places to have your work critiqued by peers, and you can quickly find out if your skills are up to snuff, or if new ideas you're trying are translating well. Photography classes and workshops that feature critique sessions are a good option as well for those willing to invest a little more effort and money.
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I'm a big fan of portfolio-review events where you pay a fee (usually $50.00 and up) to meet with a picture professional for 20 or 30 minutes. These can be magazine photo editors, photo reps, fine-art gallery owners, stock agents, etc.—the top professionals in the world of photography. Most events let you choose who you meet with ahead of time, so you can tailor your portfolio to your reviewer. That way, if you're looking for gallery representation, you can create a portfolio of maybe 20 large fine art prints. On the other hand, if you're looking for stock representation, you might bring a laptop with 100 or so of your best low-res files with stock potential. The NANPA Summit has a great portfolio review event that I've participated in for years, learning many lessons and meeting editors that are now friends and clients. Even though I've been a full-time photographer for about 10 years now, I still go to at least one portfolio review event every year. The feedback is invaluable and the cost is minimal compared to how much money I spend on other marketing efforts.
Of course, asking for feedback means you might hear some things you don't want to hear. That's o.k. if you go in with a nondefensive attitude and the desire to learn. Most reviewers find nice things to say to everybody. As an artist, those words feel good, but may be less important than the criticism you hear. I once had a reviewer tell me my images were as strong as Art Wolfe's (not sure what was in that reviewer's coffee that day!), which gave me a big ego for a day or two, but in the end did less to further my career than the reviewers who made suggestions that helped me edit my work more tightly, or present it in ways that were more professional.
Here's a listing of some of the best portfolio-review events in the U.S.:
NANPA Annual Summit, February 16-19, 2010 in Reno, Nev.:
nanpa.org
FotoFest 2010, March 12-April 25, 2010, in Houston, TX:
fotofest.org: biennial 2010
FotoWeek DC, usually in the fall:
fotoweekdc.org
Center's Review LA, January 14-16, 2010:
visitcenter.org: programs.cfm LA
Center's Review Santa Fe, June 3-6, 2010:
visitcenter.org: programs
Palm Springs Photo Festival, March 28-April 2, 2010:
2010.palmspringsphotofestival.com
Griffin Museum of Photography, May 9, 2010:
griffinmuseum.org
PhotoNOLA, New Orleans, LA, usually in December:
photonola.org
If you know of additional events with portfolio reviews, please list them in the comments. Thanks!
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