So instead, I’d sit down for my 20 minutes, push my portfolio box to the side and say, “Look, you don’t want to see that, I’m in the wrong group and I know it. Needless to say, my style of photography did not go over too well with the documentary group.īut, after the first day in the documentary group I learned what was going on, and knowing these people were very knowledgeable in the art community, I didn’t want to waste my time showing them a useless portfolio. I didn’t know either of these rules so I made both mistakes of attending 2 sessions instead of one and signing up (on accident) for both the abstract/conceptual group and the photojournalism/documentary group. If this is their third time and they do the same work you do, sign up for whatever session they are in, because they probably made the same mistake I did the first year and they’re still having nightmares about it. Quick tip: there is a Facebook group for people signed up to go – join this group and ask other photographers what kind of work they do and which sessions they are attending. They all know each other, they’ve all communicated beforehand to see who is going to which session, and they book their own tickets accordingly. No matter how well you do, having your work picked apart by 30 people in a 4-day time frame is brutal, and you definitely need some rebound time to go home, get drunk under your kitchen table, reevaluate every artistic decision you’ve ever made and then get back at it the next day.Ģ) Each session naturally becomes very specialized the photojournalist/documentary reviewers naturally all gravitate to one session, the abstract/conceptual art reviewers all gravitate toward another, the book publishers all gravitate to another. Trust me, after you’ve been through one session, you don’t want to show your work to anyone ever again until you’ve gone home and worked on it. Here’s the other thing though, there are 2 very important lessons of Fotofest I wish I had known:ġ) The only reason you would attend 2 sessions instead of only one is if your work is extremely well-established and you’re looking for connections, not feedback. One was a complete witch, but she’s been banned from ever reviewing again, so good for Fotofest! The vast majority of reviewers I met with were full of incredibly useful feedback. At worst they hate you and you leave feeling them burn a hole in the back of your head with their very disapproving eyes. At best they love you and either buy some of your pieces or book you for a show. You have exactly 20 minutes to pitch your portfolio and get feedback. You sign up for a session (and pay about $1000) and you get a 20 minute slot to meet with each of the reviewers on your list. They are gallery owners and curators, book publishers, magazine editors and private collectors. These reviewers are fantastically well established people in the photography/art/publishing community. Each portfolio review session, you meet with anywhere from 20-30 reviewers. Each session is a 4-day period with different reviewers, workshops,etc. I’ve displayed in several galleries throughout my career, but the most I learned about this subject was at Fotofest.įor those of you that don’t know what Fotofest is, I’ll give you a brief description:īasically, it’s a biennial (the next one is in 2015), 4-session festival where there are portfolio reviews, workshops, art displays and much more.
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