12 Portfolio Reviews for Photographers
The New York Portfolio Review, Review Santa Fe, PhotoNOLA + more
Every year, thousands of photographers apply for entry to the free New York Portfolio Review, where they can meet one-on-one with editors from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, The Guardian, and more. CENTER Review Santa Fe has helped nurture the careers of artists such as Alec Soth, Cristina de Middel, and Julie Blackmon. Photographers who’ve participated in Photolucida’s Portfolio Reviews have gone on to publish books, feature in magazines, and exhibit work in galleries and museums around the world.
Anna Alexander, the director of photography at WIRED in San Francisco, recently connected with a photographer, Jooeun Bae, through a Feature Shoot Portfolio Review. “I fell so madly in love with her work,” she tells us. “I've been waiting and yearning for a project for her, and it finally happened. We just wrapped up her first WIRED piece of artwork.”
Discovering the right portfolio review can be a transformative experience for a photographer, providing actionable feedback and potentially opening doors to new opportunities. We put together this quick guide to some regular events worth following, from coast to coast in the United States and beyond.
New York Portfolio Review (New York City, virtual)
The New York Portfolio Review is a free, juried annual event produced by The New York Times. The 2022 review took place virtually in March, pairing 80 selected photographers with 80 leading photo editors, curators, publishers, and gallery owners. Each participating photographer received eight private critiques. Previous reviewers include photo professionals from National Geographic, Apple, Vox, The Washington Post, the World Press Photo Foundation, NPR, and many more. Future calls for submissions will be announced via The New York Times.
Review Santa Fe (Santa Fe)
One of the longest-running portfolio review events in the United States, Review Santa Fe is a conference organized by CENTER. Programs include panel discussions, photographer presentations, and, of course, reviews. The portfolio reviews are juried, with applications closing in February each year, and the event takes place in November.
This year, the portfolio review events and photo symposium will take place in person, with some components hosted online. The review package includes nine portfolio reviews, with this year’s jurors hailing from galleries, publishers, and institutions such as The New York Times, WIRED, The New Yorker, Magnum Photos, ClampArt, Klompching Gallery, Aperture, Buzzfeed News, and more.
PhotoNOLA (New Orleans, virtual)
Taking place in December, PhotoNOLA is an annual event organized by the New Orleans Photo Alliance. In 2021, portfolio reviews were available in-person and via Zoom, with registration running from $400 to $550. Reviewers included editors, curators, and agents from The New Yorker, the Harvard Business Review, the New Orleans Museum of Art, Spillman Blackwell Fine Art, Bruce Silverstein Gallery, Polk Museum of Art, and more. Each participant was guaranteed eight reviews.