New York Portfolio Review at CUNY

LEADING PHOTO EDITORS VOLUNTEER FOR FIRST “NEW YORK PORTFOLIO REVIEW” AT CUNY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM 

Free Workshops Will Be Videotaped and Made Available to Public Online–

NEW YORK, April 9, 2013 – Fifty-four top photo editors in the nation will converge on The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism April 13-14 to provide critical feedback to 100 professional photographers at the first New York Portfolio Review sponsored by The New York Times Lens Blog.

More than 2,700 photographers, from emerging photographers to seasoned professionals, sent work samples to the Lens Blog, competing for the opportunity to have their portfolios reviewed by the best in the business.  James Estrin, co-editor of the Lens Blog and a photojournalism instructor at the CUNY J-School, said the weekend portfolio review was “an exciting opportunity for photographers to make connections and further their careers.”

The 54 reviewers who volunteered their services include photo editors and directors from The New York Times, National Geographic, Time, New York magazine, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and AP, as well as museum curators, book publishers, and gallery owners.

On Saturday, the selected 100 photographers will have a chance to sit down for 20 minutes, one-on-one, with five photo editors of their choice to receive comments on their work, and suggestions for improvement.  On Sunday, a younger cohort of photographers, aged 18-27, will have the same opportunity.

On Sunday afternoon, photo professionals will offer free workshops on photo editing, grant writing, copyright, contract law, and how to make a career in photography. 

Two workshops will be videotaped and 10-minute shorts will be posted later in the week on The Journalism School website and on The Lens Blog.  They include a photo editing workshop conducted by Meaghan Looram, deputy photo editor of The New York Times, and Todd Heisler, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer there. In the second taped workshop, Matt Eich, a young freelance documentary photographer, will speak on how to make a living as a photographer in today’s free-agent journalism world.

Reviewers include:  Santiago Lyon, V.P. and Director of Photography for the Associated Press;

Michele McNally, Assistant Managing Editor for Photography for The New York Times; Kathy Ryan, Director of Photography of The New York Times Magazine; David Alan Harvey, Magnum photographer and Editor of Burn magazine; Paul Moakely, Deputy Photo Editor of Time; Eric Himmel, Editor-in-Chief of Abrams Books; Jean Francois Leroy, founder and director of Visa Pour L’Image Photo Festival; Sarah Meister, curator of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art; and Donna Ferrato, photographer and author of “Living with the Enemy.”

The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in midtown Manhattan is the only publicly supported graduate journalism school in the Northeast.  Opened in 2006 under Founding Dean Stephen B. Shepard, the School offers a 16-month Master of Arts in Journalism program that includes a required paid professional summer internship.  It was also first in the nation to offer an M.A. in Entrepreneurial Journalism, beginning in 2011. Taught by award-winning journalists from top media organizations, students learn to tell stories using print, broadcast, and interactive formats while getting rigorous instruction in reporting, writing, critical thinking, and journalism ethics. Students also specialize in one of five subject areas: arts & culture, business & economics, health & medicine, international, or urban reporting.

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