I’ve been hearing a lot about people making preparations for Photolucida this spring. I did not apply, mostly because I have never been very clear on exactly what a portfolio review is and why I would want to go to one. Well, that, and the fact that I don’t have any money or a complete series of images that I am looking to show right now. As I saw people’s excitement building, however, I decided that it was time to start looking into the process and see whether or not I should be partcipating.

I am fortunate to have a growing network of friends online who have much more experience in the photo world than I do. I was twittering with Bill Vaccaro the other day, and he very generously took the time to write up an extensive email about his experience with portfolio reviews. I asked him if it was O.K. to post it here, and it is very much worth the time to read if you are considering jumping into the world of reviews.

Bill Vaccaro:

Here are my meager thoughts on the portfolio review process from someone who’s about to do this third review in the space of a year.

First, it’s definitely worth the time, effort and the money. Just make sure you have a strong, consistent, tightly edited set of images with a consistent theme. Don’t bring more than 20 with you. Otherwise, there won’t be time for you and the reviewer to interact after s/he looks at your work. For me, the magic number turned out to be 18. Bring another series with you with no more than 10-12 images in case the reviewer wants to see more of your work. I did that when I went to FotoFest last year and was glad I did. The second series were selected images from Jesus Is On The Mainline and I got a lot of positive feedback, much more so than the first set.

Be prepared to talk about your work, your intentions and your potential audience. What are your goals? Print sales? Group and solo shows? Gallery representation? Book publication? Some won’t ask but be prepared, just in case.

Be your toughest critic. Get rid of that sentimental favorite of yours in your series if you know deep down in your heart that it doesn’t work with the rest of the series. Once again, you never know what the reviewer is going to like or dislike except in very general terms based upon their previous track record.

Some of the reviewers want you to talk about your work as they look at it. Others, like Chris Raushenberg and Allen Mertz of the Blue Sky Gallery selection committee in Portland, want to look at the work through their eyes and not have it filtered by the photographer. At least, initially. I tend to go with the latter approach.

Don’t be offput or defensive if you get negative criticism. When I say negative, I don’t mean that the reviewer will say your work is a piece of steaming dog turd. They will be more polite than that and will hopefully make some positive suggestions for what you need to do with it. Remember, the main purpose of the reviews is to get needed feedback and start a dialogue with the reviewers that may end up in something much bigger.

Once again, I go back to my initial experience with FotoFest. I got mixed reviews for my main portfolio early on and saw by the first morning that the criticism was valid. The set that I showed really was two distinct series which I’ve since separated and slowly expanded upon. It was a smart move on my part that I had more work to show so it wasn’t really a total loss. The experience prepared me for my next portfolio review at Photolucida’s NW Summer reviews in July. I spent the time between FotoFest and NW Summer editing the Jesus series and ended up with the vast majority of reviewers responding very favorably to it. As a result, I was invited by Crista Dix of wall space gallery to be in the Collectible show and have a couple of possibilities for solo shows down the pike.

Don’t go into the reviews expecting to be “discovered.” Yes, it does happen. Some photographers meet a reviewer (usually a gallery owner) with all the right connections who goes completely ga-ga and they find themselves in solo shows, getting gallery representation up the wazoo and tons of print sales within the space of months. I have a couple of friends who had that happen. For the rest the rest of us, it’s the beginning of a dialogue between you and the reviewer. The results of that dialogue may eventually lead to all those good things.

Do not stalk the reviewers. Seriously. I have been told many tales by reviewers who have been stalked in bathrooms and even their hotel rooms by portfolio review participants overeager to have their work looked at. Do not talk about your work with reviewers at the soirees that are usually given during and at the end of some of the reviews—unless, of course, they want to talk to you about your work. Reviewers need downtime too. Trust me. It leaves a bad impression and will not further your photographic career.

On the other hand, if you can’t get a certain reviewer, don’t hesitate to ask them if they would be willing to see your work during “off” hours. You’d be surprised how many are willing to do that and are eager to see new work.

Do serious research of the reviewers who will be participating in the portfolio review. A good place to check is the Fotofest.org site. They list biographies of all their reviewers from 2008 and a lot of them go to all the major reviews. Try to find reviewers who will be a good fit. Not all will be suited to your work. Once again, trust me. Sometimes, you will have no choice but to show your work to a reviewer who you are sure will not particularly like your work. You will find that while you will get most of the reviewers you want, you will still end up with those who you think are duds. Make the best of it. Sometimes, something magical may happen. And if it doesn’t, remember it’s only 20 minutes of your life. Unless it’s the last 20 minutes of your life in which case why the hell are you wasting it on a portfolio review? Anyway, if you do end up with a reviewer who is not completely enamored of your work, click your heels three times and repeat after me: There’s no accounting for taste. There’s no accounting for taste. There’s no accounting for taste…

Get to know Swannie. That’s the nickname for the great, powerful and absolutely wonderful Mary Virginia Swanson, the marketing guru for fine art photographers everywhere. If you don’t already have it, go buy the latest edition her book, The Business of Photography: Principles and Practices. Stop reading this email, go to http://www.mvswanson.com/businessbook/index.php, whip out that credit card and buy it. NOW. You’ll be glad you did.

You don’t have to follow all the tons of good advice she gives in that book. You don’t even have to read all of it. Just the stuff that’s relevant for now. Also subscribe to the RSS feed of her blog. If Swannie gives a workshop in your neck o’ the woods, take it. If she’s one of the reviewers at the portfolio review you are attending, make sure she’s in the top five of your list. You want as much free advice from her as you can get. And if you can afford to swing a two hour private consulting session with her, all the better. She’s THAT good. And WORTH IT!

The major portfolio reviews in the U.S. of A. are, in no particular order:

The Meeting Place @ FotoFest (March-April in odd numbered years)
Photolucida (April in even numbered years)
ReviewLA (annually in early January)
PhotoNOLA Portfolio Review (annually in early December)
NW Summer Portfolio Review (odd numbered years in late July)
Review Santa Fe at The Center (juried, every June)

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The Meeting Place is the mother of all portfolio reviews. In 2010 they will have four 4-day sessions. They are:

Session 1: March 12 – March 15, 2010
Session 2: March 17 – March 20, 2010
Session 3: March 24 – March 27, 2010
Session 4: March 29 – April 1, 2010

Registration will be sometime this June. Selections are made using a computerized lottery system. You also will not know which session you’ll get into until you are notified of acceptance even though you are asked to give a choice of sessions. As a result, you’ll want to keep your options open for the entire month.

But here’s the trick. Get your registration in the very first day. If you don’t make the lottery cut, you will be among the first in line to get a slot when someone inevitably drops out. I managed to get a slot when they decided to create a fourth session, something they had never done before.

Also, get a room at the Doubletree where The Meeting Place reviews are held. It’s really worth it to be able to run up to your room between reviews and either crash, freshen up or have a quiet place to organize your thoughts and your portfolios. They offer a discounted rate to participants but they have a limited number of rooms.

The Meeting Place is daunting, disorganized and exhausting. You will get to see a minimum of four reviewers a day. Five, if you’re lucky. If you go in with the right mental attitude, it’s worth it. Or it can bring you to tears. You will meet more reviewers and fellow participants than you can shake a stick at, make a lot of worthwhile contacts and even more lasting friendships and partnerships there than any place else. I learned a lot from it and it made me completely prepared for my reviews later that summer in Portland. And I made a print sale with the doyen of Houston photography collectors, Joan Morgenstern. And Joan knows everybody worth knowing in the Houston fine art photography scene. The reviewers come from every part of the country as well as those from Great Britain and Europe. Get on their mailing list so you will be notified when they start taking registrations.

Another thing about The Meeting Room. They have a portfolio walk that is open to the general public. However, you have to notify the staff that you want to participate. It is not automatic. I found out about it the first day and, fortunately, I got a table to show my wares. If you’re getting the impression that they’re not great re: communication, you’re absolutely right. They’re not.

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Next up is, of course, Photolucida. If their 2-day NW Summer Portfolio Review was any indication, Photolucida will be completely organized, exhilarating and just as exhausting as The Meeting Place. Maybe even more so. You’ll be guaranteed a minimum of four reviewers a day. You might get five. There will also be “floating” reviewers hanging out in the waiting room area. If you play your cards right like I did at NW, you can see as many as eight in one day.

They, too, have a public Portfolio Walk the first evening of the reviews. In this case, participants are automatically signed up. It runs for 3 hours and is usually divided up into A-L for the first half and M-Z for the second half. I’ve suggested to Laura Moya and Shawn Records that it be randomized since not as many people show up for the second half.

Once again, you will make many many contacts, only this group will be primarily Left Coasters, westerners and northwesterners, with some Texans like The Ransom Center’s very own Roy Flukinger. They have a wonderful party the evening the reviews end. You can kick back, have your fill of wine and cheese and commiserate.

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ReviewLA is part of PhotoLA and sponsored by The Center, formerly the Santa Fe Center for Photography. It’s a 2-day event, held on the second weekend in January. Many of the biggie reviewers go there. From what I’ve heard it’s a nice relaxed atmosphere. Prices are based on how many reviews you want.

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The PhotoNOLA reviews are relatively new but building up a great reputation for their 2-day event which is held in conjunction with the December PhotoNOLA festival. You’ll get excellent reviewers from all over the country and some international ones as well. And, best of all, it’s held in one of my favorite places to be. And it’s run by the New Orleans Photo Alliance of which I’m proud to be a member. I’m planning to go in December 2010.

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Finally, there’s the 2-day NW Summer Reviews. Can’t say enough good things about it. Laura Moya, Shawn Records and their crew of volunteers did a terrific job. Made a lot of friends, met some old ones from FotoFest, pulled a lot of contacts and have a lot of potential things that might happen as a result. For me, it was a huge success and a big self-confidence booster. They also have a portfolio walk the first night and a terrific closing party.

I noticed that Jörg posted some Q&A’s today with people from the other side of the table, which is also worth a read.

UPDATE: And by the way, if you want a fairly negative view of portfolio reviews, take a look at the comments in this post at A Photo Editor.

So I am convinced. Equal opportunities to network, meet up with friends and colleagues (many of whom I only know online), and get some honest and valuable feedback on my work. The possibility of finding a place to show some photos when they’re ready. It sounds like a lot of work, and a lot of money, but I think it could be worth it.