FAQ

The 2009 PhotoNOLA Portfolio Reviews will take place on Dec. 12 & 13, 2009 at the International House Hotel, in downtown New Orleans.

Registration will open on September 1, 2009 at 10am Central Time, and will be filled on a first come first served basis.

The $425 registration fee will guarantee each participant 8 twenty minute reviews over the two days.

The total number of participants will be limited to 60 in order to guarantee 8 reviews for each photographer.

After the review has filled we will begin a waiting list, and interested photographers will be contacted in the case of cancellations.

Reviewer choices: In November registered participants will be asked to rank all of the reviewers in order of preference, and every effort will be made to schedule meetings with the reviewers that each participant most wants to connect with.

You will receive your review schedule at check in, on the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 11 or the morning of Saturday, Dec. 12.

The registration process will be completed electronically, through the photonola.org website. Your $425 payment to the New Orleans Photo Alliance through PayPal must be completed at that time to guarantee your spot.

Participants of the Portfolio Reviews are eligible to stay at the International House Hotel at special PhotoNOLA rates, starting at $99 for a queen room. Be sure to mention “PhotoNOLA” when you make your reservation.

Participation in the Saturday evening portfolio walk – PhotoWALK – is optional, but recommended. It will be open to the public and is a chance for the reviewers who wish to attend to see all the participating photographers work. Please note that reviewers are not obligated to attend.

All participating photographers will be asked to provide one image representing their work, which PhotoNOLA will use in a photographers guide for the reviewers and to promote the PhotoWALK on the photonola.org website.

Cancellations before November 1st will be given refunds minus a $25 processing fee.

Cancellations after November 1st will not be eligible for refunds.

While we expect all the confirmed reviewers to be in attendance, sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances there are late cancellations. In the unfortunate event that one or more of our selected reviewers should have to cancel we will make every effort to fill their spot with an equally high caliber reviewer.

It is generally recommended that photographers present an easy to handle portfolio containing 15-20 tightly edited prints from a cohesive body of work, preferably in its final presentation size. The review tables are fairly small, so photographers working in a larger scale might want to consider bringing smaller sample prints and a few large pieces rolled up.

Check out the references below for some great advice about how to prepare for portfolio reviews:

Here is a comprehensive article by Mary Virginia Swanson about preparing for portfolio reviews, put out by the Griffin Museum.

Here’s a Portfolio Review Guide, put together by the wonderful photolucida folks, which offers tips from fellow photographers on how to make the most of your review experience.

Here is a Mary Virginia Swanson interview about portfolio reviews.