YPA Educational Lecture Series 2014

Portfolio Review 2014

To bring this great year of lecture series events to an end, we are bringing you a portfolio review and holiday celebration. Past speakers from the lecture series and many other industry professionals will be on hand to review portfolios and give honest feedback on work.

Start editing your images, printing your portfolios, or uploading your images to your ipad to get ready for the portfolio review now. Sessions will be 12 minutes long, and there will be a total of 8 possible sessions for the evening. This will be an unscheduled portfolio review so atendees will have to stand in line (hopefully not long lines) for the reviewers they want to see. Since schedules are ever-changing we will not release the list of reviewers until the day of the event.

We look forward to seeing you at the event. Attendance will be limited and tickets will be sticktly enforced at this event since it it sure to draw a large crowd.

When: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 from 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM (EST)

Where: Steve Giralt Photography Studio, 347 West 36th Street, Room 1502, New York, NY 10018

Buy tickets   (Free to YPA21 members)

Art Buyer/Producer Panel Discussion

As part of our ongoing photography lecture series, YPA is excited to bring you a panel discussion by a group of NYC’s finest advertising agency Art Buyers and Producers. The panel will discuss what it is Art Buyers do, what they’re looking for from photographers, best business practices when doing advertising photography, and so much more. If you’re interested in working in photographing national advertising someday, you’ll want to listen to what our panel has to say.

We’re really excited about this group and all the information they have to share. This talk is great for students, assistants, techs, established photographers, and anyone else who is interested in working as a commercial photographer. As always, we encourage lots of questions from the audience, if you want to be assured we get to answering your questions please email it ahead of time to steve-at-ypaus.org. Also, please feel free to share this event with anyone you feel may be interested.

When: Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Photo Editor Amy Wolff

This month we’re excited to present Amy Wolff, Photo Editor of Photo District News (PDN) and Co-Founder of CoEdit Collection as part of the lecture series. Amy will discuss her career, her passion for photography, and what photo editors are looking for in a photographer’s portfolio. As always there will also be a long Q&A session for asking Amy whatever questions you may have about the magazine industry.

Amy Wolff

As a photo editor, Amy sees a lot of images, all day, every day. CoEdit photographers each have a special place on the site – from emerging talent to seasoned-professional. Each has a different eye, different background but what they all share is a love to their craft, and an approachable appeal. Amy attended Goucher College in Baltimore, studying communications and art. She moved to San Francisco after graduation and after a short stint in advertising, worked in the Presidio as the staff photographer and programs/exhibitions producer for the Presidio Trust, shooting bands and personal work on the side.

Leaving her cushy government benefits behind, she moved to New York City in 2007. She began her photo editing career at Fortune magazine. One of her first tasks was to scan Walker Evans’ negatives. Amy is a frequent (and honest) portfolio reviewer and judge of photography contests.

When: Wednesday, October 22, 2014

“Learn The Lighting” Interactive

This month we're excited to present a very different kind of event as part of our lecture series. We are going to have an interactive lighting demonstation night where you can learn different types of lighting from different commercial photographers (some will be familiar faces from lectures earlier this year). We will have three different photography sets going at the same time and you can rotate between them and learn all the different ways of lighting. This will be a great opportunity to learn some new lighting techniques and ask questions.

We are also lucky enough to have Digital Transitions and Phase One sending us some cameras, lenses, and digital backs for us to use as the different sets. If you have never shot with Medium Format Digital this is your chance. We will have the new IQ250, as well as an IQ180, and IQ260 digital back.

Set 1: Food / Still Life

This set will cover two very useful lighting setups for food and still life photographers. The two different setups we will be showing are the "Lightbox" setup for shooting products and a couple variations on how to replicate daylight for shooting food.

Set 2: Studio Fashion / Portrait

This set with cover two different studio lighting setups which are useful for both portrait and fashion photographers. We will have a high-key setup which is an invaluable setup for any portrait or fashion shooter and another lighting setup yet to be determined.

Set 3: Location Fashion / Portrait

The last set will be outside on the 15th floor balcony at the studio overlooking the city. We will cover two different location lighting setups which would be useful for both portrait and fashion photographers. This setup will use a combination of artificial light and ambient light to make for some really cool imagery. One setup will be more simple, and another will be much more involved.

When: Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Photographer’s Agent Michael Ash

YPA is very excited to present an interactive lecture by photography agent Michael Ash as part of our lecture series. Michael was born in Brooklyn and raised on the streets of New York. He began representing photographers in 1979, after failing to get drafted into Major League Baseball. Not knowing much about photography, Michael soon established himself in the field for his keen eye and ability to identify unknown talent. He introduced and launched talents such as Raymond Meier, Kenji Toma, Harry Dezitter and Duncan Sim over the years, and most recently, Peter Hapak, and Kenji Aoki to the U.S. Market. He is also a champion of photographer’s rights and a firm believer that “less is more.”

At this talk, Michael took questions and discussed how photographers can define their style, market themselves, edit portfolios, make connections, bid jobs, and more.

When: Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The Business of Commercial Photography with Steve Giralt

YPA is excited to present a lecture by photographer Steve Giralt on the Business of Commercial Photography as part of our lecture series. This lecture will cover all that you need to know about the commercial photography industry in NYC. Steve will discuss everything from promotion, to putting together estimates and treatments, how to get your foot in the door, and also keep clients happy after your first jobs. He will also cover who the different people are on a shoot and what their jobs are such as stylists, art buyers, photo editors, and producers.

Steve is originally from Miami, Fl, studied photography at Rochester Institute of Technology, and started shooting commercially in 2002. He shoots food, still life, portraits, interiors, travel, and more for both editorial and advertising clients. Some of his clients include Food Network Magazine, Starbucks, JM Smuckers, Victoria's Secret, Kraft, Macys, and Woman's Day. Steve is also the man behind the YPA lecture series which was started in January of 2014.

When: Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Food and Still Life Photography Panel

This month we’re excited to share the work of four great NYC food and still life photographers. The energy, spirit, and passion for photography that this panel has is incredible. Together they explore just about every aspect of food and still life photography. This panel discussion promises to be very informative and entertaining with the group we have here. They all have a great love for what they do and have lots to say about how they hustle to get work. Wonder how they got where they are today? Hear it from them in person at the event. We are also working on getting a couple stylists on the panel as well to give a different viewpoint.

The photographers on the panel were:

When: Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Photo Assistant and Digital Tech Panel Discussion

As part of its ongoing photography lecture series YPA is excited to bring you a panel discussion by a group of photographers working as photography assistants and digital techs in NYC. So far as part of the lecture series we’ve brought you the stories of great working photographers, but most of them started out by assisting or working as digital techs, so this talk is designed to help young photographers take that first step.

Every photographer’s journey is different and with this panel we hope to share some insight into how these individuals have managed to make a living from assisting, teching, shooting, or a combination of those. We will be addressing many different questions such as how to get work as an assistant, what differentiates an assistant from a digital tech, what is expected when working as a tech or assistant, and everything in-between. As all our panel members are photographers, we will also be discussing in detail the topic of how to transition from assisting to shooting and what these individuals have learned about making that transition.

The assistants/techs on the panel were:

When: Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Photographer Evan Kafka

YPA is excited to present the work of NYC commercial photographer Evan Kafka this month as part of our lecture series. Evan primarily photographs kids, pets, and portraits; but no matter what Evan is photographing he always brings his personality and vision to the photographs. Some of his clients include Huggies, Pfizer, Parents, Metlife, Forbes, and more. Evan, a Maryland native, studied photography at Rochester Institute of Technology and has now been working as a commercial photographer in NYC for 18 years. If you want to know more about how he does what he does, come to the event on April 30th!

When: Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Photographers Kareem Black, Dustin Cohen, and Matt Salacuse

For this month’s lecture we’re excited to share the work of three great NYC portrait photographers. The energy, spirit, and passion for photography that these three have is incredible. Together they explore just about every aspect of portraiture: From editorial style documentary to advertising portraits in studio. All of them are also exploring motion as well. They all have a great love for what they do and have lots to say about how to hustle to get work. Wonder how they got where they are today? Hear it from them in person at the event.

When: Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Photographer Monte Isom

For this month’s lecture we’re exited to share the exciting work of NYC based photographer Monte Isom. Monte’s clients including companies like Visa, Nike, Addidas, HBO, Bodyarmor, and more. You have likely seen his images on billboards in Time Square without even knowing it. He will share his work and more importantly his insight into how he mantains his career as a NYC commercial photographer. This is a great learning event for young photographers!

When: Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Photographer Chad Griffith

NYC based portrait photographer Chad Griffith, whose clients include companies like Oakley, Foot Locker, New Balance, Backstage Magazine, will share his work and, more importantly, insight into how to start and mantain a career as a NYC commercial photographer. He will discuss the transition from school, to assisting, to shooting and share ways to overcome the hurdles along the way.

When: Wednesday, January 29, 2014

About this program

YPA is excited to offer an educational photography lecture series to help young photographers find their bearings in the complex and sometimes-scary photography industry. Taking pictures, and making a living from photography, are two very different things – these lectures explore those differences. We share the realities of what it takes to “make it” by learning from a variety of different photographers and industry experts who have navigated the industry to make a career for themselves.

The goal of this series is to educate and inspire the young emerging photographers of tomorrow with the knowledge and experience of today’s working photographers and industry professionals. The presenters will be a mix of established and emerging photographers, agents, photo editors, and art buyers. We touch on a variety of topics revolving around the business of photography and how to transition from being a student, assistant, or intern to full-time shooting photographer.

Lectures are held once a month in a photo studio in Manhattan. The format is a mix of individual lectures and panel discussions. The lectures will be announced as they are confirmed, along with information on how to attend. Attendance is limited.

At the beginning of 2014, Steve Giralt along with YPA, started the new Photography Educational Lecture Series in NYC. It was Steve’s strong belief in the idea of educating the youth of tomorrow with the knowledge of the photographers of today that sparked the idea for this series. With so much misinformation in the world of photographic education online he felt that is was important to share his knowledge, and the knowledge of his colleagues, with the photographic community of tomorrow.

Steve Giralt is a NYC based commercial photographer originally from Miami, FL. He studied advertising photography at Rochester Institute of Technology and moved to NYC in 2002 to pursue his dream of working as a commercial photographer. Photo District News magazine selected him as one of their PDN 30 photographers to watch in 2005.

Some of his clients include Starbucks, BBDO, Food Network Magazine, Kraft, and Johnston & Murphy. Solving problems for clients and taking the best picture possible are at the very root of what Steve loves to do. He also sits on the Advisory board to the photography program at the Fashion Institute of Technology and stays very active in the photo community. He has written many articles about the photography industry and been published in Resource magazine, Petapixel.com, aPhotoeditor.com, and Gizmodo.

The YPA lecture series is supported by the following sponsor:

VANGUARD