Editorial Portrait Photography: The Essentials

Invite Victoria Will and Jeff Lipsky into your home for a winter’s evening of lively conversation about editorial portrait photography — and maybe even a glass of wine, or two! And then, two nights later, do it again because it was just so much fun. That’s what Jeff, Victoria, and SFW Perspectives have in store to warm and light-up your world in the cold and dark of late January.

Coming to you live and online, Victoria and Jeff—two of today’s most successful and influential editorial portrait photographers—demystify the ever-changing professional world they live in every day. Jeff and Victoria offer their unique perspectives on working in the same profession on opposite coasts, with some similar and many different clients, agents, subjects, entourages, studios, creatives, producers, assistants, stylists, and so on.

Jeff brings his LA perspectives with his celebrity portraits and lifestyle images that are regularly seen in Vogue, Glamour, Outside, Women’s Health, Men’s Health, and Vanity Fair. His advertising clients include Roxy, J Brand Jeans, Eddie Bauer, Warner Bros, Jim Beam, and HBO. Victoria brings her NYC perspectives with portraiture in the pages of Vogue, New York Times, Rolling Stone, ESPN and W Magazine, and commercial campaigns for brands such as Carhartt, Levis, Netflix, Hulu, AT&T, Bose, Ralph Lauren, and Miller High Life.

Together, Jeff and Victoria share their experiences and insights from 20+ years working in the photo industry, answer your questions, and discuss topics to include but not limited to:

Getting the Job: Breaking into the photo industry; getting your work in front of prospective clients; building your website, portfolio, and social media presence; client relationships; choosing an agent, and knowing the right time to do so.

Prepping the Job: Estimating editorial jobs; contracts, pre-production and working with a producer; organizing the shoot, hiring assistants, renting a studio, creative meetings with clients; renting vs. owning equipment; building shot-lists and lighting diagrams; and location scouting.

Shooting and finishing the job: Creatively shooting stills and video to fulfill the client’s assignment and beyond; custom printing and retouching; editing, delivery of images; and billing practices.

Mote Things You Need to Know: The importance of personal work; editorial work that leads to commercial assignments; creating a healthy work/life balance; and keeping the passion and creative spark alive in your photography.

Join our SFW community for two evenings in January and take part in this engaging, easy-going, thought-provoking, fun, and not-to-be-missed program with two masters of their photo universes. In doing so, get ready to leap forward in your photographic career or simply learn more about how to create compelling editorial portraits at a high level.