It is very, very hard to develop a successful career as a photographer. There is lots of competition, and it is hard to get attention, to rise above the fray, and even harder to gain fame and fortune. It is often a logistical nightmare for an unknown photographer to try to show his or her work, or even to make appointments with galleries, museum curators, book and magazine publishers -- it takes a lot of persistence, determination, repeated phone calls, and an ego clad against continuous rejection.

That is why formal portfolio review events have become one of the very best ways for photographers to meet important decision-makers in the photography world. The "system" pioneered by Fred Baldwin and Wendy Watriss of Houston's FotoFest has become an efficient and effective model for portofolio review events worldwide. The idea is quite simple: Bring together in one place a lot of reviewers and a lot of determined photographers, and schedule several brief but intense meetings (20 minutes!) for the photographers to present their work to people who can help launch successful careers. Over the period of two or three days, photographers can show and discuss their work with 20 or 30 influential people. It's grueling for everyone involved, but it's great when the right chemistry comes together.

One of the newest reviews will occur March 10-11, 2007 in San Francisco. The deadline for application is February 19, 2007. Email: photo@photoalliance.org for a full prospectus.

Here's info from the press release:

PhotoAlliance with co-sponsors Orion Magazine and DoubleTake Magazine announce A National Juried Portfolio Review for Photographers

This two-day event will bring together top photography editors, publishers, curators, gallerists, and educators representing small, mid-sized, and major venues from around the U.S. to meet with engaged photographers to review their portfolios and encourage their careers.

To guarantee a high quality experience, the event will be pre-juried from slides.

Deadline to submit an initial slide/CD portfolio HAS BEEN EXTENDED : work must be received by February 19th, 2007. Then, during the weekend of March 10-11, 2007, 50 selected photographers will each have ten twenty minute sessions with reviewers over the course of two days, and ample opportunity for further networking.

Reviewers are committed professionals representing a cross section of our community including book and magazine publishers, packagers and editors, museum, non-profit and commercial gallery directors and curators and leading educators and photographers. The reviewers will include:

Linda Connor, Photographer & Educator, San Francisco Art Institute

Michelle Dunn-Marsh, Director of ApertureWest

Dennis High, Executive Director/Curator of the Center for Photographic Art, Carmel

Jason Houston, Picture Editor, Orion Magazine

Jun Isumura, Foto-Grafix Books

Karen Kienzle, Curator, de Saisset Museum

Stefan Kirkby, Smith Anderson North Gallery

Terry Lee, Co-Editor DoubleTake Magazine & Professor of Literature

David Maisel, Photographer & Educator

Chuck Mobley, Associate Director, San Francisco Camerawork

Christopher Rauschenberg, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland

Michael Read, Book Packager

Roberta Rosenberg, Co-Editor DoubleTake Magazine & Professor of Literature.

Kirsten Rian, Director, The Aftermath Project

Thom Sempere, Director, PhotoAlliance

Meg Schiffler, Director, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery

Ada Takahashi, Director and Partner, Robert Koch Gallery

Lewis Watts, Educator, UC Santa Cruz

Terri Whitlock, Curator, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art