Beware of the Professional Photographer Portfolio Submission Scam

Updates

Jan 24

I’ve been a photographer since I as a child. My early days were with film. By high school, I had a digital camera and by the time I came up with a name for my future photography business in 2003, I had acquired my first DSLR. I kept practicing by donating work until encouragement from those early clients and friends resulted in registering Soul Gaze Photography, LLC as a small business in 2014. I’ve grown substantially since then, but of course still have much to learn.

Fast forward to 2022. I submitted a portfolio of over 150 images to be judged by a panel of judges of a pro elite photographer group. I knew there was some edit/style variation, however that was due to the portfolio being a combination of work from the last decade rather than exclusively recent work. I felt it made more sense to be judged overall as a whole considering the evolution in my work and style. That seems to have been an error in judgement. It would have been kind of them to specify that the portfolio should be recent work for cohesion of judgement.

I’d also accidentally (pregnant brain!) submitted the public portfolio gallery link rather than the more strictly curated one specifically for them. So I’m feeling quite nauseated at the moment at the loss of $70 over something so stupid. The nausea could also be the pregnancy hormones haha, I’m due in April. ;)

The application has a non-refundable fee of $85. I had a coupon, so was able to apply for $70. I didn’t really have the money to waste, but took a chance, believing in myself and excited for the opportunity and perks that would come with the membership.

On January 5th, I submitted my application with an expected 15 day wait for results. As the days went on, the more I became concerned. Did they forget? Was it a scam? Then at 10:11am this morning, January 24th, I finally received an email with the results of my application.

Please note: I have edited the email to remove the name of the organization and to add the photos they’re referencing (with my comments below each photo) to make it easier for readers to form an unbiased opinion of the results. No other edits have been made beyond font formatting.

The Email

Thank you for applying to *********. Unfortunately, we are declining your application at this time.

We currently use a points system as part of our portfolio review. Each area has a possible 6 points for an overall total of 42 points. Scores from each of the panelists are averaged and an applicant must have a minimum of 32 points, with a minimum of 4 points in the Exposure Triangle category.

In addition to your scores, we have included more information about what your scores mean and what steps you can take to move to the next level. Please note, this feedback is pulled directly from the rubric and offers a general overview of what your scores mean. The evaluation rubric provides more detail about what our panelists look for when evaluating a portfolio. If you have not already done so, you can see a copy of the Standards *******.

Exposure Triangle: 5
Use of Light: 4
Color and White Balance: 4
Composition: 4
Processing + Cohesion: 3
Technical Basics (focus, DOF): 4
Creativity + Intention: 4

Total Score Overall: 28

Exposure

Exposure is executed nicely in this set. Amber manages exposure well in challenging light.

Use of Light

Many images in this set have contrast and depth. A variety of different types of light are used. Some images have flat light. In some others, light could be used with more strength. Image 173 is an example of this. Having more open sky in front of the subject would help add more light in her eyes. Pretty backlight in image 43. Strengthening her skills in these areas will help elevate Amber's body of work even more. Perhaps a natural light class or tutorials would be helpful.

My Comments: “173 was accidentally left in the gallery, I feel like an idiot. It’s a photo of me at my 30th birthday party years ago, taken by my then husband. I was next to barb wire, surrounded by huge oak trees. Those trees and his inexperience affected the lighting. This was the only place at the location with the beautiful field of flowers and we couldn’t get across the fence for better light. 43 didn’t actually have such pretty backlight. The sun was just below the tree line and only provided a faint white haze. I added the flare in Photoshop, so it’s ironic that it was chosen and used as an example.“

Color + White Balance

White balance looks nice in many images. Occasionally, skin tones are cool, warm or tinted. In image 19 skin is a bit magenta. 109 is magenta biased as well. Flawless Skin in the ******* *********** store is an excellent resource for working on skin tones.

My Comments: “109 was taken during a 15 degree sunrise which affected my equipment. I don’t see magenta issues, it’s possible I have some sort of colorblindness or a computer calibration issue. I edit on  now, but previously was on an HP laptop. There is some variety in skin tones, that’s personal preference — not lack of skill.“

Composition

Color, line and shape are used as design elements in many of this artist's frames. Watch for crooked horizon lines. Tipping the horizon line to the right in image 180 will help add balance to the image. Leading lines are appealing in image 6.

My Comments: “#180 is an infrared photography image taken with a wide angle lens and intentionally tilted for artistic effect. #6 does illustrate leading lines. It also shows that I do know how to use light (something mentioned as an ‘issue’) as this photo was taken using only the commercial lighting inside a large cave.“

Processing + Cohesion

Post processing is off to a nice start. Many images are edited with skill. In image 13, post processing is a bit inconsistent with others in the set. There are quite a few editing styles and experimentation happening throughout the portfolio. Having more editing continuity throughout this set will help polish up this area.

My Comments: “Of all the critiques, this one makes the least sense to me as far as being an example of inconsistent editing. This image was edited using the same custom presets and tweaks as usual. The only difference is I had used a long lens and narrow aperture while standing on a staircase higher up than the subject. The background of fall leaves below the maple tree in my front yard was blurred by the lens. I don’t have a large amount of images with bokeh like this in my portfolio, so that in itself would be an obvious difference.“

Technical

Focus is accurate in Amber's set. Depth of field is sometimes used for storytelling. It would be nice to see this a bit more often.

Creativity + Intention

There is an emerging style in Amber's work. Many of her images yield emotional reactions.

Applicants strongest images or skill

This artist's captures of creative content and fun environments are appealing in this set. Amber does a nice job using shapes and lines to create interest with her viewer.

Applicants weakest images or skill

Fine tuning, use of light, white balance and having more consistency with post processing will all help Amber's art become even stronger.

Follow-up Feedback

Amber is a talented artist who presents a lovely body of work. Strengthening a few areas in her set will help elevate her portfolio and help her style become more evident. Her work is a pleasure to view.

Please know and understand that we try to be as objective as possible when reviewing applications and that we are only one avenue among many for advanced photographers. We wish you the best in your journey and hope you join us soon!

Final Thoughts

So, obviously I’m a bit confused by the results. I scored above the minimum threshold for the exposure triangle, but was told “perhaps a natural light class or tutorials would be helpful” while at the same time a photo with fake lighting was perceived to be an example of proper use.

I’d been so excited to apply, but now it just feels like a scam and I’ve lost $70. I do respect the company and the panel of judges, but it feels rather icky when the application fee is non-refundable, you wait longer than 15 days and are declined by a mere 4 points. Now I’m trying to decide if it’s worth the risk of additional financial loss to re-apply.

I will agree there are areas I need to strengthen my skills, but art is very subjective. Much of my work is intentional and intent is not always a sign of poor skill. In that regard, I feel it’s illogical to judge without feedback from the applicant prior to making a final determination of whether or not to accept or decline entry. It would be mutually beneficial if there was a more interactive communication process during judging. As for the non-refundable fee, though it does go towards showing serious commitment to join and towards the time of the judges, it would be ideal if it could be credited or even partially credited to the accompanying pro forum or magazine, as a way to say thank you for entering and to assist the entrant on their path towards being accepted at a later date. The key of the critiques is for improvement of skill, this should be a resource, not something that feels icky.