The Canon Student Development Programme 2024, the importance of being amongst photography peers and tips for portfolio reviews

David J Shaw

Dave here! In September 2024 I was lucky enough to be part of the Canon Student Development Programme which brought together 24 photography students from across the world for four days of talks, workshops and reviews. It was an exceptional event and I have left feeling inspired and with new direction.

If you are a photography student, apply for this programme next year!

I believe this so strongly the sentence is in bold. The link is here - https://www.canon.co.uk/get-involved/student-development-programme/

The programme started with a day's workshop on lighting for video and photography with Paolo Verzone (@paoloverzone) and Massimo Nicolaci (@massimonicolaci). The lessons were open and detailed from highly experienced and passionate photographers. It was useful for me as I have two projects I am currently working on that need lighting like this, so learning these skills gives me the ability to take these works to the next step. I also believe that as a group of students looking to ‘break out’ into the industry, having as many professional skills as possible makes us reliable and employable by editors and art directors.

Below is my portrait of Tiffany, who was part of the fantastic Canon team putting on the event, which was made under the guidance of Paolo Verzone. We were given some of the most up to date Canon cameras for these workshops. I also was lucky enough to model for Maria Høy Hansen (@hariamoy) and gain myself a new updated portrait for my website.

Over the following days we were given a series of inspiring talks by Elisa Iannacone (@elisaiannacone), Brent Stirton (@brentstirton) and Fabiola Ferrero (@fabiolaferrero) and a panel discussion with photographers Laura El-Tantawy (@laura_el_tantawy), Ilvy Njiokiktjien (@ilvynjio), Thomas Borberg and editors Fiona Shields and Marco Longari (@marcolongari) about how to approach and succeed in the industry.

Amongst these talks we also were given the opportunity to have our work reviewed by the Canon ambassador pros in one-on-one and group settings.

Combining these elements of the workshop was an effective way of taking on the advice of these experienced professionals, and then putting it into practice through the portfolio review sessions. My reviews were with Ilvy Njiokiktjien and Marco Longari and I showed them work from my ‘Caeadda’ project, four images of which are currently available in our print shop. Both gave great advice on how the project should develop and their advice was relatively similar, which is encouraging and gives me confidence in the direction I should take.

Throughout the workshop, all the pros were open to having impromptu portfolio reviews after hours. These reviews offered more advice on our work in an informal setting. Listening in on, and participating in these reviews made me realise how important it is to get your work in front of as many people as possible.

Every review is different, and the opinions and advice of editors and industry professionals don’t always match. This can be confusing at times, but I believe there is use in every review and critique, both positive and negative, and photographers should aim to take useful parts from every review into their practice moving forward.

These reviews can also help you have those lightbulb moments. Prior to this workshop the programme gave me the amazing opportunity to be mentored by Jay Davies of Getty images. He helped me edit my portfolio which was submitted for consideration for this workshop, and I got in (thanks Jay). He pulled out a photo (see below) from my C edit folder of images and told me it had to be included. In every portfolio review I have had since, this particular photo has been highlighted as one of the strongest ones. Before Jay pulled it out I had never shown it to anyone! Again, this shows the importance of having your work reviewed, as experienced and trained eyes see parts of images that you miss, whilst offering fresh ideas to take your work forwards.

Through the combination of professional practice seminars and portfolio review sessions, my top three take away tips regarding portfolio reviews are:

Don’t have any expectations about where the review will lead. These sessions are like speed dates. It is then up to you to nurture a future relationship with someone after your first meeting.

Show a project that you feel best shows your true photographic voice, your motivations, visual style and skills in both image making and storytelling.

Know why your project is relevant now, and why it should be you that documents it.

Bonus tip - for shooting in black and white, every reviewer has asked me why I chose to use it - so have a good answer for this.

We also had a group review session with five peers and one of the Canon ambassadors. Mine was with Laura El-Tantawy, who ran the session in an open way where we were all encouraged to offer our thoughts on the work. This group setting was for me the most productive way to delve into mine and my peers' work. I gained just as much from being part of other photographers’ reviews as my own. Having a free and safe place to discuss ideas, opinions and previous experience in a lovely villa in Catalonia was a plus. Thanks to Laura and my group for that session.

It opened my eyes to a host of new photographic works. The standard was incredibly high and the work was equally moving and inspiring. Being around this group of dedicated photographers reaffirmed to me the importance of spending time with other photographers who share your passion.

This is what we aim to create at the Photographers’ Print Co-operative; by fostering a nurturing community of photographers and enthusiasts we can support each other and the continuation of our work.

A massive thank you to Canon, all of the staff at the workshop (who were truly amazing), the pros and fellow students on the programme this year. It was an incredible experience and I am grateful to have been there.