Hired: How to Get in the Room as a Photographer

We experience culture as something we can see, buy, and participate in. But long before that, it was built in community, in rooms, in conversations, in relationships that most people never see. Powered by True Chicago, this panel brings together photographers and creatives to talk about what in-person community has meant for their careers and why it still cannot be replicated online. In a world of followers and feeds, showing up in person matters as much as ever.

A panel with photographers who have documented history as it's being made. Drawing on academic work exploring how images drive social movements, the moderator guides panelists through questions about access, ethics, and the power of the image to shape collective memory.

Polly built Black Women Photographers in direct response to the excuses she kept hearing from editors and brands about why they weren't hiring more diversely.Polly built Black Women Photographers in direct response to the excuses she kept hearing from editors and brands about why they weren't hiring more diversely. Drawing from her experience on both sides of that conversation, as a working photographer and as a photo editor, she gives attendees a practical framework for navigating the industry, marketing themselves across markets, and building the kind of visibility that leads to real work.