Being on the road by 6 a.m. practically feels like second nature after months of portfolio events (but that doesn’t mean waking up before sunrise gets any easier!). After a quick coffee stop to fuel the drive, Jillian and I were on our way to New York with nearly 30 members’ portfolios to meet with Point One Percent and New York Magazine.
We made great time arriving for our first meeting and—for possibly the first time—didn’t get stuck in tunnel traffic! We parked, unloaded and headed in to our first meeting with Point One Percent, an agency dedicated to understanding and connecting with the most affluent part of the population – the .1%.
Jillian pushes cart past the beautiful Freeman Plaza West (left) and the Point One Percent sign.
Once set up in the conference room, we were joined by associate creative director Katie Jansen, account director Fenna Calder, graphic designer Julie Garagoza and Min Jung Kang from marketing and advertising. I’ve been playing email tag for a few months with Katie, so it was exciting to finally have our schedules line up and meet in person.
Everyone was especially happy to hear that many of our photographers also do motion work. We chatted about the growing importance of being able to shoot both still and moving images in today’s constantly evolving marketplace. Monica Stevenson’s portfolio stood out as a great match for a beauty client the company often works with. Her video work was an added bonus. Some of the other favorite books included Martin Bauendahl’s sophisticated and clean fashion, Cheryl Zibisky’s inviting hospitality images, and Willie Petersen’s vividly creative portrait work. We love when our meetings are full of questions and conversation and enjoyed hearing about some unique projects coming up for Point One Percent.
Summer in Manhattan means less traffic. For us, that translated to FREE street parking for most of the day! We couldn’t believe our luck. With some time before our next meeting, we snapped a few pictures and headed to lunch. As a former resident of the Lower East Side, I pointed out some of my old favorite spots to Jillian on the drive through Soho. She’s heard some of it before, but graciously indulges me each time I decide to stroll down memory lane for a New York minute.
For our next meeting, we headed up the street to New York Magazine. We were greeted by Emily Shornick, photo editor for The Cut, a component of NY Magazine that is geared toward women who want to view the latest trends in beauty and fashion while keeping up with commentary on important issues ranging from politics to health. After navigating a labyrinth of halls, twists and turns with our cart, we settled into a conference room to share more books from our members with Emily.
Wall of covers at New York Magazine’s offices.
Immediately, Emily recognized the humorous portraiture from celebrity photographer Erin Patrice O’Brien (take a look at her new book in the video below) and told us she’s been familiar with her work for some time. She also liked the moody, expertly lit portrait work from Austin Hargrave. Emily shared the details on an upcoming feature about a London-based artist, and said they’re often looking for natural portraiture to complement these types of profiles.
Emily Shornick looking through Evaan Kheraj’s portfolio and telling me about upcoming projects.
Erin Patrice O’Brien’s photography portfolio
After our meeting at the New York Magazine offices, we packed up the car and headed home, pleased with the enthusiastic responses we received and already planning our next meetings for July. And, with luck on our side once again, we managed to elude rush hour traffic the whole way home.
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