Lauren Steel is a founding member of the Visual Thinking Collective. She is a visuals consultant for photographers, brands, media, agencies, foundations, and nonprofits, to craft authentic visual narratives. She is currently a contract photo editor at The New York Times, and she recently curated two floors of office space in Hudson Yards with compelling, socially relevant imagery from around the world. Previously, she was director of photography at Verbatim Photo, a subsidiary of Getty Images that she co-founded in 2016. Lauren was a part of the rebranding and launch of Getty Images Reportage, where she started the Emerging Talent program. She was at Getty Images for fifteen years. Lauren has collaborated with award-winning photographers to produce exhibits, photo-books, and campaigns worldwide. She has guest lectured at International Center of Photography, School of Visual Arts, and Columbia University, judged numerous photo competitions, and regularly reviews portfolios for various workshops around the world.
War Toys uses an art-therapy-based approach to safely collaborate with war-affected children and recreate their personal accounts through narrative photographs of locally sourced toys, placed and posed at the actual locations.
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Key stories and images by our core group of award winning photojournalists.
Members of the Visual Thinking Collective will present a workshop geared toward the mid-career photographer. Presentations will focus on building editorial skills and will consider an array of issues, including the elements of the visual narrative, researching and pitching story ideas, exploring your photographic identity, sustaining and editing long-term projects, marketing your abilities, and working with clients.
Learn MoreVisual Thinking Collective members Sarah Leen, Shannon Simon, Lauren Steel, and Elizabeth Krist will critique submitted projects in smaller breakout groups. 24 photographers will be divided into random groups and will have an opportunity to discuss a project with one of the editors, while others in their group listen in.
Learn MorePanelists Aidan Sullivan, CEO of Verbatim; Lauren Steel, Visual Director of Verbatim; and filmmaker and photographer Gillian Laub will discuss how they worked together to produce powerful, award- winning content with integrity, plus how the creative process evolved from start to finish.
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