Jason Florio

I first met Jason in 2006 when I was teaching a portfolio review seminar at Mediabistro. As soon as he laid his work on the long table it was clear Jason was an immense talent. I showed him a stronger way to sequence the work he was presenting, and so began a relationship that continues to this day.

Not only have I watched Jason grow in stature as a photographer, but I have seen an incredible drive and a focused direction grow as well. Jason is now a multi-award winning photographer who has shown in museums and galleries, been published in magazines, and been featured online on FlakPhoto, La Lettre, ProPhotoDaily, and Burn among others.

Most recently I’ve worked with Jason to edit his website, finding a way to most effectively organize his massive body of work and simplify its presentation to show the breadth of his talent.

“I have worked with Stella on edits of my portfolios and my website. Stella’s straight talking, no nonsense approach is a breath of fresh air, and has pushed me to look and present my work in ways I would never have imagined.”

-Jason Florio photographer

Isadora Kosofsky

“Stella is an honest and thoughtful photo-editor, who melds her critique with the photographer’s objective. She truly understands the language of photography, never needing an explanation of a series. Stella’s genuine passion is evident in her support and sensitivity to my projects. It is an honor to work with her.”

-Isadora Kosofsky, photographer

In 2009 I was invited to judge a competition by the Center for Fine Art Photography. I was tasked with choosing fifteen artist portfolios and then choose one whose image would be the cover of the printed book. That was where I first came upon Isadora Kosofsky’s photographs.

Not only is Isadora a talented documentarian, but her photos of the elderly show a rare sensitivity that appeared in both her composition and the moments she chose to photograph. It was obvious that Isadora was strongly connected to her subjects, and as such was able to create vibrant and intimate photographs. When the competition was over, I asked about her and was told she was 15 years old. I was stunned!

Isadora is such a sophisticated photographer and I continue to work with her as an editor, helping to focus and shape her stories and find the narrative thread in her work. I continue to encourage her career (she was recently awarded the 2012 Inge Morath Award), and at the tender age of 18 she is already a photographer to be reckoned with, her work appearing on Time’s LightBox, and in the pages of Le Monde.

Robert Herman

It was at a portfolio review in 2009 that I met Robert Herman and first saw “The New Yorkers,” his amazing street photography project 10 years in the making. Robert wanted to publish the project as a book, and so we began working together towards that goal.

The first order of business was to edit the work into a more manageable amount of images and then to begin the difficult process of sequencing. Sometimes photographers can become overwhelmed by their own project, and with so many wonderful photographs, it was easy to lose perspective. After working together for a while we were able to hone in on the photographs that were most evocative of New York City.

I encouraged Robert to write about the project, and helped to bring out a wonderfully personal artist statement that gave him a new perspective on his own work and its personal meaning. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about this project to help move it closer to becoming an actual book. And I am thrilled to say Robert is presently in discussion with a publisher.

“Stella’s insight as a photo editor and as a writer was instrumental in moving The New Yorkers book project to completion. Stella was extremely helpful in seeing the seemingly hidden connections between the images and finding the narrative in the images. Her insight and continuing support was and is invaluable on the long journey from conception to publication.”

–Robert Herman, photographer

Douglas Ljungkvist

Douglas is a photographer who I came to know through a seminar I gave at Mediabistro in 2008. His strong sense of color and beautifully composed architectural photography showed his unique eye. During our consultations I was able to help him pull together a tighter edit and sequence from his photographs and thus make it into a stronger body of work.

In the ensuing years I have had the pleasure of seeing Douglas mature as a photographer and become more honed in on how he sees the world. His eye is unique, and his love of the simple story told with color and form has brought his work major attention from the likes of FlakPhoto, La letter, LPV, Klompching gallery, and Rangefinder Magazine.

“Whether you’re looking to edit a personal photography project, prepare for a portfolio review, write a work statement, or perfect sequencing for an exhibition proposal, Stella Kramer is the person for the job!
Stella’s experience speaks for itself. I’ve worked with her on both editorial and personal portfolios with very satisfying results. She is honest, and communicates in a straight forward manner which makes it easy to understand. I have and will continue to recommend Stella to anyone who could use some outside assistance or inspiration!”
–Douglas Ljungkvist, photographer

Sari Goodfriend

When I met Sari in 2008 I was struck by her beautiful view of the world. She was an adept photographer, shooting portraits, travel, and food. I began working with her to redefine her self as a photographer, focusing on the work that was strongest—her portraits.

When Sari showed me her “Silverhead” project, I was so impressed that I blogged about it. I’ve encouraged her to continue to expand and even to show these beautiful portraits. We talk a lot about how to expand and grow a project, and continue to find meaning in the work you are doing.

“I highly recommend Stella. She is brilliant visually, has an amazing knowledge of photography. Stella knows how and why certain images work and others don’t. She is gutsy in her selects, and can help photographers’ work be seen in a way it might not have been previously. She’s good at pairing images and ordering them in a way that makes them stand out. Stella has an inordinate respect for photographers and only wants to see us succeed.”
–Sari Goodfriend, photographer

Aaron Graubart

AaronGraubartMelons Aaron Graubart found me through a mutual friend in the business. What a pleasure it was to open his portfolio and see his Dark Food photographs. The painterly quality of this body of work added an emotional and sensuous feeling that really made it unique.

This work was already garnering clients, but it was important for Aaron to make his website and thus his visual statement stronger and more streamlined. Our work together has focused on bringing the truly strongest images to the forefront and talking about zeroing in on exactly who Aaron wanted to work with. I’ve also encouraged him to reach out to online magazines and blogs, and the work has struck a chord with others, appearing online in fotoVisura, La Lettre and LPV.

“As a busy photographer, stepping back and really seeing one’s work as a whole rather than as individual pieces can be a challenge. Therefore an educated, insightful, smart, precise, enthusiastic, and importantly, unconnected opinion of one’s work is absolutely invaluable. Stella gave me just that and more. She helped me to rework my portfolio and website giving them both far more depth, flow and meaning. She is also full of ideas about self promotion, marketing and how to broaden one’s photographic world. I will certainly be working with her again in the future.”

–Aaron Graubart, photographer