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Commons:WikiPortraits

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Wikimania 2024 session on WikiPortraits
WikiPortraits poster for Wikimania 2025

WikiPortraits is a project to capture high-quality photographs of people for Wikimedia Commons, through in-person outreach and event coverage. It formally started in 2024 from efforts by WikiConference North America users in the United States Wikimedia community, and has since been building an international network of photographers.

Main external site: wikiportraits.org

Note - This project should not be confused with the Wikiportrait project with the website Wikiportret.nl started in 2008 by users active on NL-Wikipedia and supported by Wikimedia Nederland. The uploads for that project are included in Category:Wikiportrait uploads.

Background

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Many Wikipedia biographies have missing, low quality, or outdated photos, due to a lack of freely licensed media coverage of people and events. There have been efforts by Wikimedia communities and individuals over the years to help address this, particularly by going to events and photographing people. A few notable examples from Wikimedia affiliates include Wikimedia Deutschland's Festivalsommer and Landtagsprojekt projects, as well as Wikimedia Ghana User Group's 500 Notable People Photo Project and coverage of the African Games. Several Wikimedia affiliates also help Wikimedians get credentialed for events, such as Wikimedia Sweden. We started a page on Meta Wiki, m:Wiki Covers Events, to help document all these efforts from the Wikimedia community.

In early 2024, WikiPortraits was founded to help address this challenge, starting with the United States and rapidly expanding to a global scale. We are building an expansive network of wiki photographers to help cover more regions and events. In addition to helping wiki photographers cover local and international events (through credentialing, logistics, and funding support), we are building a pipeline to recruit new photographers to Wikimedia Commons, bring new editors to Wikipedia, and expand our coverage of cultural events.

We also love collaborating with affiliates and other groups. We have received support from and have worked with the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia CH, Wikimedia UK, Wikimedia Norge, Wikimédiens du Bénin, AfroCROWD, and Wikimedia NYC, with more to come.

Our current activities are primarily funded by the Wikimedia Foundation through a 2025-2026 General Support Fund grant. We also receive support (financial and in-kind) from Wikimedia affiliates and donations.

Projects

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Our Wikicurious - Capturing the Moment event with Wikimedia NYC and AfroCROWD

See Category:WikiPortraits by event type for our event coverage.

To display all subcategories click on the "▶":
WikiPortraits by event type (21 C)

One-off and individual coverage from WikiPortraits photographers can be found at Category:Other portraits by WikiPortraits photographers

Reports

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Get involved

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Are you a photographer, event organizer, or otherwise interested in getting involved with WikiPortraits? Do you need help getting credentials for an event?

Visit /Join for more details, or contact us via our talk page or online contact forms.

Contacts

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Press coverage

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A sample of photos from a few of our covered events.

South by Southwest 2024

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2024 Sundance Film Festival

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  • 2024 Sundance Film Festival
  • Erin HM Granat, filmmaker
    Erin HM Granat, filmmaker
  • Dalila Ali Rajah, actress
    Dalila Ali Rajah, actress
  • Goh Nakamura, actor and musician
    Goh Nakamura, actor and musician
  • Chris Holmes, DJ, artist and producer
    Chris Holmes, DJ, artist and producer
  • Dongnan Chen, documentary filmmaker
    Dongnan Chen, documentary filmmaker
  • Loren Hammonds, Peabody Award-winning film producer
    Loren Hammonds, Peabody Award-winning film producer
  • Louis Greatorex, actor
    Louis Greatorex, actor
  • Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming
    Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming

Working setups

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  • Working setup: SXSW
  • Setup at SXSW 2024
    Setup at SXSW 2024
  • Lou Sanz, screenwriter at SXSW 2024
    Lou Sanz, screenwriter at SXSW 2024
  • Working setup: Sundance Film Festival
  • Setup at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah. Continuous lighting, Canon R3 and R mirrorless cameras. Lens used: Canon RF 24-70L f/2.8.
    Setup at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah. Continuous lighting, Canon R3 and R mirrorless cameras. Lens used: Canon RF 24-70L f/2.8.
  • Filmmaker Rahi Hasan
    Filmmaker Rahi Hasan
  • Working setup: Pulitzer Prizes
  • Setup used by Andrew Lih in 2018 for the Pulitzer Prizes portraits, using a Canon DSLR tethered to Lightroom on a laptop. Primary flash with a softbox was fired into a reflector, with an edge/hair light flash with a Flashbender diffuser. Strobes were remotely triggered via a Godox X 2.4 Ghz system. Lens used: Canon EF 70-200L f/4.
    Setup used by Andrew Lih in 2018 for the Pulitzer Prizes portraits, using a Canon DSLR tethered to Lightroom on a laptop. Primary flash with a softbox was fired into a reflector, with an edge/hair light flash with a Flashbender diffuser. Strobes were remotely triggered via a Godox X 2.4 Ghz system. Lens used: Canon EF 70-200L f/4.
  • Actress Mia Farrow, captured at the Pulitzer Prizes in 2018
    Actress Mia Farrow, captured at the Pulitzer Prizes in 2018

Discuss

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We're a community of practice! Ask anything or join the discussion to talk about event photography, future events, or new ideas!

See also

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