Talk:Demetrius Fordham

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A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• Demetrius Fordham.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 04:36, 20 September 2021 (UTC)

Good faith disclosure and proposed improvements — Subject editing with COI

Hello, I am Demetrius Fordham, the subject of this article. I am disclosing my conflict of interest as required by Wikipedia's guidelines. I did not create this page and was not involved in its original writing. I would like to work transparently with editors to improve this article and address the current tags. I have identified the following independent reliable sources that could strengthen the article: Wonderful Machine (2023): https://wonderfulmachine.com/article/marketing-partner-demetrius-fordham-connects-with-dream-clients/ Crunite book review: https://www.crunite.net/what-they-didnt-teach-you-in-photo-school-by-demetrius-fordham-a-review/ Condé Nast Traveler contributor profile: https://www.cntraveler.com/contributors/demetrius-fordham HuffPost author page: https://www.huffpost.com/author/demetrius-fordham Hachette/Ilex author profile: https://www.ilexinstant.com/contributor/demetrius-fordham/ I am happy to suggest specific edits on this Talk page and welcome any guidance from experienced editors. Thank you." Babybirthday (talk) 23:44, 14 March 2026 (UTC)

Suggested citation addition

I would like to suggest adding the following independent source as a citation to support the article: Wonderful Machine (2023): https://wonderfulmachine.com/article/marketing-partner-demetrius-fordham-connects-with-dream-clients/ — This article provides significant independent coverage of my work and career and was written independently by the Wonderful Machine editorial team. I believe it meets Wikipedia's requirements for a reliable secondary source. Babybirthday (talk) 10:52, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Suggested bibliography corrections and additions

I would like to suggest the following corrections and additions to the bibliography section. First, the 2019 revised edition of "What They Didn't Teach You In Photo School" (ISBN 978-1781577158) is missing. Second, a third book is not listed at all: "How to Photograph People: Learn to take incredible portraits & more" (2022, ISBN 978-1781578249, Ilex Press). Both books have been translated into multiple languages including French and Spanish, further demonstrating the publisher's commitment to the work. Babybirthday (talk) 10:56, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Suggested content additions — education, notable works, and biography

I would like to suggest the following additions to improve the article's accuracy and completeness. Education: The article currently only references Eugene Lang College. I also studied at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California, which is directly relevant to my career as a photographer and should be included. Notable portrait series: Two major bodies of work are entirely missing from the article despite receiving significant independent media coverage. First, Transparent (2017), a transgender portrait series covered by Harper's Bazaar, HuffPost, Kenneth Cole, and Marie Claire Hungary, which was also exhibited internationally. Second, Ageless Beauty (2016), a nude portrait series celebrating women aged 45 and over with no retouching, profiled by HuffPost and SBS Australia. Third book: How to Photograph People: Learn to take incredible portraits and more (2022, ISBN 978-1781578249, Ilex Press) is not listed in the bibliography. It has been translated into French and is available internationally. Current location: My current base is Sydney, Australia, which is referenced in the 2023 Wonderful Machine article. I am happy to provide sources for any of the above upon request.` Babybirthday (talk) 11:00, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Suggested additional citations — verified published photography credits

I would like to suggest the following verified, independently published sources be added as citations to support the article. All links are active as of March 2026 and explicitly credit photography to Demetrius Fordham. Condé Nast Traveler published photography credits: https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2015-08-10/italys-best-kept-secret-is-its-sparkling-wine-region-franciacorta https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2015-07-24/road-tripping-along-northern-california-cheese-trail https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2015-09-03/the-perfect-weekend-in-mumbai https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-03-15/how-to-wine-taste-properly W Magazine published photography credit: https://www.wmagazine.com/gallery/mumbai-india-nirav-modi-jewelry Schön Magazine published photography credit: https://schonmagazine.com/puregrace/ HuffPost article written and photographed by subject: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/portrait-series-celebrates-diversity-in-transgender_b_5967e0a5e4b09e26b6d76693 These sources demonstrate sustained published work across multiple major international publications over several years and directly support the article's claims about his editorial photography career.` Babybirthday (talk) 11:07, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Suggested biography addition — early career assistantship

I would like to suggest adding the following verified information to the Early Life/Career section. Before launching my solo career I worked as first assistant and digital tech to documentary photographer Doug Menuez from approximately 2013 to 2020, working on commercial shoots for clients including FedEx and Charles Schwab. This is referenced in my HuffPost author page (https://www.huffpost.com/author/demetrius-fordham), in the author biography for What They Didn't Teach You in Photo School (https://www.amazon.com/What-Didnt-Teach-Photo-School/dp/1781577153), and in my 2013 guest post for A Photo Editor (https://www.aphotoeditor.com/2013/03/11/advice-for-photo-assistants/). Doug Menuez has his own Wikipedia article at Doug Menuez. Babybirthday (talk) 11:37, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Suggested addition — international exhibition and additional citations

I would like to suggest the following verified additions to the article.

International exhibition: My Ageless Beauty portrait series was shown at Blank Wall Gallery in Athens, Greece as part of a group exhibition titled "Body" running from 5–18 March 2016. This is documented at https://www.blankwallgallery.com/exhibitions-body/ and https://www.blankwallgallery.com/demetrius-fordham-usa/

Book review: If You're Bored With Your Camera Read This Book was reviewed by Library Journal, a respected independent trade publication: https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/if-youre-bored-with-your-camera-read-this-book

Recent writing: I authored a credited opinion piece in Digital Camera World in 2025: https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/there-is-such-a-thing-as-timeless-camera-design

Additional photo credits: Wine Enthusiast (2023) https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/wine/cult-wine-guide-california-washington/ and A Photo Editor industry features (2013, 2015) https://www.aphotoeditor.com/2013/03/11/advice-for-photo-assistants/ and https://www.aphotoeditor.com/2015/10/28/a-photographers-cheat-sheet-to-making-it-in-the-industry/`

Babybirthday (talk) 11:38, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Edit request from article subject (consolidated)

I am the subject of this article and have disclosed that on my user page. I posted a set of suggestions here in March 2026 but did not use the edit request template, so nothing was reviewed. Please treat this as a replacement for those posts. I have cut it down to changes I can support with independent sources, and I have included two fixes that work against my own interest (a dead link and a promotional external link) because they should be fixed either way.

1. Bibliography is incomplete and one entry has the wrong title. The 2017 book's full title is If You're Bored with Your Camera Read This Book. The 2019 revised edition of the first book is missing, and my third book (2022) is not listed at all. Please replace the two entries under "Books" with:

* {{cite book |last1=Fordham |first1=Demetrius |title=What They Didn't Teach You in Photo School |publisher=[[Ilex Press]] |date=2015 |pages=224 |isbn=978-1781572696}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fordham |first1=Demetrius |title=If You're Bored with Your Camera Read This Book |publisher=[[Ilex Press]] |date=2017 |pages=128 |isbn=978-1781574317}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fordham |first1=Demetrius |title=What They Didn't Teach You in Photo School |edition=Revised |publisher=[[Ilex Press]] |date=2019 |isbn=978-1781577158}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fordham |first1=Demetrius |title=How to Photograph People: Learn to Take Incredible Portraits & More |publisher=[[Ilex Press]] |date=2022 |pages=176 |isbn=978-1781578247}}

All four ISBNs resolve through Special:BookSources. (Note: the ISBN I gave for the third book in March was a typo. 978-1781578247 is correct.)

2. The 2017 book was reviewed by Library Journal. This is independent coverage of the work, which is directly relevant to the notability tag. Please add after the Books list:

''If You're Bored with Your Camera Read This Book'' was reviewed by ''[[Library Journal]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=If You're Bored with Your Camera Read This Book |work=[[Library Journal]] |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/if-youre-bored-with-your-camera-read-this-book |url-access=subscription |date=2017}}</ref>

3. Two portrait series are only mentioned in passing in the lead, but they are what the existing independent sources actually cover. The Harper's Bazaar, SBS and Marie Claire citations already in the article are about these series, not about me generally. Please add a section between "Life and career" and "Publications":

== Portrait series ==
''Ageless Beauty'' (2016) is a series of unretouched nude portraits of women aged over 45.<ref name="SBS" /> It was shown in the group exhibition ''Body'' at Blank Wall Gallery in Athens in March 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Exhibitions – Body |publisher=Blank Wall Gallery |url=https://www.blankwallgallery.com/exhibitions-body/ |date=March 2016}}</ref>

''Transparent'' (2017) is a portrait series of transgender subjects that was covered by ''Harper's Bazaar''<ref name="harpersbazaar" /> and the Hungarian edition of ''Marie Claire''.<ref name="marieclaire" />

4. Early career: assisting. Before working on my own I spent several years as a photo assistant, including as first assistant to Doug Menuez. This is stated in a piece I wrote for A Photo Editor in 2013, which I am citing under WP:ABOUTSELF since it is uncontroversial and not self-serving. Please add to the end of the "Life and career" paragraph:

He worked as a photo assistant for around six years, including as first assistant to documentary photographer [[Doug Menuez]], before working independently.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fordham |first=Demetrius |title=Advice for Photo Assistants |work=A Photo Editor |date=March 11, 2013 |url=https://www.aphotoeditor.com/2013/03/11/advice-for-photo-assistants/}}</ref>

5. Two citations are dead links. The SBS page returns 410 and the Resource Magazine page returns 404. Both are archived. Please add to the SBS citation:

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924144238/https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/voices/health/article/2016/02/15/photographer-celebrates-ageless-beauty-nude-portrait-series |archive-date=September 24, 2021 |url-status=dead

and to the Resource Magazine citation:

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001163741/http://resourcemagonline.com/2013/11/education-photo-assisting/33682/ |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |url-status=dead

6. Please remove the Amazon link under "External links". It is a retail page and does not belong there.

7. Wording in the lead. "has also contributed to Hachette" is inaccurate. Ilex Press is an imprint of Octopus, which is part of Hachette UK, and they published my books. Please replace that clause with: "His books are published by Ilex Press, an imprint of Hachette UK."

I have not asked for anything that depends on my own website, publisher pages, Amazon, or a marketing vendor's profile of me. I am fine with any of the above being trimmed or reworded. If the reviewing editor thinks the sourcing is still short of WP:NARTIST I would rather hear that plainly than have the tag sit for another three years. Thank you. Babybirthday (talk) 11:22, 3 September 2026 (UTC)