Mary Virginia Swanson makes it her goal to help guide photographers towards the strengths in their work and to identify appreciative audiences for their prints, exhibitions, editorial and licensing placement. Swanson has a diverse professional background, having coordinated educational, publication and exhibition programs for a wide range of institutions and businesses in our field.

Swanson is considered an expert in the area of marketing and licensing fine art. It was during her tenure heading special projects at Magnum Photos, that she recognized the opportunities for artists to develop second markets for their work and in 1991 she founded SWANSTOCK, an innovative agency that managed licensing rights for fine art photographers.

Swanson currently works with photographers as a marketing consultant, and is a sought-after portfolio reviewer at events such as Review Santa Fe, Review LA, FotoFest, Photo Nola and PhotoLucida, among others.  She also consults with business and agencies in our industry, assisting in their awareness of contemporary photography.

Her seminars, workshops and public lectures on the subject of marketing opportunities have aided countless photographers in moving their careers to the next level.

Swanson contributes articles to many print and online publications, including Photo District News (PDN) and PDNEDU, Digital Journalist, Nueva Luz, The Education of a Photographer and teachingphoto.com, among others in the U.S. and abroad. She aids numerous other organizations in an advisory capacity and contributes seminars annually to many events including the Society for Photographic Education's national and regional meetings.

Swanson maintains a popular blog about marketing photographs at: www.marketingphotos.wordpress.com. She is the author of her self-published THE BUSINESS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PRINCIPLES and PRACTICES, which is available through this website.