She was handed a camera to capture Albert Einstein and never put it down. Now, as the award that carries Marilyn Stafford's name marks its 10th anniversary, these photographers are continuing her tradition of getting close to the story

A composite portrait showing Marilyn Stafford in a sun hat holding a Rolleiflex camera on the left, and Albert Einstein seated indoors on the right. — (Image credit: Courtesy Marilyn Stafford Fotoreportage Award)

The career of Marilyn Stafford (1923-2025) began in an unusual way. In 1948, friends making a film about the famous scientist Albert Einstein needed someone to photograph him, and Stafford, despite having no professional background, was the one who picked up the camera.

What followed was three decades documenting refugees, slum communities, fashion houses and heads of state, guided early on by Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris. She became one of only a handful of women working in London's Fleet Street newspaper district, at a time when that wasn't a small thing to be.

This September, that legacy gets a proper weekend. POST, Brighton and Hove's new photography centre, is hosting three days marking the tenth anniversary of the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award, the prize set up in her name to support women telling documentary stories through photography.

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Organized by FotoDocument and backed by Nikon, the event runs from September 18-20 and brings together past winners, jury members and some of the most respected names in the field.

For anyone shooting documentary work, or simply trying to build a career in an industry that still skews heavily male, this is worth a visit.

It's less a single exhibition, more a working weekend: retrospectives to study, panels to peruse, and a portfolio day with actual feedback attached.

An overhead shot of two pairs of weathered hands pressing gently on a pregnant woman's bare belly as she lies on a bed. — Overall winner: *When the Earth Gives Birth* (Image credit: Johanna Alarcón)

Three people engage in a collaborative movement exercise in a bright room, with two individuals assisting a person seated in a wheelchair. — 2026 shortlisted image. Lupita dances with her partner Billy, with support from her caretaker during a challenging dance move. From the series *The Body wasn't the Problem*. (Image credit: Sara Swaty)

Two young children stand side by side on an asphalt road at dusk, with one wearing blue face makeup. — 2026 shortlisted image. From *The Journey Home* series (Image credit: Laura Pannack)

Friday evening opens with the launch of When the Earth Gives Birth, the new body of work from Johanna Alarcón, this year's award winner.

It sits alongside a retrospective pulling highlights from a full decade of winning projects, giving visitors a rare chance to trace how the award's documentary style has shifted since it launched.

A parallel display of Stafford's own photographs and books runs throughout, including work from her time covering Algerian refugees in Tunisia and her portraits of Indira Gandhi during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

There's also a first look at a forthcoming documentary about Stafford's life, with a trailer screening and a Q&A with director Ellie Emptage of Tara Films.

It's a rare bit of moving-image context for a photographer whose stills have mostly had to speak for themselves.

Veterans and industry access

The panels are where this weekend earns its keep for anyone in the trade.

Natalya Saprunova, the 2022 award winner, joins jury members and veteran documentary photographers Andrea Bruce and Donna DeCesare for a broader discussion on where women stand in contemporary documentary photography today, alongside Laura El-Tantawy and Neo Ntsoma. Carol Allen-Storey adds a book talk and signing with GOST Books, useful for anyone weighing up self-publishing versus a small press.

Sunday closes the weekend with something very practical: Nikon-run workshops and one-to-one portfolio reviews for students and recent graduates, hosted by Nikon ambassador Carolyn Mendelsohn. It's the kind of access that's hard to come by outside a festival setting, and worth booking early given the format.

Two people bend forward with their heads submerged in shallow water in a natural setting. — 2026 shortlisted image. Yvonne and Emile bathe in the last remaining, unpolluted water spring in Santa María Zacatepec, Puebla. Santa María Zacatepec, September 2025. From the series *Among Flowing Waters*. (Image credit: Valeria Luongo)

A group of people stand outdoors behind a rustic wooden fence on a grassy, foggy hillside. — 2026 shortlisted image. From the series *The Final Days of Georgian Nomads.* (Image credit: Natela Grigalashvili)

Two young girls with elaborate hair updos stand in front of a round mirror, looking at a mobile phone screen. — 2026 shortlisted image. Mary and Nina look on a mobile at a hairdressers, County Carlow, Ireland. From *The Travellers* series. (Image credit: Birte Kaufmann)

Nina Emett, director of FotoDocument and co-director of POST, says the weekend is as much a tribute to Stafford's adopted hometown as to her career.

Given how much of that career was spent working around (and often against) the industry's usual gatekeeping, a weekend built on access rather than spectacle feels like the right way to mark it.

The Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award tenth anniversary weekend runs at POST, Brighton and Hove, from September 18-20. Tickets are available now.

Tom May is a freelance writer and editor specializing in art, photography, design and travel. He has been editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. He has also worked for a wide range of mainstream titles including The Sun, Radio Times, NME, T3, Heat, Company and Bella.