Zara Katz is an independent photo editor and filmmaker for editorial, documentary and branded content. She brings a narrative approach to both still and moving images, specializing in crafting character-driven visual stories. Collaboration is key to her work, from assigning and supporting photo and video journalists in the field, to editing visual portfolios, to working directly with organizations to create and deliver unique original content.
She is the co-creator of @EverydayIncarceration, a collaborative Instagram feed looking at 40 years of mass incarceration in the United States and “Woman on the Outside,” a forthcoming documentary film about one woman’s efforts to keep her family together despite the ripple effects of generational incarceration. These projects have been supported by the Mayor’s Fund for Women in Media, New York Foundation for the Arts, The Gotham and the Magnum Foundation, to name a few. The work has been exhibited at The Philadelphia Museum of Art and Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Photoville in New York and Fotodoks in Munich, Germany.
Katz has produced, shot and edited original photo and video content for various outlets including: Time, The New York Times, Medium, The Guardian U.S., Newsweek, Playboy, Refinery29, Oxford American, Buzzfeed, California Sunday Magazine, Pop-Up Magazine and Lifetime/A&E Networks.
In 2019, she was the lead photography producer on a collaborative project with Getty Images, Dove and Girlgaze, to create a new collection of licensable images and the current Dove campaign featuring 180 women around the world. Katz sourced, hired and provided the creative direction for nearly 120 women and non-binary photographers in 40 countries. The campaign won the Silver Glass Lion at Cannes.
Katz received her Master’s degree from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. She has worked as adjunct faculty at CUNY J-School and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
She is the co-creator of @EverydayIncarceration, a collaborative Instagram feed looking at 40 years of mass incarceration in the United States and “Woman on the Outside,” a forthcoming documentary film about one woman’s efforts to keep her family together despite the ripple effects of generational incarceration. These projects have been supported by the Mayor’s Fund for Women in Media, New York Foundation for the Arts, The Gotham and the Magnum Foundation, to name a few. The work has been exhibited at The Philadelphia Museum of Art and Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Photoville in New York and Fotodoks in Munich, Germany.
Katz has produced, shot and edited original photo and video content for various outlets including: Time, The New York Times, Medium, The Guardian U.S., Newsweek, Playboy, Refinery29, Oxford American, Buzzfeed, California Sunday Magazine, Pop-Up Magazine and Lifetime/A&E Networks.
In 2019, she was the lead photography producer on a collaborative project with Getty Images, Dove and Girlgaze, to create a new collection of licensable images and the current Dove campaign featuring 180 women around the world. Katz sourced, hired and provided the creative direction for nearly 120 women and non-binary photographers in 40 countries. The campaign won the Silver Glass Lion at Cannes.
Katz received her Master’s degree from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. She has worked as adjunct faculty at CUNY J-School and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.