The Journal · 2 November 2026
Photo Days and Paris Photo 2026: how to use photography month in Paris
By Marques Hardin, artist manager · Paris & Rome
Photo Days runs from 2 to 30 November 2026 in about 70 venues across Paris, and most of it is free. Paris Photo follows at the Grand Palais from 12 to 15 November. For a photographer, the month is a chance to see great work, meet reviewers and collectors, and arrive with your prices and papers ready.
A whole month of photography
Photo Days is a photography festival that takes over Paris every November. The 2026 edition, the seventh, runs from 2 to 30 November (Sortir à Paris). It was founded and is directed by the art historian Emmanuelle de l'Ecotais (Blind), and this year agnès b. is its patron (Ville de Paris). About 70 places take part: 26 galleries, 25 museums and institutions, and 19 other venues, and the shows are free (Sortir à Paris).
In the middle of the month, Paris Photo fills the Grand Palais from 12 to 15 November, with more than 220 exhibitors from over 30 countries. Last year it drew 75,000 visitors (Paris Photo).
Shows worth the trip
- Gosette Lubondo at Angalia.
- James Barnor at Clémentine de la Féronnière.
- Kwame Brathwaite, "Black Is Beautiful", at the Maison de Robert Doisneau.
- Roméo Mivekannin at the Musée du quai Branly.
- Nanténé Traoré at the MEP.
- Irving Penn at Thaddaeus Ropac, and Steve McCurry at Polka.
The list is from the festival programme (Sortir à Paris). Check each venue for its dates and opening hours before you go.
The free portfolio review
On 9 and 10 November, Photo Days holds free portfolio reviews at the École des Arts Joailliers. Last year, 63 reviewers held 316 meetings (Sortir à Paris). That is a real chance to be seen, so go in ready.
- Bring a tight edit of one body of work rather than everything you have made.
- Have a one-page sheet with your photo, a short statement, the highlights of your CV and how to reach you.
- Know your editions, with the print sizes, the number of copies in each and the price of each size.
- Write down the name of every reviewer you meet and what they said, on the same day.
- Follow up within two days, and ask a real question instead of just saying thank you.
Paris Photo is for seeing, not for pitching
As I wrote about art fairs, a fair is not the place to find a gallery, because the dealers there are busy selling the artists they already show. Go to Paris Photo to learn who shows what and at what prices. Save the pitch for the portfolio review, or for an email after the fair.
Why November matters for photography
In November, Paris hosts the two largest photography events on its calendar within weeks of each other. Photo Days, founded and directed by the art historian Emmanuelle de l'Ecotais (Blind), runs from 2 to 30 November 2026 in its seventh edition, under the patronage of agnès b. (Ville de Paris). Its programme lists about 70 venues: 26 galleries, 25 museums and institutions, and 19 other venues. Admission is free (Sortir à Paris). Paris Photo then occupies the Grand Palais from 12 to 15 November with more than 220 exhibitors from over 30 countries. The 2025 edition counted 75,000 visitors, 18,000 collectors and VIPs, and 220 international institutions (Paris Photo).
For a gallery or a manager, that means a month in which collectors, curators and institutions are in the city with photography already on their minds. The commercial question is how to turn that attention into a list of people to follow up.
The programme, read as a market signal
The gallery and institutional programme mixes established names, such as Irving Penn at Thaddaeus Ropac and Steve McCurry at Polka, with a notable presence of African and diaspora photographers: Gosette Lubondo at Angalia, James Barnor at Clémentine de la Féronnière, Kwame Brathwaite at the Maison de Robert Doisneau, Roméo Mivekannin at the Musée du quai Branly and Nanténé Traoré at the MEP (Sortir à Paris). For anyone representing photographers from those scenes, the month offers a ready-made context in which collectors are already looking.
What has to be in order before a collector asks
- Editions: for each image, the print sizes, the number of copies per size, the artist's proofs, and how many have sold.
- VAT: in France, a photograph counts as a work of art only when the artist took it and printed it or had it printed under their control. It must also be signed and numbered, with no more than 30 copies across all formats and supports (Hayot Expertise, citing CGI annexe III, art. 98 A).
- Prices: one price per size and edition, identical at the gallery, the fair and the studio, with a written rule for how the price rises as an edition sells.
- Documents: a one-sheet, a price list, a numbered invoice and a certificate that records the edition number, ready to send the same day.
- Follow-up: every portfolio reviewer and every collector met during the month recorded on the day, with what they responded to. The first message goes out within 48 hours, asks what they collect and requests a short conversation.
The portfolio reviews
Photo Days holds free portfolio reviews on 9 and 10 November at the École des Arts Joailliers; in 2025, 63 reviewers held 316 appointments (Sortir à Paris). For a manager, preparing an artist for those meetings is among the most efficient work available that month: a tight edit, an edition table and a one-sheet, so that the reviewer leaves with something to remember and a reason to reply.
November is the easiest month to start collecting photography in Paris. Photo Days fills about 70 venues until 30 November, mostly for free, and Paris Photo runs at the Grand Palais from 12 to 15 November (Sortir à Paris; Paris Photo).
- Ask how many copies exist of the print you like, in each size.
- Ask which number your copy is, and whether it is signed.
- Ask whether the price changes as the edition sells.
- Ask for a numbered invoice and a certificate that names the edition number.
Frequently asked questions
From 2 to 30 November 2026, in about 70 venues across Paris, with free admission to the shows.