Interviews
Five Questions for Naomi Okafor
Tomohiro Isa · February 19, 2026
Lumen faculty Naomi Okafor on long-form documentary, the Pacific Northwest, and what she's looking for in a portfolio.
Naomi Okafor leads Lumen's Long-Form Cohort, a yearlong documentary intensive for working photographers.
We sat down with her to talk about how the cohort came together, what she's been reading lately, and what she looks for in a Long-Form application.
On the Pacific Northwest as a subject: "It's the way light behaves here — flat for ten months, surgical for two. It does something specific to how families look in pictures."
On portfolios: "I want to see a project, not a highlight reel. Six pictures from one place beats sixty from twelve."
Applications for the 2026–27 cohort open August 15.