Pinar Istek

Pinar Istek currently serves as a photo editor at the Chicago Tribune, where she works to curate impactful visual content across daily news, investigative stories, and long-term projects. Her career has taken her from Turkey to Central America and across the United States, with her work appearing in major outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Times. Pinar worked as a freelance photographer and videographer for several years, producing both editorial and commercial content. She holds a master’s degree in photojournalism from the University of Missouri and pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin, where her research focused on the evolving relationship between newsrooms and freelance photojournalists. She is passionate about helping young photographers grow and develop their voices and recently served as a reviewer for the Prism Photo Workshop. Pinar also judged the editing categories in the 81st Pictures of the Year International photo contest and was excited to contribute to their efforts to move the craft of visual journalism forward.