WikiPortraits volunteer spotlight: Bryan Berlin
Volunteering with WikiPortraits has given me great access to different events that I'm already interested in, and it's nice to be contributing to Wikipedia and making media more accessible for everyone.
Bryan Berlin, a teacher and comedian based in Brooklyn, New York, is also WikiPortraits volunteer. Going by User:Berlination, Bryan's WikiPortraits uploads include high-quality images of athletes, singers, celebrities and more.
If you're in need of positive and rather wholesome news, there's a high school teacher named Bryan who took a ton of freely licensed celebrity headshots at the New York Film Festival last month for Wikipedia, and I truly can't believe how drastic the upgrade is for some articles (thread)
— depths of wikipedia (@depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social) November 1, 2025 at 6:21 AM
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Besides appearing on a Depths of Wikipedia live show, one of Bryan's claims to fame since joining WikiPortraits is being interviewed by the BBC as one of the amateur photographers hoping to fix Wikipedia's 'terrible' pictures.
Here's a short Q&A with him:
What's your experience with WikiPortraits?
I started with WikiPortraits in August of 2024. I was performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where I met with Jenny Lee (WikiPortraits co-founder) and learned about WikiPortraits – I started taking photos right way, while I was at Fringe!
Volunteering with WikiPortraits has given me great access to different events that I'm already interested in, and it's nice to be contributing to Wikipedia and making media more accessible for everyone.
What have been your WikiPortraits highlights in 2025?
It was great to go to the Sundance Film Festival for the first time last January. I've also really enjoyed taking photos at professional men's and women's soccer games this year, including seeing Messi twice (and getting his photo). It's also been wild to get interviewed by the BBC for WikiPortraits and get a personal shoutout from DepthsofWikipedia.
What do you shoot with?
I have a Sony a7c ii and my everyday lens is a Tamron 28-200. I recently upgraded the lens I use for sports to a Sony 70-200 2.8.
Why WikiPortraits?
WikiPortraits is a great thing to get involved in! It's nice you can do it on your own time/schedule and can create opportunities for yourself. Personally, I'd love to continue covering soccer and hope to be able to cover the World Cup in the US next year.
Check out selected portraits on Bryan's personal website: https://www.bryanberlin.com/photography
