Stephan Savoia is an American photojournalist who has worked for several daily newspapers and the Associated Press during his 42-year career. He has been recognized twice by the Pulitzer Prize Board as a member of two winning Associated Press Feature Photography teams. [1] [2]
Savoia was born in New York City and raised in its metropolitan area. [3] He earned a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam, where he majored in sociology and social theory and minored in art and photography. [4] He later completed a master's degree in journalism at the University of Missouri, where he studied under photojournalist Angus McDougall. [3] In 2005, Savoia was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by SUNY Potsdam in recognition of his contributions to visual journalism. [4]
Savoia began his photography career while working on The Racquette, the student newspaper at SUNY Potsdam. [4] After completing his master's degree at the University of Missouri, he worked as a staff photojournalist for newspapers in Monroe and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. [3] In November 1990, he joined the Associated Press. From 1990 to 2005, he served as a national staff photographer based in Boston, and continued with the AP as a staff photographer until his retirement in 2018.
The 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography recognized the AP "portfolio of images drawn from the 1992 presidential campaign". [1] Savoia was the lead campaign photojournalist covering Bill Clinton’s presidential bid. The 1999 Prize recognized a collection of images from the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal and ensuing impeachment hearings. Savoia photographed key figures, including Clinton’s personal secretary Betty Currie and her attorney Lawrence Wechsler. [1] [2]
Savoia's major assignments with the Associated Press included:
Savoia’s work has appeared in:
Savoia has lectured and presented on photojournalism at various universities and professional workshops. He served as a judge for the Pictures of the Year International (POYi), [3] the National Press Photographers Association’s Best of Photojournalism competition, [29] and the Boston Press Photographers Association’s college contests. [30] He also served as President of the Boston Press Photographers Association from 2016 to 2020. [31]
In 2025, Savoia became the president of the f4 & See It Foundation, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting impactful photojournalism and documentary photography. [32] The organization promotes the thoughtful and purposeful telling of visual stories, drawing on Savoia’s own philosophy of photojournalism. The foundation’s name, coined by Savoia, is a play on the phrase "f/8 and be there", reimagined as "f4 and See It" to reflect a more deliberate and emotionally aware approach to visual storytelling.