What You Can Gain from Photography Mentorship

Mentorships have been around since time began. Socrates mentored Plato, while Plato mentored Aristotle. More recently, Oprah Winfrey was mentored by Maya Angelou; Steve Jobs mentored Mark Zuckerberg.

Not that we expect every photographer to become Oprah or develop Facebook, but we do want all photographers to recognize the power of mentorship as a collaborative partnership can build confidence, help develop new skills, and open doors to new perspectives for both parties involved.

Below we explore how mentorship can assist your career development and strengthen your photo skills. Whether you need someone to mentor or you simply wish to help other photographers further their abilities and careers – this one’s for you.

Cover photo by Rhea Nall.
Mentorship Can Benefit You
Simply put, mentorship provides reassurance. Reassurance that your creative brain contributes to society. Reassurance that the work you create matters. And more than anything, mentorship helps assure us of this fact that we matter as individuals.

Part of being an Artist involves becoming stuck in your own head – impostor syndrome can be real! A one-on-one mentoring relationship could be just what’s needed if you feel lost artistically, need a confidence boost, or are just needing a boost of inspiration for your art. Being around other creative individuals tends to inspire each individual’s work.

Established photographers need the reassurance and affirmation that their journey matters, too. Mentors offering professional knowledge or portfolio reviews can receive this validation while also having a powerful effect on both themselves and those they mentor by helping boost creativity and inspire new work from them both.

“Competition may drive, but community will build”
This quote from Todd Owyoung, an accomplished music photographer, Nikon Ambassador and creator of the popular photo blog I Shoot Shows.

As photographers are in direct competition with each other, it can be challenging to remember we’re all working towards similar goals. When one photographer gets booked and another one doesn’t, that should certainly be celebrated; but if we take a step back we are all striving to tell important stories and capture moments that evoke powerful emotion without words being spoken aloud.

Todd notes: “Emerging as an individual creative can be vitally important, particularly for photographers. By cultivating an independent space wherein to explore and discover one’s individual style – which is an integral component of creative journey.”

No one lives a secluded life. Our awareness of others and their work, particularly through social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook, is always present and can provide us with inspiration, opportunities to learn or even an atmosphere of unyielding competition if desired.

“Community provides an avenue for sharing work, receiving feedback and giving critiques on work – I find that giving critiques on works is one of the strongest and fastest ways to learn photography; critically analyzing why or why not something worked can help you understand some fundamentals that can just as important than making images.”

Recent years have shown the importance of knowledge sharing and transparency; photo databases and collectives have become popular ways for photographers previously overlooked or unknown to gain big jobs and professional success.

Mentorship can be an integral component of this effort and helps shape progress within our industry. Mentoring provides one way of contributing to this effort and furthering growth.

Be deliberate. Focus.
Once you understand how mentoring can assist, it’s crucial to clarify exactly where and what aspects you can provide assistance, while simultaneously seeking knowledge.

Doing everything all at once often doesn’t work. Therefore, setting specific goals is crucial.

If both mentor and mentee feel confident with their ability to pitch editors, you might choose not to focus on this aspect of your relationship. No matter where your efforts lie, focussing on several specific things is almost certain to give the best return from this kind of mentorship arrangement.

Below are a few ideas of areas you should focus on. Choose between 3-5 to begin your efforts.