How to Find a Free Photography Mentor

Photography Mentoring

Breaking into the photography industry can often times feel extremely daunting.  How on earth are you supposed to learn marketing, budgeting, bookkeeping, sales, and business administration, on top of learning all the technical skills to produce a product people will want to pay for?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find an experienced photographer to mentor you on the inner workings of running your business?  I’ve got the one and only tip you will need to find an awesome mentor for free:

Give up trying to find one. It won’t happen.

Not to say that mentors are completely out of the question, but they’re sort of like a rare unicorn or a super handsome and funny single man who also loves to cook and clean.  Basically, if you find one – you better hold on tight and make sure not to scare it away!

You have to understand there are valid reasons an established photographer may not want to mentor someone?

1. They’re in the same market, and they don’t want to train their competition.
2. They don’t have the time or energy.
3. They might feel their advice isn’t good enough for others.

While I clearly have no advice for finding a mentor (sorry for the click bait!), I can give you some great ideas for things you can do instead to improve your photography business skills:

1. Join a Forum

There are so many encouraging photography forums and online groups out there that will help you hone your business and craft.  Just because someone doesn’t have 10 more years experience than you doesn’t mean they won’t be able to provide valuable advice or constructive criticism that can help you grow your business.  Be sure to check out the Pretty Presets & Actions group on Facebook, too.

2. Take a Class

Running a successful photography business is about so much more than being a good photographer.  Even highly skilled photographers can fail or go broke if they don’t pay enough attention to the business side of things.  Your local college or park district probably has some inexpensive classes that can help you with things like bookkeeping, marketing, and web design.  These business classes can give you the business information you need and the expense is also tax deductible!

3. Participate in a Shootout

It may be called something different in your area, but a shootout is basically an event where a bunch of photographers get together to take pictures.  It usually involves wandering around and taking turns photographing of one or several models.  This is a fantastic way to network with other local photographers, ask questions about specific techniques, and of course, get some practice shooting and photos for your portfolio.  Try searching Google or Facebook to find an event near you, or set one up yourself!

4. Join a Business Group

There are tons of groups out there for small business owners.  Some are free and others require a small monthly or annual fee.  Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is a great one.  These can be some of the best places to gain business, marketing, and sales knowledge, without feeling like you are stealing ideas from your competition.

5. Poll Your Friends & Family

Maybe you don’t need the opinion of another professional photographer.  Maybe all you need are some fresh eyes to check out your work.  Ask some people you know to give their honest opinion on some of your photos.

Have them rank a small set of your images.  Ask them why they chose the ones they liked the best, and what they disliked about the ones they ranked least.  This will give you some valuable insight as to how non-photographers view your work, and what they value in a picture.

Conclusion

If you’re absolutely hell-bent on finding a mentor, you may have to hire someone.  A lot of professional photographers offer sessions that can be as short as 30 minutes, but the cost is generally pretty high for the most experienced mentors.

I encourage you to try some of the tips above, read some books, and maybe take an online course before you go down this road.  Sometimes all we need is a little motivation from a new source to get our head back in the game.

Do you have any questions or comments about Photography Mentoring and these Alternatives?  Leave us a comment below - we would LOVE to hear from you!  And PLEASE SHARE this post using the social sharing buttons (we really appreciate it)!