My Road To Meeting My Photography Mentor
I started photography aged 16 in 1984. To many that are younger than me, they might seem like very different times. First and foremost, we shot on film. No instant review, no endless shots. It was 36 clicks and then a seemingly endless wait to see the results. And when you do see the results, there was very little you could do to edit them. They were either prints or slides, AKA transparencies. You could reprint to your own specifications or even print your own images but in reality, photography in those days was very much WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get).
Also very much missing in action were several other things that we take for granted these days, auto-focus, advanced metering, a bewildering array of lenses and, of course, the Internet.
The Internet has become a force both for good and bad when it comes to photography. The good is that there is an absolute plethora of learning resources available to us. From blog articles through in-depth tutorials to the amazing wealth of photography-related videos on Youtube.
The bad is very much the same as detailed above. We simply have too much information to hand and sometimes that information is not good. Some are in fact, just downright wrong. The problem with some aspects of learning on Youtube is that creators are often playing to the algorithm. Attempting to get likes, views and subscriptions rather than genuinely trying to help photographers in their learning progress. Some of the more unscrupulous ones will happily impart false information in exchange for higher view counts. There are many excellent photographers on Youtube but to the newcomer, finding them can be a challenge.
The other issue with learning on Youtube is that it’s not interactive, you are not working with a photography mentor, just a random person, you have never met and whose experience is hard to validate.
Returning to 1984 and the era sans the Internet, we had only a few ways to learn. Predominantly, take a course, read books and magazines or have a photography mentor, either paid or free.
A photography mentor did and does not have to be a professional. There is an amazing wealth of experienced amateur photographers many of whom are more than happy to share their knowledge. I was lucky enough to have one in the family.
Pat Naylor, My Photography Mentor.
I knew nothing about photography when I bought my first camera. It was a Zenit 11 and I was exactly 16 years old. I knew my uncle was a very keen photographer, he often showed us beautiful black and white prints when we visited. I remember being captivated by the detail and the texture in those prints. I also had no idea how Pat had achieved it.
When he found out that I had bought a camera, he took me under his wing as a photography mentor and took me to some great places to shoot.
I learnt so much simply by watching Pat. He was a meticulous photographer who took his time over every shot. The two cameras I remember him using were, as memory serves me, a Nikon FA and a Hasselblad 500C. The Nikon was a beautiful looking camera that I was in awe of.
However, his Hasselblad 500C I was even more in awe of. Even in the early 1980s, camera crime was an issue. Pat would carry his Hasselblad around in a supermarket carrier bag in order to avoid attracting attention to it.
He shot pretty much everything handheld, including when using his Hasselblad. That he managed to get his images so sharp and so detailed, still amazes me to this day. He used to meter for the Hasselblad using a beautiful Weston Euromaster V light meter.
He would happily show me how to read the light, line up the dials and apply those settings to the camera. It gave me an invaluable understanding of the relationship between light, aperture, shutter speed and ISO. That Euromaster was also a thing of beauty, a sublime piece of equipment that had one purpose in life, to measure light.
Sadly Pat passed away in 2021. However, for me, he will always remain in my memory as my main inspiration and photography mentor. Oh and what of that Weston light meter? It now sits profoundly on my shelf along with my other prized camera gear.
The Invaluable Benefits Of A Good Photography Mentor
A good photography mentor will push your photography faster and to a higher level much more than any course or book will.
A photography mentor will share with you their knowledge as and when you need it. Perhaps you are trying to shoot light trails, they might look over your shoulder and advise you to use a longer exposure time. They will know what equipment is best for you, often the opposite to what you might be thinking.
When you are in a creative rut or disillusioned with shooting, a photography mentor will take you out and get you inspired again. They will show the shots they took in the week and explain how they shot them and what inspired them to shoot it. Everyone who is new to photography should look for a photography mentor.
A Photography Mentor And Their Critique.
One of the most important aspects a photography mentor will give you is constructive criticism. Critique and criticism are vital for us to progress in our photographic ability. As photographers, we love to be praised. It's our artistic nature that craves recognition for our own imaginations.
Fortunately in this world of digital imaging and social media, we can get it. Get it in abundance. Post a picture to your Facebook timeline and within minutes one of your peers will be praising it to the rafters. Put an image up on 500px not only will you get likes and loves, but also a wave of endearingly positive comments about your “magnificent capture” Incidentally does anyone else here hate the word capture in this context? This adulation strokes our egos and encourages us to go out and shoot more and more. The problem is, we go out and shoot more and more of the same.
Herein lies the problem with photo critique in the internet era, it does not show us the error of our ways. We think that because we get this constant praise, we have become great photographers.
This is where you will truly see the value of an experienced photography mentor. Because you know your photography mentor, often very well, you trust them. A good photography mentor can and will be your harshest critic. That’s a very good thing: you will be much more willing to listen and take their words on board compared to a random person on social media. Because you are aware of the depth of their experience you know that those words are not given lightly but also carry great weight.
Where To Find Mentoring Photographers Offline
We are blessed to be able to find photography mentoring sessions in multiple places these days. Let’s first look at the real world or one on one photography mentoring. The simplest place to look is your local camera club. Don’t simply join and latch on to the most experienced member, this will most likely not end well.
Instead spend time at the club, socializing, learning and meeting fellow photogs. Amongst them, you will undoubtedly find photography mentors. You will also find some that are quite frankly, arrogant and obstructive. The key is to grow a thick skin and avoid such people. They exist both online and off and will not help you one iota with your photography. Instead, spend time building relationships with people that genuinely want to help you.
Another way to find photographic mentoring is through a local professional who may offer a paid tutoring service. Google photography mentoring near me and you may well find both pros and experienced enthusiasts offering a real-world mentoring service. Indeed I am working on building such a service for novice photographers in the North East of England.
Photo walks are often a good way to get free photographic mentoring. Run by a local pro or enthusiast, a photo walk will have photographers of various abilities, many of whom will happily help you with your photography.
Lastly, for the real-world aspect of photographic mentoring, we have workshops. These are most often paid, but you will be in the hands of an experienced professional who will be able to guide you in the direction you wish to take. If you would like me to mentor your photographic journey, find out more here.
Photographic Mentoring Online
Finding online one-to-one mentoring is a little more difficult. You can take photographic courses through sites such as Udemy but often the interactivity is limited and slow. I am currently putting into place online photography mentoring sessions via my website.
They will be conducted over Zoom or Google Meet so that we can share screenshots of both images and post-production techniques.
The beauty of an online photography mentoring session is that tutors and students can be anywhere in the world and at any time of day yet still have a fruitful learning experience.
You can find out more about my upcoming online mentoring sessions here.
For a newcomer to image taking a photography mentor can be one of the best ways to learn. You can have the experience, wisdom and honesty of a seasoned expert who is willing to take you under their wing and teach you the way of the tog. That beats watching Youtube videos any day.