Photography mentoring gets talked about a lot. But the reality of what it involves – and who actually benefits from it – is often a lot less clear than the people selling it would have you believe.
This post is a straightforward look at what photography mentoring is, what it isn’t, and how to decide whether it’s the right move for where you are right now.
What is photography mentoring?
Photography mentoring is a working relationship between an experienced photographer and someone who wants to develop – whether that’s their craft, their business, or both.
It’s different from a course. A course gives you a curriculum. Mentoring gives you someone who looks at your specific situation and helps you figure out what’s actually getting in your way.
A good mentor has been where you are. They can see things you can’t see yet – because they’ve already made the mistakes, course-corrected, and built something that works. The role is to shortcut that process for you.
What photography mentoring is not
It’s not someone telling you what to do. The best mentoring relationships involve a lot of questions – about your goals, your clients, your pricing, your content, your positioning – before any advice gets given.
It’s not a quick fix. One session won’t transform your business. What it can do is help you get clear on what’s actually holding you back, which is often not what you think it is.
And it’s not just for people who are struggling. Some of the best mentoring work happens with photographers who are already doing well but have hit a ceiling – and can’t figure out why.
Who benefits most from photography mentoring?
Photography mentoring tends to work best for people who:
• Have been in business for at least a year and have a sense of what they’re doing, but feel stuck
• Are making some money but not the money they want – or working more than they want to for what they earn
• Have a specific area they want to improve – pricing, content, positioning, client experience, business structure
• Are willing to be honest about what isn’t working, even if that’s uncomfortable
• Want to talk to someone who has actually run a photography business, not just studied business in general
If you’ve never taken a client, mentoring probably isn’t the right starting point. But if you’ve been doing this for a while and feel like you’re spinning your wheels, it might be exactly what you need.
What does photography mentoring actually look like?
It varies. Some photographers work with a mentor for a single session to work through a specific problem – a pricing overhaul, a website rewrite, a repositioning conversation. Others work together over months.
Sessions are usually one-to-one and done over video call, though some mentors also offer in-person or on-location work if you want help with the practical side of shooting.
The most useful sessions tend to have a clear focus. Coming in with ‘I just want to grow my business’ is too broad to be useful. Coming in with ‘I’ve got clients but I can’t seem to move my prices up without losing them’ is something a mentor can actually help with.
How to know if you’re ready for photography mentoring
You’re ready if:
• You’ve been in business long enough to have a clear picture of what’s working and what isn’t
• You have a specific problem or question you want to work through
• You’re prepared to do the work off the back of the sessions – mentoring isn’t passive
• You’ve stopped waiting to feel ready and are prepared to move
You might not be ready if you’re still figuring out the very basics, or if what you actually need is a structured course with a step-by-step curriculum rather than a conversation.
Where to start
If photography mentoring sounds like what you’ve been looking for, the next step is finding someone whose business you actually respect – not just someone with a lot of followers.
Look at what they’ve built. Look at how they talk about the industry. Look at whether their clients are the kind of photographer you want to become.
If you’re interested in working with me, you can find out more about how I work and what mentoring looks like at MaryanneScott.co.uk. I work with photographers who are already in business and want to get clearer, more confident, and better paid for the work they do.
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