Over the last three days, I’ve been in Park City, Utah teaching a private mentorship with a photographer from Draper, Utah. Starting with a portfolio review and equipment assessment on Friday evening, we moved into shooting yesterday. Our model was a wonderfully talented dancer, who brought great energy and spirit to the day.
As with the nude photography workshops, the focus of the time together is on the student. After doing a demonstration, the rest of my day is spent supporting the photographer in both the aesthetic and technical arenas. The only time I will raise a camera is to show another angle the photographer might want to consider.
Last night, we did a critique of the work produced so that the photographer could build on what she learned when we went back out to shoot today. Working with a different model created the opportunity to forge a new collaborative relationship, and make images based on her unique strengths.
Tomorrow, we will do a final critique and review any lingering questions about technique, post-processing and finding talent to continue creating new images. It’s exhilarating to see the growth in someone’s artistic vision and technical abilities in such a short amount of time.