If you are serious about improving your photography, there comes a point where occasional lessons are no longer enough. Real progress comes from consistency, direction, and time spent developing both your technical ability and your creative eye.
A Year in Digital Mentoring is designed to provide exactly that.
This is not a series of ad hoc sessions. It is a structured, personalised programme built around you - your strengths, your weaknesses, and the direction you want your photography to take. Whether your focus is on mastering the technical side of your camera, developing a stronger creative approach, or combining both, the year is shaped to suit your individual needs.
Working side by side with someone who has spent over 50 years behind the camera, more than 20 years as a professional photographer, and teaching since 2009, is an extraordinary opportunity for anyone who takes their photography seriously.
A Personalised Starting Point
We begin with an in-person assessment meeting, usually over coffee at a local hotel. This is where we take a detailed look at your photography so far; what’s working, what isn’t, and where the real opportunities for growth lie.
From this, we agree the direction of your journey, and I go away and design the year ahead specifically for you.
Structured Learning Over Time
The programme runs across 12 sessions over the course of the year, each lasting two hours. The final session is dedicated to a full review of your progress, along with the selection and refinement of your portfolio.
In addition to these 12 sessions, there is the initial assessment meeting at the start of the programme, giving you a total of 13 points of contact across the year.
Each session is focused, practical, and progressive - building steadily on what has come before.
Between sessions, you will be set carefully considered assignments. These are not arbitrary exercises, but targeted pieces of work designed to reinforce what you’ve learned and move you forward with clarity.
Each month, your submitted work is reviewed and assessed in detail. Your images are uploaded to your own private portal, where I provide written critiques... giving you clear, thoughtful feedback you can return to at any time.
Progress You Can See
Every three months, we conduct a formal progress review. This allows us to look back at your work, measure how far you’ve come, identify any gaps, and refine the direction of the next stage of your development.
This ongoing structure ensures that your progress is not left to chance; it is guided, measured, and continually refined.
A Focus on Creative Development
Understanding your camera is essential, but it is only one part of photography. The real difference between a competent image and a compelling one lies in how you see.
Throughout the year, a strong emphasis is placed on developing your creative eye; your use of composition, light, timing, and visual storytelling. This is where many photographers struggle, and it is where the most significant growth often takes place.
A Tangible Outcome
At the end of the year, you will not just have improved, you will have something to show for it.
Together, we will select and refine a curated portfolio of your strongest work, typically between 8 and 12 images. This collection will be presented as a cohesive body of work and hosted on the Hampshire School of Photography website, giving you a professional platform to share with friends, family, or even potential clients.
We will also carry out a final review of your progress, reflecting on how far you’ve come and where your photography can go next.
What This Programme Offers
Initial in-person assessment and personalised year design
12 x two-hour one-to-one mentoring sessions
Final session dedicated to review and portfolio selection
Tailored assignments between sessions
Written critiques via your own private online portal
Quarterly progress reviews
End-of-year assessment and curated portfolio
A hosted online portfolio of your best work
The Difference
You can spend a year booking sessions as and when you feel you need them, and make some progress along the way.
Or you can commit to a structured programme where every step is designed to move you forward—with clarity, purpose, and measurable results.
A Year in Digital Mentoring is about building lasting change in how you approach and create your photography. PLEASE NOTE: Prior to my semi-retirement, the one year mentoring programme was £3500, so this new price is a big saving... especially when you include the new extras and additional hours that have been added. If you would like to spread the cost; please email info@hampshirephotoschool.com together with your mobile phone number and I will call you to discuss the options.