In-Person Photography Mentorship

Photography Mentoring Anywhere I Travel: My First International In-Person Session in Faro

One of the things I love most about offering photography mentoring is that it doesn’t need a studio, fancy gear, or a fixed location. This mentoring session in Faro, Portugal, was my first in-person session outside the UK, and it perfectly sums up how I mentor photographers anywhere I travel using real light, real scenes, and real situations.

We spent the session walking through the city, observing light, experimenting with angles, and refining how to see a photograph before pressing the shutter. Rather than jumping straight into technical settings, I like to observe how a student naturally shoots first. This helps me understand their style, strengths, and habits, so the mentoring is tailored and not generic.

One recurring theme was not settling for a one-shot approach. After capturing a scene, I encouraged experimenting with different angles, perspectives, crops, and distances. Photography improves quickly when you allow yourself to play. There’s no right or wrong, only curiosity.

Light was a significant part of the session. We analysed how sunlight bounced off walls, how reflections worked in windows, and how direction and softness affect mood.

We also explored portrait lighting in harsh sunlight, working with highlights and shadows rather than fighting them. Small changes in body position, chin angle, and the photographer’s position made a huge difference to the image’s depth and shape.

To finish, we moved into the editing workflow, selecting images efficiently, using a star-rating system, batch-editing correctly, and understanding when to adjust exposure before applying presets. These small workflow improvements save hours in the long term.

This session was a reminder that great photography mentoring is about learning how to think, adapt, and work with what’s in front of you. And that’s something I can offer wherever I go in the world.