FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Mentorships

Orange county family photos. Behind the scenes with a Los Angeles family photographer at El Matador Beach

Photo credit: Amy Madson Photography

Mentorships

FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Hi there! I am so honored that you would consider a mentorship with me. I love helping other photographers learn, find inspiration, and succeed in business. I know I am SO grateful for the mentors I have had in my own journey that have brought me to where I am today. I am an open book and will tailor the mentorship to your individual needs.

Kind words

I’ve had the chance to learn from Olesya and connect with her for a mentor session two times now, and it’s been absolutely amazing. I admire Olesya’s work so much, as well as admire her as a person. She has so much knowledge to share and is so helpful in answering any and all questions, and working with you on anything you are struggling with. Not only does she share her knowledge but offers such encouragement. I have definitely grown in my mindset, session workflow, client relationships, editing, and in my creativity since working with her! She takes the time to answer questions in detail, and follows up with you after your session as well. I hope to work with her again, because each time I learn something new that really changes the way I shoot for the better! Thank you Olesya, for helping me to create work I could only dream about, and doing it with confidence! 

– Katie Wilson Photography, Cincinnati, OH

Kind words

The business side of photography was always so overwhelming to me. There are so many things you have to consider and need to do. Olesya knew all my concerns from the questionnaire she sent me prior to the meeting. She walked me through each step of the way and answered all my questions from setting up your business to editing and marketing. She was an open book. I appreciate her sharing all her knowledge and experience with me!! Also, Olesya is one of the kind and sweet people you will meet.

– Maria Haven Photography, Forsyth County, GA

Kind words

I have been a fan of Olesya for a long time! I stumbled across her page on Instagram searching for other photographers in my area that I could be inspired by and she stood out. I hit follow and just enjoyed the posts and started engaging with her and eventually worked up the nerve to ask if she offers mentorships. At the time, the answer was no so we just continued as IG friends and I continued to be inspired by her. When she announced she’d be taking on local photographers for mentorships I JUMPED! Our mentorship was via zoom and it was so relaxed. She gave such great advice and insight into how to improve my sessions by looking through a few galleries, asking questions about my process etc. We are so different but her artful eye is just one of a kind. She’s kind, willing to help and share her knowledge in ways that have contributed to my personal growth and I’m so grateful. I’m not even done, I will be doing a 2nd in person mentorship with her this year hopefully and look forward to watching the magic play out. Thank you Olesya for sharing with me your skills and providing insight.

– Morgen, Designed In Love Photography, Los Angeles, CA

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Mentorship options:

Model session

$1275 • 5-6 HOURS

Can be split with up to 3 people to shoot simultaneously. I will recruit and style models (we can work on that together if you would like) and we all conduct a 1.5hr session and shoot side by side. Everyone has opportunities to direct. The model family gets images from all of the participating photographers. We meet 1-2 hours before and 1-2 hour after the session to discuss. 

Come to my existing family session

$475 • 2 HOURS

This option is more for shadowing me shooting as I will be doing most of the directing. However you will have opportunities to shoot behind me as well. We will also spend time to recap the session after the shoot. If you can shoot some behind the scenes camera photos and phone videos for me, I will give you a $50 discount on the fee.

Online or in-person mentorship

$450 • 1.5 HOURS

I will completely tailor this to your needs!

I have found that 1hr is never enough for our first meeting, however

follow up meetings can be booked for an hour at $300/hour.

Do you have a topic in mind for our mentorship? Below are some topics that I am passionate about.

1. How to shoot a storytelling family session

  • 5 key techniques I use, including final presentation, to make this work
  • Skills you need to acquire outside of shooting family sessions and how to practice them

2. How to prompt and pose for emotion, connection and fun

  • My go to, hardly ever fail prompts for each age group
  • What to do if prompts fail
  • How I create a session plan to run the session and the role location plays in the outcome

3. How to rock a beach session

  • My strategies for running a beach session from beginning to end to use the light well
  • How to use different light throughout your session. Cloudy day vs. Sunny days and how to shoot those differently
  • How to pick the best beach spots

4. How to craft photographs that FEEL ALIVE and have MEANING

  • Importance of infusing your mission into your work
  • Developing an idea for each session, thinking through scenes, storytelling
  • Using all types of light strategically
  • Portraying feelings and not just capturing emotions
  • Shooting and editing cinematically
  • Spark your creativity and feel reenergized to create work you love!

5. Setting up your brand for success & marketing techniques to get clients

  • A discussion of your brand positioning and your target consumer
  • How to get your ideal clients

6. How I edit

  • I will share which presets I use and how/when I use them (depends on light, location and wardrobe), what adjustments I make and how I finetune in LR and Photoshop    
  • You can watch me edit a few images of mine and yours
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