The BlueHour Mentorship Program
A concept that has come full circle, evolved, and then gone forward a step.
It’s hard to believe that our mentorship program is already almost 6 years old! In that time, what began as a training program for turning advanced amateur photographers into working professional artists and instructors has morphed into something much simpler, yet more palatable and within reach of the everyday photography enthusiast.
In the early days of our mentorship offerings, our customizable program included in its “menu” of offerings modules on marketing yourself as a photographer, designing a website, matting and framing your printed photographs, and even how to design and assemble a booth for display at an art show. And our bundled perks included the option to shadow a BlueHour instructor on a workshop, with the eventual goal of “graduating” to becoming a full-fledged member of our teaching team. We’d even write your professional bio for you!
But as Allie Richards and I ran this program to a large variety of students over its first several years, we saw a surprising theme emerge: While all of our students found the program tremendously worthwhile and beneficial for their growth as photographers, almost none of our mentees had any interest in becoming professionals (and who can blame them? It’s not nearly as glamorous as it may seem!). The vast majority had enrolled simply as a way to receive a challenging, advanced, immersive, and personalized learning experience with instructors they knew and trusted, with the goal of being the best amateur photographers they could possibly be. At most, they hoped to exhibit in local competitions, and make a small side income from selling and licensing work online. This explained why none of our students selected the modules on the more tedious aspects of photography such as websites, marketing, and pricing/selling finished artwork.
Instructor Dave D. Doing what he does best
Only one of our mentees, Hope Pashos, took an interest in becoming a professional instructor with Bluehour, and (SPOILER ALERT) she would figure prominently in the evolution of the program into what it is today.
Allie and I took a hard look at what we’d learned, and in 2024, we decided to redesign the program to align with what we believe students have wanted all along: An advanced, customized learning program for amateur photographers looking to reach the next level and be the best versions of themselves, no matter where they see themselves now. We handed the teaching responsibilities of the standard mentorship program to two of our most respected and trusted long-time instructors: Dave Demarco, and Hope Pashos (herself a graduate of the original mentorship program). Both of them have been acclaimed over the years for their preparation, approachability, and thoroughness in running local workshops and travel photo tours, so they were natural choices to lead the rebirth of the mentorship program.
What does the new and improved mentorship program look like now?
The Birth of “The Adventureship”
Parallel to the reimagining of the standard mentorship, I personally launched an ambitious version of the mentorship program that I’d been working on in the background for quite some time. This offering pairs photographic mastery with exploration and adventure, and is appropriately called the Adventure Mentorship, or “Adventureship”.
I have long felt that the art and essence of photography are about so much more than knowing camera settings and mastering lighting, composition and exposure. Whether you’re an amateur or a professional, creating unique, high-level photographic images, especially in nature and the outdoors, has a whole lifestyle associated with it. You may have already had a taste of this lifestyle [insert link to adventureship page], and you know that on those shoots where you add this element to the skills and instincts you already have, you make photographic magic happen, crafting shots that are perhaps the most distinctive and transcendent in your entire portfolio.
What if you could create your own customized travel/adventure/photography vehicle, equip it with all the essential gear, supplies and safety measures, and take your “lean, mean, photo dream machine” anywhere your heart desires? You could get as close to nature and the best photo spots as you could possibly hope for, while still eating and sleeping in relative comfort. That’s where The Adventure Mentorship comes in.
My goal with BlueHour Photo Ventures has been to create as comprehensive a line of photography learning options, both online and on-location, as you’ve seen in the US, and I believe that these two new mentorship offerings will be the flagship offerings of our company for years to come.
