I'm asked by other professional photographers, and by those hoping to jump from amateur to full-time photography, to act as their consultant. The reasons for the request may include wanting to:
Brush-up on certain skills they may feel deficient in.
Learn a new skill - for example, how to create portraits.
Set up a photography studio in their house or place of business.
Move into a new branch of photography.
Ask a variety of questions on a variety of subjects.
Mentor
Less experienced people who are interested in photography will request my services as a mentor. It's then my job to share information about my photography career. Whether they are pursuing it as an amateur or a professional, I help them by offering specific instruction, guidance, emotional support, goal setting, and methods for identifying resources. I use my knowledge and life experiences as a professional photographer to accomplish that. And, I tailor my mentorship style to the specific needs of the person being mentored.
Speaker
Various organizations contact me for the purpose of designing and presenting photography-related talks at their meetings and other gatherings. The requested topics vary widely. Some of my talks have dealt with:
Understanding and operating the 35mm digital camera
The secrets to taking great landscape pictures
How one judges the quality of their photographs
Those in attendance range from young to old and come from all walks of life. And the venues have been just as varied - small rooms with only a few chairs, all the way up to large auditoriums.