Tori Kelner Photography Mentoring Opportunities

When I first started my business…

I remember how valuable it was to have someone in my corner, guiding me. It was so important to have someone who I could go to with questions, even if they felt silly and small, and know that I could trust them to always give me a helpful response. It honestly felt like I was cutting corners when I found someone who truly cared about the success of my business and genuinely wanted to see me win in my career. THAT is the kind of mentor you want to have; someone who is truly a friend first, and just so happens to also be your awesome business guru! Having been through this incredible experience myself with some amazing mentors, I knew I wanted to be that mentor for you!

If you’re reading this,

that probably means you’re ready to dive into this creative passion of yours and make it actually happen. I 100% know what it’s like to want to take your hobby to the next level and to turn this dream into the real deal. I totally get wanting to see progress in our work AND feel fulfilled in our everyday life – doing what you want as a career is the dream situation for that. And trust me, it’s so freaking doable!! I started learning photography when I was 12 years old, and now I own and run a meaningful and fulfilling business doing what I love every single day. I want THAT for you!

Are you feeling READY yet?!

It may feel overwhelming to finally say to yourself, “Okay, I really want to do this!” and it’s sometimes hard to know where to start. There are so many options from self-education, online courses, workshops, conferences, mentoring, or just straight up bootstrapping it. I’ve read pages and pages of other photographers’ blog posts to absorb all of the free education I could get, I’ve spent thousands of dollars on online courses, and many more thousands on in-person workshops and conferences. I am grateful for every penny I spent on investing in my education and my business, but if I had to do it all again from the start, I would choose one-on-one mentoring sessions over anything every single time!

There is just nothing like personalized attention and help from professionals you admire and appreciate. I’ve found that online courses can sometimes feel like college classes (although a bit more interesting), and I just don’t want to be in the classroom like that again. I’ve found that workshops are fun, inspiring, and super helpful, but not as customized to my specific needs as I’d like.

So what about one-on-one mentoring?! Well, there’s a reason why I’m offering it to aspiring photographers and experienced photographers looking to level up!! I believe in it completely. I want you to get your money’s worth and know that this is truly an investment into your business and future, not just into your craft alone.

I believe in you. I support you. I admire you for taking this next step. There is so much to learn. I want to help you skip YEARS of trying to figure it all out yourself and get you many steps ahead from where you are now. I have such a huge passion for teaching and I love sharing what I’ve learned over the years with photographers or anyone wanting to grow a business!

Here is a little bit about my mentoring session options for anyone looking to learn and grow!

1. Coffee (or margs, let’s be real) Chats

I offer both an in-person or video chat option for those who aren’t local to New Jersey! This is a 60-90 minute session where we can truly talk about whatever you want to learn! Common topics include: shooting & editing, social media content, website set up and reviews, blogging, client experience, Honeybook, workflows, etc! Anything you can dream up, we can set a game plan for!

2. Shooting & Editing

If you love my posing and editing style, this session is for you! We will photograph a mini session (couple or portrait) together so you can learn all about my style of shooting, finding great light, camera settings, posing, and how to conduct a session. This session is perfect for hands-on experience and amazing images to elevate your portfolio! I love that we can totally customize the look and feel of the session to the style of work you want to be doing! For example, my mentee, Tiffany, loves outdoorsy, boho, and rustic vibes, so we found an incredible open field at sunset and gave our couple some outfit inspiration to fit the feel! This helped Tiffany start her website and social media off with images she was so proud of and excited to share! We’ll review & edit images together for an overview of my post-processing workflow and editing tips. You can expect approximately 2 hours of learning for this sesh!

3. All the Things!

This session offers you #allthethings, of course! We will dive deep into any photo or business-related topics of your choice. This is your time whether you want to grab coffee and just have a Q&A for a few hours or pair a shoot and edit session in with extended chat time. Each session is customized to fit your unique needs and usually lasts around 3+ hours. In-person sessions include a mini headshot shoot to get you updated content for your website and social media!

Wondering what the experience is like?!

Jackie said, “I found Tori on Instagram and was immediately drawn to her work…She is hilarious and so genuine. I finally reached out to her and we planned a mentoring session. I drove all the way from Maryland to meet up with her in New Jersey.

From the moment I met her, I felt like we were already friends. She put together tons of information for us to go over and answered all of my questions without judgement. She found an amazing couple for us to shoot together and showed me how she prompts and poses her couples. Her shoots are so much fun! After we finished the shoot, she showed me her whole editing and post processing workflow.

Tori has so much knowledge and you can really tell how passionate she is about photography. Since our meeting, we have kept in close contact and she answers all my crazy questions! Whenever she comes across something she thinks would be beneficial for me, whether it’s an online workshop or just Lightroom editing tutorials, she sends them my way. Tori really wants to see her mentees succeed!”

Tiffany said, “I’ve had the pleasure of having Tori as a mentor for my own photography business and it’s truly been a game-changer.

I remember finding Tori on Instagram and thinking, “How are all her photos SO PERFECT?! I want to create that.” I decided to message her, just to share how much I was obsessing over her work and she told me she was offering mentoring sessions and I was like omg yes. 100%. I was beyond excited. Tori has SO much knowledge about everything you need to know to run your business. She knows how to simply guide you in the right direction.

Tori also helped organize a couple mentor photoshoot for me and it came out so perfect. The experience was amazing because I was SUPER nervous about guiding a couple through poses since I had never shot a couples session before and she really showed me the ropes and helped me feel more comfortable. She literally is like your biggest cheerleader and just wants to see you succeed. If you’re thinking about taking the next steps in your photography career and were debating getting a mentor, LET IT BE TORI! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. Best decision I made since stumbling upon her instagram, xoxo”