FAQ

I'm looking for a mentorship, how do I apply?

Once you find a mentorship that looks interesting to you, reach out directly to the mentor using the email address that they have provided. They will get back in touch with their application requirements. Also, please register as a mentee using our form here. This will help us keep in touch with you about ongoing opportunities.

I’m not BIPOC, can I still be a mentee?

This program is designed to address systematic barriers to entry experienced by emerging BIPOC photographers so if you do not identify as BIPOC, this program is not for you. But – sharing the program within your networks is a great way to be a strong ally to BIPOC participants within our community!

I’m not BIPOC, can I still mentor?

Absolutely! Some mentees might prefer to work with a mentor who is also from a racialized community so we ask that you disclose your identity (in the survey you can find here) but this is not a requirement to participate. You might find this article helpful: Mentoring Underrepresented Minority Students

I want to mentor but I don’t know what to offer.

Our survey (that you can fill out here) has a few prompts to help you frame your mentorship. We’ve found that many mentorships change over time so it is ok to keep the initial offering pretty loose and then work with your mentee to establish goals and structure. But the more thoughts you can share in your initial write-up the better it will be for would-be mentees to understand what you're thinking.

I would like to bring my mentee on set with me – can I do that?

Absolutely!

But it’s important that your mentee is not used as free labour. If they are filling an assistant role on a paid job (for example) then they should be compensated fairly and the same thing applies to any other “work” that the mentee is doing for you. Mentorships are about learning and sometimes that dovetails with actual “work” – great, but please model fair compensation best practices by paying your mentee if they are providing value to your business.

What are some best practices to ensure success?

Great question.

It’s crucial that the mentor and the mentee are on the same page with respect to their expectations of the mentorship. It’s a good idea to establish communication approaches (for example text, email, Zoom, all of the above) and time commitments (for example: once a month, once a week, as necessary). If these need to change and morph as you go – no problem, but setting up some initial benchmarks gives everyone a good idea of what is expected so that both parties can reasonably commit to the mentorship and move forward in good faith.

I have more questions!

Ok, no problem! Email us: info@bipocphotomentorship.com