The Society of Photographers Reviews 

I have been a member for a few years now and absolutely love being part of the big family.

Since joining the Societies 2 years ago I have enjoyed many of the benefits membership brings, including exchange of images and ideas using Facebook and its magazine. The foremost benefit, however, is its mentoring service. Although it takes some courage to submit your photos for scrutiny, the trained and qualified mentors do all they can to encourage and assist your devopment. Personally, I have submitted three panels of 20 images each and had positive, constructive and honest feedback. This has significantly helped me improve my photography and resulted in a Licenciate qualification in June this year. I am now being helped through the mentoring programme to try to achieve Associate level which I am hopeful of applying for next year.

Since joining The Society of Photographers I can honestly say that my photography is on a journey to another level. The society has taught me to see in a much more professional way and the confidence I have gained through this is phenomenal. I would strongly encourage anyone wishing to further themselves within this industry to sign up and begin your journey...you won't look back

hi my name gary im a disabled guy that took up photographie about 6 years ago .6 month ago i joind the socity to see what it was like an what went on .i liked what i see so pay to join i never thought that i was good enough to take the wild life qulification .so sent my photos to lenny poor guy felt sorry for him as im not the best at learning . so i sent my photos he looked over them an sent them back an siad wht had to be done this went on a few times . i though by now he must be pulling his hair out .but what a fantstic mentor he was he had the time patsionts of a saint to the point were the help he gave me help me get my first qulification in 53 years so im proud to say he a great guy an a great mentor . i did it so if i can you can it may take time but you can learn any thing if you put your mind to it
from the bottom of my hart
thank you lenny smith

I found the Mentor Me programme with the society invaluable to improving my photography and helping me gain my Licentiate qualication in sport and leisure photography. Will now be going on to use the programme again to improve even more and hopefully gain further qualifications with the society.

I found the mentoring programme really helpful with excellent constructive feedback that helped me concentrate on the areas that required improvement.

The support provided enabled me to achieve my Associateship in Nature at The Societies. I will be using their mentoring programme again for my Fellowship panel.

Photography can be subjective, take the time to understand the differences in feedback received from mentors. This will enable your photography to grow and achieve a qualification from one of the best photographic societies.

The support I’ve received from the mentors, Terrie and Ben over the last few years has been outstanding.

Furthermore, I find The Societies of Photographers a really inspiring group of like-minded people who are always willing to go that extra mile to support their members.

Since joining the Societies, my photography has really improved. Their mentoring service really shows you how to improve. I have gained 3 qualifications since joining. The staff and members are all friendly and helpful. It’s a must for anyone wanting to improve their photography. 👍

I've just passed my Licentiateship level qualification. I'm super thrilled about it. I join the mentoring program prior apply for the qualification. It was super helpful, there are so many details I didn't notice before. I am really appreciate the constructive feedback so I can improve. Thanks so much for The Societies of Photographers. I highly recommend to join as a member and join the mentoring me program.

I had two mentor feedbacks, one on a fashion portfolio and one on a product portfolio. Whilst both were good the feedback on one was so much more extensive (the fashion). Due to lockdown to decided to submit a licentiateship panel for product photography (successfully) based on that feedback. Now we're out of lockdown I look forward to shooting another fashion panel and I'm optimistic that this should go well as this had much higher quality feedback.

Whilst one was good, the other was excellent so I'd say there is still room to create greater consistency in the mentoring process as the higher the quality of feedback the better it will be for subsequent panel submissions.

But, altogether, a very good and highly recommended process.

I joined The Societies to further develop my photography and be part of a network of like minded people who are serious about their craft. I've always loved being outdoors and my passion is wildlife photography. I always knew I could make decent images, I just wanted some structure to develop myself further.

I'm an amateur at the moment but I do aim to shoot professionally once I take early retirement in a couple of years. With this in mind I started out on the journey towards qualification with the Society of International Nature & Wildlife Photographers (SINWP), investing time and effort in building a portfolio for judging. I made full use of the Mentoring Programme run by The Societies and listened to the truly insightful feedback I was given by my mentor (Thank you Lenny).

I was really nervous of making my first mentoring submission but I needn't have been. Yes, the initial feedback did sting a little, especially with some of the shots I thought were above average, if not good. As the process progresses you start to see your work through the eyes of others. It's this that really made a difference.

I set myself a challenge of skipping Licentiate and going straight for Associate of the SINWP believing that this would stretch me more. It did, but I can now say after being awarded Associateship that the journey has been worth it.

The Societies' members are a great bunch too. The Facebook forum is a great place to share information and gain inspiration. It's a great place to ask questions too - There's usually someone who's in a position to answer a query whether it be gear, technique or business related.

I can't recommend The Societies highly enough for anyone who's really serious about their photography. Now I need to start the planning for my Fellowship panel in a few year's time and looking forward to the beginning of my new career.

I used the Mentor Me programme with a view to improving my photography and apply for Licentiateship. The feedback was invaluable; I would not have passed the qualification without it. Also, the feedback from those who judged my panel was very interesting. I will definitely use the Mentor Me programme again when I feel ready to look at an Associateship panel. Many thanks to all involved. Andy Lovering

I haven't made the most of my membership until we went into lockdown, but The Societies have really excelled themselves in supporting their members through a tricky time! I jumped at the chance to have my photos critiqued before submitting for my qualification, and gained a ton of useful tips in just 30 minutes. I then had a review session with Colin on my website and plans for my business, and came away feeling super inspired and ready to get my business into the best place possible through all of this. Highly recommend!

What a fantastic couple of online learning sessions during lockdown with Terrie and with Colin. Your knowledge and friendly teaching styles made for a couple of really enjoyable and valuable sessions. Thank you 😁

I have enjoyed almost a full year of membership and can unreservedly recommend membership of The Societies of Photographers; contact is refreshingly easy, with calls/emails returned quickly, staff, advisors and directors are pleasant, very knowledgeable and helpful. Although I have not yet attended any of the events, the other benefits make membership very worthwhile - mentoring scheme and qualifications, lively social media group with good community spirit and support during COVID-19 crisis, and a top quality magazine featuring the work of some of the industry-leading image-makers of today. All this for a membership fee that is very competitive, compared to some other photographic bodies.

A great society to be apart of and excellent customer service :) I took part in a Website and Business coaching session with Colin and he gave me some great feedback & ideas to help improve my own photography service. 5 *****. Thank You

A very good one to one going through my website and looking at positives to take forward in the future of my business.
I would highly recommend SWPP very warm welcoming.

Full of generous people sharing their knowledge. I love the seminars. A great month to spend time getting inspired for the rest of the year.

A very well organised event with a vast array of excellent speakers. The organisers seem keen to take feedback from attendees and to act on that feedback to improve the event. I already have the dates in my diary for next year as this is must do event for any photographer!!

Fabulous. Thanks for putting on a great show