1:1 PHOTOGRAPHY
MENTORSHIP
WITH Aicha
ABDOUN
A private three-month mentorship for photographers who have moved beyond learning
the technical side of photography and are ready to become more deliberate about the work they make and the career they’re building.
3 Months · 1:1 · Online · Limited Availability
KNOWING HOW TO USE
A CAMERA IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
THE
MENTORSHIP
We begin with where you are. From there, the mentorship moves between the creative and professional sides of photography, depending on what your work needs most.
There are three areas we’ll return to throughout our time together.
01 — YOUR EYE
Before a photograph becomes recognisably yours, you need to understand what you’re drawn to - and why. We’ll look closely at your existing work and the references around it. Not to manufacture a “signature style”, but to recognise the instincts that are already there and make them stronger. We can work on visual identity, references and research, concept development, storytelling and art direction. Depending on your practice, that might also mean looking at casting, light, colour, composition, props or set design.
Just as importantly, we’ll talk about editing: knowing which image is the image, and why. The goal is to make your work feel unmistakably yours.
02 — YOUR WORK
A portfolio is not an archive of everything you’ve photographed. It should show people where you’re going.
Together, we’ll look at what belongs, what doesn’t and what might be missing. We’ll refine the edit, sequencing and presentation so the work reflects the photographer you want to become - and the work you want to be hired for.
We’ll also look at where personal work fits in, and when creating something new is more valuable than reworking what you already have. Sometimes the next step is making more. Sometimes it’s knowing what to leave out.
03 — YOUR CAREER
Making good photographs and building a career from them are two different skills. There is a professional world around the image itself that photographers are often left to figure out as they go. How do you approach the right people? What should you charge? When do you negotiate, follow up or walk away?
We’ll work through real situations as they happen - from pitches and treatments to estimates, licensing and client conversations. We’ll also look at what happens once you get the job: how you run a set, protect an idea and build relationships people want to return to.
There is no single route into this industry. The point is to understand it well enough to find your own.
THE
CREATIVE
PROJECT
Talking about photography can only take us so far.
During the mentorship, we’ll develop one new photographic project together - from the first idea and research through to the shoot, final edit and its place in your portfolio.
It gives us something real to work on, rather than discussing creative development in theory. We can question choices as they happen and push the work further along the way.
The aim is to make something you wouldn’t have made three months earlier.
3 MONTHS.
ONE-TO-ONE.
This is intentionally personal.
I’m not interested in giving twenty photographers the same workbook and calling it mentorship. Our conversations will be based on your work, the questions you’re facing and what is actually happening in your career during those three months.
/ 1× 2-hour deep dive & portfolio session
We start with your existing work: where you are now, what feels strong, what’s missing and where you want to go. This becomes the foundation for the mentorship.
/ 3x 90 min private mentoring sessions
No predetermined lessons. We use each session where it matters most - your work, the creative project, an opportunity or something happening in your career at that moment.
/ between-session access
Send me work in progress, questions, treatments, moodboards or voice notes between sessions. I’ll respond on weekdays, usually within 48 hours.
/ portfolio & website feedback
We’ll refine how your work is edited and presented - and what someone understands about you when they first encounter it.
/ assignments & direction
Where useful, I’ll give you something specific to work on between sessions. Never homework for the sake of it.
/ career direction
You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of where to focus next, creatively and professionally.
/ the creative project
One new photographic project, developed together from the first idea through to the final edit.
WHO THIS IS FOR
This mentorship is for photographers who know their way around a camera but feel there is another level they haven’t quite reached.
Maybe your portfolio doesn’t yet reflect the photographer you want to become, or the work is strong but isn’t leading to the opportunities you want.
You should arrive with existing work, technical independence and a willingness to question your choices.
I will be direct with you. I’ll tell you when I think something works and when I think it doesn’t. I’ll ask why you made a choice rather than assuming that because something looks beautiful, it belongs.
f that sounds exciting rather than uncomfortable, we’ll probably work well together.
CREATIVE director
& PHOTOGRAPHER
BASED IN NL &
NEW YORK
/ ABOUT AICHA
My work moves between commercial commissions and personal projects, with clients including Dior, Dior Beauty, Jennifer Fisher, Kith, Woolrich and Poubel, and work published in VOGUE, Numéro and Harper’s Bazaar.
Over the years, I’ve worked across very different sides of the industry — from intimate portraiture and still life to large-scale campaigns, productions and exhibitions of my personal work.
But much of what shaped me as a photographer happened outside the actual taking of photographs. It came from pitching ideas, producing shoots, negotiating jobs, building relationships and learning which opportunities were worth pursuing. From getting things wrong, refining my eye and becoming more confident in what I wanted my work to say.
This mentorship is a way to share that experience one-to-one. Not to teach you to work like me, but to help you become more deliberate about the photographer you want to be.
INVESTMENT
€1750 ex VAT
FOUNDING MEMBERSHIP
RATE
I’m opening the first round of the mentorship to a small number of photographers at a founding rate of €1,750 excl. VAT for the full three months.
Payment can be made in full or divided into three monthly installments.
Places are offered by application. A one-to-one mentorship only works when I genuinely believe I can help you, and when what you’re looking for is something I can offer.
FREQUENTLY
ASKED questions
Do I need to be a professional photographer?
No. You don’t need to be working full-time as a photographer yet. You do, however, need to understand the technical foundations of photography and be able to use your camera independently.
Is this suitable for complete beginners?
No. This isn’t a course in camera technique. The mentorship starts where technical photography education ends.
What kind of photography do you mentor?
The mentorship is centred around developing your visual identity, work and career rather than one specific genre. It is best suited to photographers interested in areas such as fashion, beauty, portraiture, still life, editorial and commercial photography.
Is the mentorship online?
Yes. All private sessions take place online, so you can join from anywhere.
Can we work in Dutch or English?
Yes. Sessions can be held in either Dutch or English.
Can I pay in installments?
Yes. You can pay in full or in three monthly instalments.
Is there a fixed programme?
No. The three core areas give us structure, but the mentorship is shaped around your work, goals and where you need the most guidance.
WHERE YOU GO
NEXT IS YOURS.
The mentorship isn’t about following a formula or becoming a certain kind of photographer.
It’s about understanding your work more deeply, becoming more intentional about the choices you make and having someone beside you who knows the industry while you figure out what comes next.
If you feel ready for that, I’d like to see your work.
3 Months · 1:1 · Online · Limited Availability