Involvement Powers Improvement

On the last post I introduced you to Ed Deci’s theory of Intrinsic Motivation. Sorry to be so academic but it seemed like a good way to share something about motivation that is very likely to impact most of us. I’ll try to lay-off the academic stuff in future posts, but let me use Deci’s theory to make one more observation about motivating what I am calling the Growth of Novice and Advancing Amateurs.

Deci says people that are intrinsically motivated to engage in a certain activity (e.g., photography) are likely to feel self-determined, competent, and connected to other people – in our case to people who are also interested in photography. When you are determined to go out on a photo shoot because you will enjoy it, and are feeling competent that your photographs are improving, and are looking forward to a photo shoot with another photographer, you are very likely to be intrinsically motivated. Now let’s focus on the last characteristic in Deci’s theory – connected to others.

Connected to Others – A Photography Mentor

Imagine that you were a Novice Amateur just learning and trying to improve your photography skills without anyone around to help you. You have books, magazines, and on-line information but no one that can personally answer your questions. You take plenty of photographs that you can compare to the images in your books but no one to critique your photos. What would you be missing? What could you add to your journey that would help you improve your photography and motivate you to really work at improvement?

That sounds rather lonely so let’s change the resources a bit. You are a Novice Amateur with very little skills or experience but you have a neighbor who is a professional photographer. He has a studio at home and a gallery in town and after going to one of his presentations it is obvious that his knowledge and experience is extensive. After his presentation you stick around, shyly approach him, and mention to him that you live right across the street. You ask him if he would be willing to talk to you about photography sometime over a cup of coffee or a beer. He agrees but seems rushed and not terrible willing to give you any of his valuable time.

Would you be willing to stop in his gallery to ask him questions about exposure or composition or Lightroom? Would you be willing to bring him some of your photos to critique? Could you ask him if you could tag along with him on a photo shoot?

Your answers to these questions depend a great deal on your personality and your photographic confidence. If you are hesitant to talk with you neighbor, what about a colleague from work whom: You are comfortable talking with; Is interested in photography but isn’t a professional; Is straight-forward and honest, but is a good listener who never belittles others. I imagine most of you are much more likely to approach your co-worker than your neighbor.

Can you learn more from your co-worker than your neighbor? For many of you the answer is probably –“Sure, I’ll gladly take time to be with my co-worker.” But can that co-worker really help? Don’t you need a true expert that knows everything you need to know? I suppose that having that expert be your mentor for 4-5 hours a week for a few months would be very beneficial, especially if that mentor was a good listener and made you feel comfortable. But since he will charge you for his time, could you afford that mentor? I certainly couldn’t afford him.

So what is an amateur photographer to do? In my 37 years as a college professor I spent more than 25 years creating a variety of peer mentor program. I must admit the original idea came from my students and was often revised using their ideas; they could learn from one another if I was there to support them with strategies and resources. In my last five years I met with approximately 50 peer mentors each week to revise the program, create resources, and help them deal with problems. And I am convinced that a peer mentor program would be beneficial for amateur photographers. Now I would like to use what I have learned about peer mentor programs to build a Peer Mentor Photography Program (PMPP) for the Teton Photography Group.

In the most recent posts to this blog I have tried to introduce you to some of the key elements in working with a peer to improve your photography skills, your image quality, and your motivation to move forward and grow as a photographer. To build an effective peer mentor program we need to develop a program where participants:

  • work together and participate regularly (monthly?) in a photo shoot;
  • feel comfortable asking questions and giving feedback to one another;
  • encourage one another to reflect on their progress;
  • share new ideas and techniques about photography;
  • support one another’s growth as an amateur photographer
  • help one another gain confidence in their progress.

To improve on any skill it is important to take some risks. Whether you are learning a sport, or a new job, or a new hobby, or photography, you have to be willing to try activities just outside your comfort zone – and you probably need some support as you take those risks. A professional coach could really help, but a peer who gives you support may have just as much of an impact. So what can you expect from the Teton Photography Group PMPP?

Basic Goals of the Peer Mentor Photography Program

  1. Create a Community of Amateur Photographers that gives support.
  2. Learn to give Information Feedback in a way that supports and encourages the improvement of effective photographic skills.
  3. Build Peer Mentor partnerships that work together at photo shoots and give Informational Feedback to one another as partners.
  4. Meet monthly for PMPP critiques that focus on Informational Feedback but also include sharing what we have learned together as a group.
  5. Highlight topics such as composure and exposure and post-processing to focus on how to improve our photographs.

These are Randy’s tentative goals as of March 2016. One of the many things I learned from my Peer Mentor Leadership Program at the university was that the program worked most effectively when I invited my peer mentors to be involved in the development of the program. I will work to do the same in OUR Peer Mentor Photography Program. I have to start some place to get you involved but I want your input on what is most likely to benefit you. Please give me some feedback in the comment section of this post. Don’t say “Awesome” or “Horrible” 🙂  Tell me, and the other readers, how a program like this might help you. What are you excited to do? What might be challenging and keep you hesitant to make a commitment? What might make you uncomfortable? What can Randy do to help you feel excited to get involved?

I have been incredibly fortunate to have joined the Teton Photography Group about a year ago. I was immediately connected to a group of photographers (from amateurs to professionals) who were patient, willing to answer my questions, and eager to go out on a photo shoot with me. As a member of the Steering Committee I felt committed to go to all the meetings, which encouraged me to take some risks including sharing my images with the group. I have learned so much from my experience … and now I hope I can share what I have learned with you.

On Monday March 21st I will be making a presentation for the Teton Photography Group on the Peer Mentor Photography Program. The presentation will be at 6:00 pm to about 8:00 and will be held in the Jackson Hole Real Estate Association at 80 West Broadway, about a block west of the town square in Jackson WY. I hope to see you there so I can answer your questions.