With the launch of our new South Africa programs comes another exciting new chapter for Photo Start: an online mentorship program!

Using Libris by PhotoShelter, we have reverse-engineered our central cloud asset management server into a platform for two-way education. So, an individual certified by Photo Start as a mentor may sign up to create a short program for students all over the world, from the comfort of wherever they are! The mentor can record video lessons ranging from 5 – 20 minutes, and accompany it with detailed PDF notes and a practice photography exercise.

Students will be able to view these lessons both during organized sessions, and as many times afterwards as they need in order to feel comfortable with the content. They will then complete their mentor’s assignment and can turn it in to the local instructor. Further, if desired, the distance mentor can also review the work and assignments and offer valuable feedback. Both will be able to review the student’s assignment and leave comments, video messages, and mark ups on the photos.

This will be a great opportunity for our advisers and other experts in the fields of education, photography, and business to participate with our students via Photo Start. It will also give our program coordinators on the ground a unique opportunity to include cutting-edge technologies and a variety of perspectives in their lesson plans.

We are thrilled that our new partnership with PhotoShelter will allow us to dramatically increase our ability to take on new students, better serve existing ones, and expand to new cities like Cape Town and Johannesburg!