Wedding photography mentoring with The Mateers will help you find your own style, tell your own stories, and shoot with confidence.
Our mentoring is completely tailored to you. That means it can cover everything below, just some areas, or even something completely different depending on your goals, experience, and creative direction. Once you’re booked, we’ll send a short questionnaire to understand your priorities and make sure your mentoring is designed specifically for you. And of course, you’ll be mentored by both of us, Hollie and Patrick Mateer. We work with photographers who are just starting out to vastly experienced, multi-award winning wedding photographers, across the UK, Europe and the world.
We will help you see more, shoot more. You’ll learn to build galleries that tell connected, emotionally layered stories, shoot and edit with authenticity instead of chasing trends, and develop confidence in your creative decisions and style. This is the same approach we bring to workshops and conferences like Fearless, Rise Up, NineDots, Weddcamp, and Effstop.
Our approach is practical, thoughtful, and rooted in the power of visual storytelling. Critiques are honest but always constructive. We’re here to build you up by working on your strengths and helping you see your work from a fresh perspective.
Mentoring for family photographers
We also offer tailored mentoring for documentary family photographers. As well as specialising in wedding photography, Hollie is a multi-award-winning family photographer with years of experience documenting family life. Mentoring for family photography is structured in the same way; completely tailored to you and what you want to get out of it.
Passionate advocates for documentary photography
We often get asked these days, as we become busier with our work as educators, whether we enjoy mentoring other photographers. The answer is an unequivocal yes. In fact, we love it. We love connecting with other photographers, seeing their work, helping to grow confidence, and watching their photography develop. But it goes deeper than that.
At a time when much of wedding photography is moving in the opposite direction, we believe in championing documentary photography. We believe it matters. In the age of algorithms and AI, real moments and authentic storytelling feel more important than ever. Documentary photography protects one of the core purposes of photography. As Susan Sontag once said: “collecting and preserving reality.” Documentary photography records moments as they happen, holding them in time so we can look back, remember, and truly experience the story behind an image. No artifice. No performance. Just authenticity.
Because of that, we care deeply about supporting photographers who work with a documentary approach. Through mentoring, workshops, and doing our bit to encourage a supportive community within the industry, we want to help photographers gain confidence in this way of working.
We support them. We cheer them on. And we believe it is incredibly important right now to strengthen the community of documentary photographers within wedding photography. So whether we are mentoring you right now or not, if documentary photography matters to you, then your work matters to us, too.
Who This Mentoring Is For
This mentoring is for photographers of all styles, all levels of experience. We’ve worked with photographers who haven’t shot anything professionally yet, through to multi-award winning photographers at the top of the profession. This mentoring is for every photographer who wants to shoot weddings more confidently and creatively, build a strong narrative and storytelling approach, develop their own voice and style rather than copying others, and gain guidance on galleries, awards, or portfolio development. You might want to overcome imposter syndrome to grow confidence, or you might already feel confident and simply want another perspective on your work. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your practice, mentoring is tailored to your level and goals.
Another perspective on your photography
Getting another perspective on your work is so important. We’re lucky to have each other, so we understand the value of support, guidance, and honest critique. We bring that same approach to mentoring. Our wedding photography mentoring supports photographers at all stages, helping you discover your own creative direction, refine your portfolio, and build a confident approach to capturing weddings.
Pushing Your Work Further
This was such a lovely quote from one of our long-term mentees, Paul Doherty, a fantastic documentary photographer based in Ireland: “Huge thanks to The Mateers for pushing my work further every single year. If you’re serious about improving your photography, these two are the real deal.” Paul shared this on an Instagram post when he announced finishing in the Top 20 of This Is Reportage in 2025.
Paul has since renewed his mentorship with us for another full year, which means a lot to us. It shows that what we do truly resonates with him. Working with us means pushing yourself creatively and technically, building confidence, and taking your storytelling to the next level. Many of our mentees have had their work recognized internationally, placing in top competitions such as This Is Reportage, Fearless, and WPJA. Our mentoring isn’t all about awards though, as we explain below.
Do you have to enter awards to get the most out of mentoring?
No, awards aren’t for everyone. We explain further down more about how we can help with awards submissions – but the core learning will be about storytelling, it will be about creating work that feels authentic to you, developing a brand that suits you as a person and an artist. Anything or everything that you want to work on. Entering awards is completely optional and a personal decision – some of our mentees enter awards and some don’t.
Do you have to be a specialist ‘documentary photographer’ to be mentored?
No – not at all. We work with photographers of all styles. Everyone brings their own brand, personality, and preferences for what and how they love to photograph. Even if your style isn’t purely documentary, storytelling and capturing authentic moments often underpin what most photographers do. So whatever your style, if you’d love to learn from us, we’d be thrilled to work with you.
What We Cover In Mentoring
Our wedding photography mentoring is flexible, but these are the areas we most often focus on. We explore them individually or in combination depending on your goals.
Bespoke areas unique to you
This is the most important part of your mentoring, and it’s unknowable until we start working with you. Below, you’ll find general areas that photographers often explore with us, but there will be far areas more that are completely unique to you. Perhaps none of the topics below are exactly what you’re looking for support with. However, whatever it is, we’re here to help you achieve your goals and grow and develop as a photographer.
Storytelling and Narrative
Learn to build meaningful stories through your galleries, instagram posts, blogs and award submissions. We will help you tell stories from the first click to final frame.
Composition, Cropping, and Seeing
Train your eye to structure images with intention. Learn how to layer elements within a frame, balance shapes and lines, and crop to improve impact. Focus on telling a story through composition, whether using a complex or simple approach, and create images that hold the viewer’s attention.
Finding the Moment
Develop the skill to spot and capture authentic moments as they unfold. Learn to anticipate – but also, to react quickly, from the smallest gestures to the biggest emotional moments. Build confidence in staying present throughout a wedding day, always ready for the next moment to tell a meaningful story.
Shooting With Confidence
Anticipate moments, stay creative throughout a wedding day, and learn how to capture authentic, emotional connections.
It’s not all about documentary
While we champion documentary storytelling, mentoring with us isn’t limited to that. We can work on every aspect of your creative practice, from portraits to lighting, editing, or anything else you want to focus on. Whatever areas you want to explore, we’ll tailor the mentoring to suit you.
Editing with Intent
Edit with storytelling in mind so your galleries have rhythm, flow, emotional impact, and coherence across blogs, social platforms, client galleries, and awards submissions.
Awards and Portfolio
Get guidance on choosing the right awards, preparing submissions, and understanding how composition and sequencing make a difference. Awards can also support marketing, confidence, and creative growth.
Branding and Instagram
Build a visual identity that reflects your voice, understand how imagery translates to Instagram, and craft a feed that resonates with your ideal clients.
Finding Your Ideal Client
Learn who you want to work with, how to attract them, and how to present galleries and messaging that speak directly to your audience.
Mindset and Creative Direction
Build confidence, overcome imposter syndrome, and develop your personal style and vision.
Technical and Artistic Approaches
Learn how to use technical tools and creative choices together to make your vision come to life. We cover things like lighting, lenses, camera settings, and techniques, helping you understand how each choice affects composition, storytelling, and the overall impact of your images.
Ongoing support
If you sign up to a long-term mentoring option, you get your own, personal, WhatsApp group meaning you can ask a question anywhere, any time. Mid-wedding, mid-edit, we’re there to help.
Blog writing and SEO
Learn how to write blogs that showcase your work across your website to attract the right audience. We’ll guide you on creating compelling storytelling, optimising posts for SEO, and building a consistent, engaging online presence that supports your photography business. Get ready for more couples finding photographers through AI tools by building a strong SEO base.
Developing your own authentic style
We’re not here to change everything about the way you shoot. Instead, we help you refine your authentic style so your images stand out and feel unmistakably yours. Style isn’t just about how a photo looks; it’s about how you see, how you compose, how you find the right moment, and how you tell stories through your images.
Refining your style gives you a creative voice that’s recognisable to clients, awards judges, and most importantly, to yourself. It’s about shooting and editing in a way that feels naturally you, not following trends or copying others. As we always say: “don’t be an imposter, be yourself.” Your images will reflect your perspective, your vision, and your way of seeing the world—we’ll guide you along the way.
Building on what’s already there
Following on from the point above, it’s important to say that some photographers don’t want a full, holistic review and may prefer to focus on specific areas, like storytelling through galleries, preparing award submissions, or crafting This Is Reportage stories. Whatever the focus, our approach is always about enhancing what’s already in your work, not completely changing who you are as a photographer. We identify your strengths, highlight what makes your images unique, and help you build on your existing strengths and help to make your images even more powerful and in turn your brand stronger and more authentic to you.
Mentoring with The Mateers: the options
Below, you’ll find the mentoring options we offer. Some photographers benefit most from a single focused session, while others prefer to work with us over several months or even a full year. Whatever suits your goals and schedule, we have an option that will work for you.
Short-Term Mentoring
Perfect for focused sessions where we dive into one or more topics that matter most to you. Sessions often naturally cover multiple areas. Two sessions allows us to begin to track your progress – but one session may suit you better.
Format: Online, around 2 hours
Extras: Written notes provided after each session
Investment: 1 session – £300, 2 sessions – £500
Long-Term Mentoring
Ideal for photographers who want to fully develop their creative practice and business over time. It allows us to take a full holistic look at your business and creative practice.
Investment:
3 months – £1000
6 months – £1,700
9 months – £2,300 (includes shadowing us at a wedding)
12 months – £3,000 (includes shadowing us at a wedding)
Long term mentoring includes meeting up monthly (online or in person to suit you) and all the ongoing support needed. Our work with you far exceeds just a monthly meet up – we’re always there to help with whatever you’re working on. So these extended options include ongoing support via WhatsApp which enables you to keep in touch with us as much as needed throughout your time mentoring with us. Any questions, any time – just ask.
Mentoring Add ons
We price our mentoring options competitively, and we feel a full year’s mentorship at £3,000 offers excellent value for money, as does a single session for £300. We fully invest ourselves in you and your photography business, and you will gain so much from either a long- or short-term mentorship with us. We believe we will cover far more than you would ever expect.
You can also choose from the following optional add-ons for long term-mentorships. We keep these separate to make the core mentoring price accessible. Some mentees find these extras invaluable, while others prefer to focus on the core mentorship. The add ons allow us to see first hand how you shoot, how you deal with clients and allow for you to ask for ‘on-the-job’ support and advice. Prices below are for mainland Britain; additional travel or accommodation may apply if we’re travelling to shoot a destination wedding with you.
Shoot a wedding with you – £300
Shoot a wedding with us – £300
Add on both to a long term mentorship – £450
Payment plans
Flexible payment plans are available for 6–12 month mentoring options, allowing you to spread the cost and structure payments in a way that suits you. Please just let us know and we can work out the right payment plan to suit you.
Awards Mentoring
The work we will do with you on storytelling, composition, capturing authentic moments, and developing your style matters far more than winning any number of awards. However, awards can still help and we know for some photographers, support with awards is really important. And awards do have many benefits too for those that enter them. They support branding and marketing, increase recognition. They also help with confidence and creativity, too. Pushing yourself to enter awards challenges you to see your work in new ways and take creative risks. Lastly, they help with involving yourself in communities of like-minded photographers. So if you’d like us to, we can help you with your awards submissions. From helping you build stories, to cropping images so they stand out even more to awards judges – and so much more.
That’s The Mateers Effect
One of our mentees recently described their experience with us as “That’s The Mateers effect” after starting a long-term mentorship. This came after they won as many This Is Reportage awards in a single round as they had the entire previous year. When we congratulated them, they excitedly replied: “That’s The Mateers effect!”
We didn’t take the images for them, but we guided them on storytelling, composition, cropping, and image selection. Sometimes a small crop can completely transform an image, and that guidance can be the difference between winning an award or not. They were thrilled with the results, and we were so proud of them, too.
Testimonials & Mentoring Success
Mentoring with us isn’t just about improving technique or winning awards. It’s about building confidence, developing your own style, and learning to tell stories in a way that resonates with you and with others. Over time, photographers we work with gain practical skills in composition, storytelling, gallery building, and editing, all while receiving honest, detailed and constructive feedback tailored to their creative goals. Our mentees also find that the guidance and encouragement they receive helps them push themselves creatively, enter awards with confidence, and grow their photography business.
Other mentee experiences:
“The best investment I made last year.” – Robin Goodlad (Robin Goodlad Photography).
“Being mentored by Patrick and Hollie was a no brainer. The amount of detail in their critiques was amazing. They were honest, straightforward and full of fantastic suggestions and ideas. Taking their advice and reworking some images I even went on to pick up several new awards. If you’re thinking of investing in photography education or training, you really cannot go wrong with Hollie and Patrick.” – Alex Benyon (Alex Benyon Photography)
“Both Hollie and Patrick are great photographers – and lovely people. Through their feedback and guidance I managed to win my first ever This Is Reportage and Fearless awards. I have since continued winning awards, which I know is down to their guidance – and I use the advice they’ve given me at every wedding I photograph.” – Barnaby Staniland (BGS Weddings)
“Thank you once again for your wisdom, advice and guidance with the mentoring sessions we’ve had. I’m already feeling the difference at weddings, but also during editing, too.” – Lewis Fackrell (Lewis Fackrell Photography)
“The unique documentary approach of The Mateers is inspiring. I met Patrick after his talk at the Gathering conference in 2022. After a few beers, a late night McDonalds and plenty of photography chat I asked him about possibly mentoring me to improve my documentary. Watching Patrick meticulously go through each gallery was fascinating. His attention to detail, eye for a moment and storytelling ability is incredible. A year on and I have his voice in the back of my head at every wedding. ‘Get closer – is this a moment? Crop harder, how do you want to tell the story?’ And in the edit – more cropping. I won my first This Is Reportage story award at the start of 2024 and a really important single award in 2023. Both the story and single award came from the mentoring. Don’t walk, run to get yourself booked on their workshop. You will take away so much. I’m a much stronger storytelling photographer thanks to The Mateers.” – Paul Williams (Ginger Beard Wedding Photography)
“I wouldn’t have taken images like this before working with you”. – Caroline Goosey (Caroline Goosey photography).
“Thank you, for all your help and guidance”. – Katie Kavanagh (Katie Kav Photography).
“I started working with Hollie and Patrick as I wanted to improve my documentary style and tell more of a story with my photography, and I was starting to lose confidence in my work and my style. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect, but Hollie and Patrick started by guiding me through my own galleries and pointed out tweaks and improvements and helped me improve my messaging on my website and social media. As the mentoring progressed, Patrick attended one of my weddings with me, offering lots of on the day guidance. They have also been at the end of the phone for me during difficult light / weather situations at weddings and they helped me select images for award submissions. As a result, I’ve won my first This is Reportage award, and first few WPJA awards and even my first Fearless award in the time we’ve been working together. I’ve learnt loads so far and have found it really good value for money!” Hannah Brooke (Hannah Brooke Photography).
Bespoke & In-Person Options
We’re happy to arrange tailored mentoring suits your needs. Mentoring isn’t just about technique. It’s about confidence, creative vision, and seeing weddings in a new way.
Wedding photography workshops
We also deliver wedding photography workshops in a group setting. Please enquire about our next workshop. Or, if you’d prefer for us to deliver our workshop online to you privately, we can arrange that too.
About Us
We’re Hollie and Patrick Mateer, wedding photographers based in Yorkshire, capturing weddings across the UK and abroad. We’ve photographed hundreds of weddings, won lots of awards, delivered our own workshop many times, mentored photographers and presented internationally at photography conferences (sharing our approach to storytelling, editing, and how we found our own artistic style of documentary photography). Our mentoring brings all of that experience directly to you. Image of our London workshop below by Jenna Kathleen photography.
Our wedding photography is art group
The learning doesn’t stop after mentoring. Every mentee and workshop attendee will be invited to join our private Facebook group.
Our Achievements as The Mateers
Together as The Mateers, we have:
- Become the first ever duo to win the National Wedding Photographer Of The Year Award at TWIA
- Mentored over 50 photographers from across Europe and beyond
- Delivered our workshop in the UK 3 times
- Delivered our workshop internationally at Rise-Up (Chamonix, France) and we will soon be delivering it at The Other Side (Puglia, Italy)
- Spoken at Fearless and Masters Conference in Antwerp, Weddcamp Conference in Romania, NineDots conferences in Manchester and London, with an appearance at Effstop in Cambridgeshire to come
- Won the Photographers Keeping It Real Photographer Of The Year award
- Twice named as one of the Top 50 UK Wedding Photographers by Professional Photo magazine
- Most importantly, we’ve raising a beautiful family (three children, two cats) and living a wonderfully chaotic life in Yorkshire
Hollie has:
- Become the youngest ever winner of TWIA
- Become the first woman to win This Is Reportage Wedding Photographer Of The Year award on her own, and then the first ever photographer to win it twice
- Become the first ever photographer to win both the This Is Reportage Family and Wedding Photographer Of The Year awards (in the same year, too)
- Won the Masters Of Wedding Photography UK Photographer Of The Year award
- Been the top ranked UK WPJA Photographer twice
- Been awarded the Rangefinder Magazine Rising Star Of Wedding Photography accolade
- Twice been ranked second in the International Story Teller Of The Year list on This Is Reportage and once winning the UK Storyteller Of The Year award
- Been four times ranked in the Top 100 Fearless Photographers in the World list
- Took first place at a farming show painting competition for a picture of a tiger (in poster paint), aged 6 and a half
Patrick has:
- Won the Masters Of Wedding Photography UK Photographer Of The Year award
- Been the top ranked UK WPJA Photographer twice
- Placed three times in the Top 10 This Is Reportage Photographers Of The Year list
- Placed three times in the Top 100 Fearless Photographers in the World
- Runner-up in the Driffield School Year 8 Tennis Championship, losing 0-6, 4-6 in the final (you can’t win them all)
Next Steps
We’d love to work with you. Tell us what you’re looking for, pick the mentoring option that fits, and we’ll take it from there. You can contact us here or WhatsApp us on 07747 880702