Mentoring: Frequently Asked Questions

It is an exciting time for artists, with new-to-us opportunities through evolving markets, platforms and formats. It is an exciting time for artists, with new-to-us opportunities through evolving markets, platforms and formats.

Photographers work with Ms. Swanson at all stages of their development: whether they are newly entering the field or are at their mid- or end-of-career.

Ms. Swanson will work with you to determine the most appreciative audience(s) for your work, from which you can go forward to connect with a like-minded community.

During any given week Ms. Swanson is advising artists on such diverse topics as researching funding for their projects, editing their work and artist statements for upcoming competitions, and assisting artists in preparing grant applications, Expertise is provided to you on interpreting and negotiating contracts, strategizing participation at portfolio review events and ranking reviewers, planning content for promotional tools including website, Instagram and printed materials, drafting proposals for exhibitions, publishing/self-publishing projects or other engagements. She advises on the choices involved in bringing a completed project to book form and will clarify the differences among artist’s books/self- publishing/, small presses/art publishers, and trade publishers, including University Presses, and identify the best publishing path for one’s particular project.

Through private mentoring, Ms. Swanson focuses on helping clients seek, understand, and prioritize new opportunities, clarify terms of relationships, and maximize benefits that come with such exposure.

Why, What, & When?

  • When you choose to work with Mary Virginia Swanson privately you will be spending time working in a professional, one-on-one environment. Consultations are tailored to fit your individual goals and guide you to reach key benchmarks along your path to achieve those objectives. Know that your discussions are confidential, and if on Zoom she is happy to record for your personal private replay.

  • Absolutely. Ms. Swanson helps artists identify the strengths in their work and can point you to the audience(s) most likely to respond to your photography. This way your market awareness begins as your work is evolving and maturing.

  • Ms. Swanson works with many artists of all ages and experience with unique goals and aspirations. Many have yet to present their work to any venue and seek a greater understanding of the fine print collectible markets. Other photographers welcome her advice on improving their image and text editing, social media presence, and their research and communication skills as warranted by the photography industry today.

    She will guide to establishing best studio and business practices that will become the backbone of your life as an artist, centered on well-researched creative and ethical art making with and wise commerce to keep your studio on solid footing.

    If you are considering promoting yourself as an artist, be it through launching a website, attending a portfolio review event or undertaking a promotional campaign to a targeted audience, this is an excellent time to schedule a consultation or attend a workshop with her (where you will learn from the experience of other photographers as well).

    Many whose careers are well established seek Ms. Swanson’s guidance on presenting their new and existing project to new or unfamiliar markets. While her understanding of our field, and its many industries, is broad – Ms. Swanson’s guidance will always be geared towards your professional and creative needs and abilities.

  • Ms. Swanson's public lectures (in-person and online) are informative and can be an effective way to begin thinking about the elements and methods of marketing your photographs. The Q&A sessions that typically follow her lectures are particularly lively and a valuable way to begin the process. While not required before booking a consultation, and while necessarily limited in the degree of personal attention provided to each participant, attending Ms. Swanson’s workshops are good value if you can attend one; we all learn from one another in a workshop situation, too.

    Similarly, for those of you who prefer learning from home, Ms. Swanson encourages all photographers interested in working with her to sign up for her online course offerings. These updated lectures, seminars and workshops provide a solid foundation for working with her as well as get you started on marketing your work.

    Many photographers who enroll in Ms. Swanson’s workshops continue working with her as their consultant to further focus attention on their work and career aspirations.

    Visit UPCOMING CLASSES on this website for further details on future course offerings.

    Also, there are many free, downloadable resources that will be of interest to you available on this website under RESOURCES.

  • No, consulting clients are not promised any access to gallerists, curators, collectors, photography directors, magazine editors, agents, or publishers and should not assume this is an outcome of working privately with Ms. Swanson.

Scheduling and Preparing

  • We offer a range of solutions designed to meet your needs—whether you're just getting started or scaling something bigger. Everything is tailored to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.

  • In advance of your initial consultation, it is encouraged that you start by:

    1. Considering the status of your creative output: - Are you embarking on a new series or between projects? - Do you have a long-term project with no end in sight?

    2. Consider what your professional goals are and prioritize them so these important elements of your artistic and professional engagement can be discussed.

    3. Reflect on your career activities as an artist and conduct research to assess whether there are aspects of your professional practice that you believe could be improved, be it related to studio organization, safe and clean art storage, record keeping as it relates to materials utilized, edition structures, mailing list management and more.

    For Ms. Swanson's preparation, she will have read your Client Fact Sheet responses and reviewed your website and social media presence. If you revealed specific, urgent needs in your Client Fact Sheet, she may ask you to send her additional materials such as a PDF of a project, draft of exhibition statement, or other timely issues to also review prior to the meeting.

    When your session begins, Ms. Swanson will share her impressions on what she has observed from your public presence and your current needs and long-term goals will be discussed.

    If it is decided that your immediate questions have been adequately addressed or that you have a substantial amount of ‘homework’ to reach your goals (such as, website revisions,

    project research, imaging or copy edit) before your two-hour session has ended, she may suggest that remaining time be saved or "banked" for a follow-up meeting at a later date, completing the two-hour initial consultation during that second meeting. When you are ready, it will be your responsibility to contact Ms. Swanson to schedule this follow up meeting.

    No matter how brief or detailed your needs, Ms. Swanson is happy to discuss and assist you with honest and thorough guidance.

  • If this would be helpful to you, recording your session with Ms. Swanson is encouraged–many clients do. Recordings are for your future reference only.

    If meeting on Zoom or Google Meet, Ms. Swanson is happy to record and send the audio / video files to you. If you prefer to host the Zoom call and record directly to your computer, that will be fine. If meeting in person, she suggests that you invest in a recording app for your mobile phone or a digital audio recording device that will be easily downloaded and transferred to your computer.

  • Ms. Swanson considers your discussion private and confidential. Any recorded content is for your private use only, no portion of the discussion shall be reproduced in any format, including but not limited to quoting Ms. Swanson in your marketing materials, without her prior permission and clarity about your desired usage.

    Thank you for respecting her privacy; you can expect the same respect from her towards you and your work.

Fees, Payments, and Cancellations

  • New Client “Initial Consultation”

    · The fee for this initial consultation is $300 per hour (2 hours x $300 = $600 total).

    · This two-hour commitment can be split into two sessions if you desire and we agree in advance of meeting.

    Existing Clients

    Going forward beyond the required two hour long “Initial Consultation period, should you wish to continue working together following your Initial Consultation, you will then be considered an “Existing Client". The existing client rate is reduced to $250 per hour, or any portion thereof prorated, and the minimum time commitment is no longer required.

  • As of January 1, 2014: To be considered an Existing Client, you must have completed a consultation with Ms. Swanson within the past 3 years. If it has been more than three years since you worked with her, please re-submit the Client Fact Sheet to restart your mentoring relationship.

  • The basis of my relationship with artists is one of trust; no down payment is required.

  • PAYMENT BY CREDIT CARD or PAYPAL

    For your convenience, payment can be made with a credit card through this website. After your session is completed, go to the Payment for Consultations page. Select the appropriate payment category per your session or that you were invoiced for. If you pay by credit card, you will be issued a receipt electronically.

    PAYMENT by CHECK or CASH (In-Person only)

    If you prefer to pay by personal or business check, please make payable to, and forward payment due to:

    M. V. Swanson and Associates

    at the address stated on her invoice.

    Your receipt for payment by credit card or PayPal will serve as your receipt; if paying by check, your cancelled check will serve as your receipt, and if you paid by cash, Ms. Swanson will issue you a receipt if you request one.

    Please note: M. V. Swanson and Associates operates as an S Corporation in the United States; EIN #20-2612977.

  • The courtesy of a timely cancellation of a meeting you have committed to in advance is always appreciated.

    If you must cancel your scheduled appointment with less than three (3) business days’ notice given, you may be charged a cancellation fee of 25% of the value of our planned meeting unless the appointment can be filled from a waiting list of those seeking appointments.

    If you do not show up for your meeting or cancel your appointment the day before or on the day of, you will be billed the full amount for the time booked.

  • After the initial consultation period of two hours is completed, clients may schedule additional time as needed for as little as fifteen minutes.

    The Existing Client rate is $250 per hour or any portion thereof pro-rated as needed – no time limit is required going forward.

Additional Information

TIME SPENT PREPARING FOR YOUR MEETING:

If you would like materials to be reviewed in advance of a meeting, such as extensive text/image editing, grant proposals, project budgets, understand the time for Ms. Swanson to do so will be difficult to predict, but know that if more than 15 minutes preparation is required or requested will be discussed (Ms. Swanson is always mindful of your time and budget and strives to conduct all meetings professionally).

PRIORITY BOOKING:

Some clients work with Ms. Swanson regularly (quarterly or more frequently); others less often as their bodies of work develop, booking an additional consultation when it is time to edit or market their new work, prepare for a portfolio review event, edit artist statements for grant applications, and more. Special effort is made to be available for existing clients who need help at these critical times.