Online Group Mentorship
Learn together. Level up faster.
A live, interactive mentorship program for bird and nature photographers who want practical guidance, real feedback and a friendly crew to grow with - without the overwhelm.
COMING UP END OF JANUARY 2026
Become a founding member of my signature program
The Mentorship
From approaching birds to settings to post processing, this 12 week program is a step-by-step transformative bird photography program.
This mentorship gives you the creative skills to move forward with confidence, develop your own natural style and shoot intuitively - without relying on complicated combinations of settings and hours of editing.
Founding Member Price
$695 AU
What you’ll learn
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Field craft: positioning, micro-moves, and timing for clean, uncluttered planes
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How to build a settings baseline, read the light and set exposure.
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How to shoot birds in flight with greater success
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Separation & depth: distance, angles, and subject–background relationships
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Different techniques and when to use them
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Atmosphere and story: incorporating mood and the environment
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Simple Lightroom Editing: gentle clean-up, tonal harmony and glow - without looking obviously edited
12 Week Mentorship - What's Included
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6 × 60+ minute live Zoom sessions (interactive, cameras recommended but optional)
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6 x group support chats (one each fortnight)
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Private online community to share images and get weekly tutor feedback
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Homework briefs with mini checklists (shot goals, field prompts, edit notes)
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Resource pack: “lookbook” and course notes
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Small and supportive group environment (Maximum 10)
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Recorded sessions to watch later if you can't make it to every session or would like to review.
Outcomes You Can Expect
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Field craft skills - how to successfully approach different types of birds
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Knowing how to identify good shooting opportunities
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Establishing a settings protocol
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Photograph birds in flight with confidence
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My secrets to achieving great backgrounds
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Become a visual story teller and move beyond 'bird on a stick'.
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A toolkit of creative techniques to optimise different conditions
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A simple workflow and editing process to add polish
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A supportive network you can keep learning with
Apply for the Natural BirdCraft Mentorship
Based on results with my private coaching clients and in-person workshops, this live online mentorship is designed for a small group of keen bird and wildlife photographers who are ready to move beyond hit and miss results and consistently capture high quality creative images with confidence.
Founding members will be working with me live each and every session - this is a limited opportunity as I will be moving to pre-recorded lessons in the future.
Because the group is intentionally small and the coaching is very personalised, I ask everyone to complete a short application before joining. This helps me make sure that:
You’re at the right skill level to get real value from the class and the mix of participants works well for a supportive, encouraging group.
There are limited places in the founding member mentorship - submitting an application does not automatically guarantee a spot.
I give priority to keen beginner to intermediate photographers who are comfortable with their camera and ability to change settings, but feel unsure about settings choices, stuck or frustrated with inconsistent results or lack of creativity and want hands-on guidance.
The overarching theme of all of my workshops is getting more enjoyment from your birding time through improving your skills - and having fun while doing it!
Having participated in the recent Beautiful Backgrounds workshop, my photographs of birds have improved out of sight! I highly recommend these workshops.
John
Learnt so much about bird photography from my course with FlyingParrot. Would recommend Sonia 110%. She knows her birds and knows how to explain their behaviours and explained spot metering and many other bonuses.
Ally
This totally brilliant session with Sonia - Flying Parrot Photography - really has taken me to another level of understanding bird photography.
Elspeth