Mentoring & Work-shops

Curated formats — limited availability.

Featured in

ELLE

DER GREIF

VOGUE

DODGED

Selected feedback

  • "What stood out most for me was how much Markus’ experience as an international artist shaped the entire process. His sense for selecting images and building a series is incredibly precise. The feedback helped me see my own work with much greater clarity."

    Elena M.

  • “What I valued most was the seriousness of the process. Markus creates an atmosphere that feels calm and professional, and his eye for what belongs in a series — and what doesn’t — is exceptional. I left with fewer images than I expected, but a much stronger body of work and a clearer artistic direction.”

    Mariia C.

  • “I came with a project that felt unclear and unfinished. Through Markus’ feedback and the way he approaches selection and sequencing, the work suddenly started to make sense. The workshop wasn’t about producing more — it was about precision. It gave me clarity, confidence, and a structure to continue.”

    Daniel W.

Video Consultation

AVAILABLE FORMATS

These formats are shaped by my own artistic practice and my curatorial experience as founder and Chief Editor of DODGED Magazine. Offered selectively, in small settings, with limited availability. For certain formats/dates, places may require an application including portfolio submission.

  • An intensive one-day format designed to turn photographs into work. In a small group setting, we focus on concept, direction, guided shooting, and the discipline of editing and sequencing into a coherent series. The workshop is offered only selectively and may require an application including portfolio submission. More Information.

  • Private long-term guidance for photographers who want to develop a serious artistic practice. Mentoring supports you in shaping your visual language, refining your series, and strengthening artistic decision-making over time. This format is limited and offered only to a small number of artists per period.

  • A focused critique for photographers who want clarity and precision. You receive curatorial feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your work, concrete next steps, and recommendations on how to restructure your portfolio for submissions, publications and exhibitions. Portfolio reviews are concise, direct, and oriented toward professional presentation.

  • A private session for strategy, orientation and artistic direction. Ideal if you need structured feedback on a project, want to prepare a submission, or require guidance on positioning and communication. The consultation is offered as a confidential video call with clear outcomes and actionable next steps.

Artist Development Workshop

Detailed Information:

1:1 Mentoring
Portfolio Review

Mentoring & Workshops

Curated formats — limited availability.

Artist Development for Fine Art Photographers

Mentoring and workshops are offered here as a curated extension of my artistic practice — not as mass formats and never as general photography courses. They are designed for photographers who seek depth, authorship and artistic clarity, and who want to develop work that can stand in a professional fine art context. Availability is intentionally limited: small groups, focused structures, and a calm working atmosphere where serious development becomes possible. Due to my ongoing artistic work and production schedule, these formats are offered only selectively — in some cases as rarely as once per year. For certain dates and formats, places are allocated through a short application process, typically including portfolio submission and a brief motivation statement, to ensure an aligned group and a professional working atmosphere.

What we work on: from image to body of work

The focus is not on equipment, trends or quick results. The core of every format is artistic development: building a coherent visual language, refining intention, and shaping photographs into work. This includes conceptual discipline, direction, editing and sequencing — the elements that transform single images into a series with meaning. The aim is simple: to move from photographing to creating.

Concept and artistic direction

We strengthen the idea behind the image. You learn how to develop a concept that is precise enough to carry a series, how to reduce without losing intensity, and how to make choices that remain consistent across a body of work. This process is informed not only by my own artistic practice, but also by my curatorial experience as co-founder and Chief Editor of DODGED Magazine — an international, leading platform for contemporary photographic art — where artistic coherence and conceptual clarity are decisive selection criteria.

Series building, editing and sequencing

A fine art practice is built through selection. We work on decision-making: what to keep, what to remove, and why. Editing and sequencing are treated as part of the artwork itself — rhythm, repetition, silence, contrast — until the series holds as one coherent statement.

Portfolio refinement and professional presentation

A strong portfolio is not a collection of good photographs; it is a focused presentation of work. We refine clarity, consistency and seriousness: what belongs together, what weakens the narrative, and how to present your work in a way that is ready for professional contexts. You will benefit from practical curatorial perspective — what stands out in international submissions, what weakens an application, and how to present your work with the level of precision expected by serious publications, curators and exhibitions.

Who these offers are for

These formats are made for photographers who already understand the technical foundations of photography and now want to move beyond them. Mentoring and workshops are particularly suited if you want to develop a fine art photography portfolio, receive precise critique, build series suitable for submissions, publications or exhibitions, and gain confidence in your artistic positioning. This is not a beginner course. It is a space for photographers who want to treat photography as creative work — with standards, structure and responsibility.

A curated format with limited availability

Artistic development requires time, concentration and real individual feedback. For this reason, all formats are intentionally small and selectively offered. Participation may involve a short application step to ensure an aligned group and a professional working atmosphere. The goal is not exclusivity for its own sake, but quality: calm focus, depth and precision.

Available formats

This page brings together an exclusive selection of formats, each serving a distinct purpose. Workshops offer guided shooting, critique and series development in intimate groups. Mentoring is a private 1:1 format for long-term artistic direction. Portfolio reviews provide focused feedback and concrete next steps. Video consultations are designed for clarity, strategy and orientation — in a confidential one-on-one setting. Each format is described in detail on its own page.

Mentoring & Workshops as part of an artistic practice

The foundation of this offering is practice. Everything we work on here is informed by a fine art approach to photography: reduction, responsibility, conceptual coherence and a deep respect for the subject. The intention is to support photographers who want to build work that holds — visually, emotionally, and in a professional artistic context.

Artist Development Workshop
1:1 Mentoring
Portfolio Review
Video Consultation 
Please note: Applications for workshops may require a portfolio link and a short motivation statement.

All formats are offered selectively and with limited availability. If you’d like to request a session or apply for a workshop, please share a few details below. I personally review each inquiry.