How Mentorship Helped Me Bring My Creative Ideas to Life
When Dera joined Soho Mentorship, she set herself one clear goal: to stop being just an “idea haver” and start becoming an executor.
“My goal when coming into the programme was to have created something. I’m always an idea haver but never really and executor. So, I came in knowing that even if I hadn’t gotten accepted to showcase anything, I would still have something I can put in my portfolio. Also, I wanted to see what I could create on my own.”
Over 16 weeks, she brought two creative projects to life, Portraits in Paris and Lena Eclipse, and proved to herself just how much she could achieve when she followed through on her ideas.
Portraits in Paris
The first piece, Portraits in Paris, was all about capturing spontaneous moments with strangers on film.
“For the Portraits in Paris, I wanted to showcase my ability to take film portraits in an unplanned way. And working with film is always a hit or miss, I wanted to challenge myself and see what I could come out with in the heat of the moment just sporadically. The pictures taken were all spur of the moment stopping people in the streets of Paris and asking if I could get a photo of them.”
Lena Eclipse
Her second shoot, Lena Eclipse, drew inspiration from disco-era icons like Diana Ross and Cher.
“Lena Eclipse came about through my love of disco and glamour in the 70s. Inspiration was taken from the queens of this era Diana Ross, Cher, Donna Summer and Lola Falana. As well as movies like Dream Girls and Mahogany. I created my own character akin to those ladies and wanted to emulate the energy they carried throughout the 70s. I named her Lola Eclipse. I was the art director, stylist, videographer, editor, photographer, makeup artist and creative director for this shoot. I wanted to showcase how multifaceted I could be when I don’t have resources on my side.”
Dera’s mentor, Lucy, played a key role in bringing these projects to life.
“Lucy was a tremendous support. She helped me so much with everything. Building my confidence around my idea, letting me come in and shadow shoots, helping with my shoot. She really helped me in keeping my idea. And she was always championing me. She also helped a lot with shaping my perspective a lot, which is something I always appreciate from anyone. It goes a long way for me.”
Through the programme, Dera unlocked something that had always held her back.
“I’ve always had ideas, but this gave me the platform to put my foot down with myself and produce a piece of work. It made me also understand the vast routes you could take to achieving your goal, and that not everything is linear. It almost never is linear. I had the best time on this programme, meeting people and forming friendships in the industry, something I didn’t know where I would find if not for this programme.”
We’re proud of what Dera’s achieved. Not just the quality of her work, but the shift in confidence and direction that comes from achieving her goals and creating something.
If you’re a young creative looking for that same sense of momentum, apply to be a mentee. And if you’re already working in the creative industries, you can help someone like Dera take their next step by signing up to mentor.
