The Cadre beta is open — free while we grow. Get in early →

Your AI photography mentor

Nobody ever tells you why the photo didn't work.
Your mentor will.

Upload a shot. Get an honest, personal critique — what's working, what to fix, and an assignment for your next shoot — from a mentor who remembers every photo you've shown them. Every mentor is an AI — clearly labeled, never pretending to be human.

Try it free See a critique

Free beta · every mentor is an AI · no card required

Bison walking through falling snow
78
Cadre score

Photo: Paul Anderson — critiqued by Cole, an AI mentor · scored 78.

How it works

Three steps. Real growth.

No classes, no forums, no guessing. A mentor in your pocket.

1

Meet your mentor

Pick the mentor who fits what you shoot — wildlife & landscape, portraits, or Paul's own approach. Each one has a voice, a philosophy, and a face.

2

Share a photo

Your mentor studies it like a real teacher: composition and light first, your camera settings second. You can even hear the critique read aloud.

3

Grow over time

Ask follow-ups, get an assignment, reshoot. Your mentor remembers your work, tracks your score, and celebrates when a weakness becomes a strength.

The critique

Like a letter from someone who knows you

Not a report card. A mentor talking to you about your photo — with a scannable summary, Lightroom starting points when they'd help, and a score that tracks your journey.

Cole Hunter
Cole Hunter
Wildlife mentor · AI

Hear Cole read it — the same voice that reads every critique in the app

Paul — this is what patience looks like. The snow is doing half your storytelling, and you let it. My eye goes straight to the bull on the right, mid-stride, and that's exactly where the frame wants me…

…my one push: the herd behind him is crowding the story. Next time, wait two more steps — let him separate. That's the difference between a good frame and the one you print.

Quick read
Working — the falling snow, natural eye-line, honest light
To fix — crowded background, one subject too many
Assignment — isolate one animal from its group before you press the shutter

This one doesn't need a reshoot — it needs five minutes in Lightroom. Follow the notes below:

In the edit · starting points, not gospel
1 · Crop — tighten from the left, favoring the striding bull. Why: one clear subject.
2 · Light — Whites +10 to +15 · Blacks −10. Why: bright snow, anchored bison.
3 · Color — Temp +5 to +8 toward warm. Why: keeps the snow from going dull blue.

This is a 78 — and it climbs the moment you give that bull room to walk. See you on the next one.

— Cole

The app

Made for the phone in your camera bag

A quiet, editorial home for your photography — install it to your home screen like any app.

Cadre
Cole Hunter
Wildlife mentor · AI
Glacier calving into the sea
▶ Listen to your mentor 3:12

Paul — the scale of this is doing exactly what you hoped. That falling ice against the…

Quick read Working — timing, scale, restraint…
81/100
Cadre score
Was this critique helpful? 👍👎

Not another critique app

It remembers you. Your mentor carries your history — every photo, every score, every assignment. By photo five, it knows your habits better than you do.
It teaches for your next shot. The animal moves on and the light dies — so every lesson is portable, with Lightroom starting points when they'd help.
It's honest. A real mentor tells you when no slider can save a frame. Ours do too — and every one is clearly labeled AI.

The mentors

Four mentors. One inner circle.

Every mentor is an AI — a personality you can talk to, honest about what it is. That's the deal, and we keep it.

Cole Hunter
Cole HunterAI
Wildlife & landscape

A field veteran. Warm, brisk, uncompromising about craft — gets you low, at eye level, waiting for the moment.

Iris Hale
Iris HaleAI
Nature & light

A light-chaser, patient to a fault. She slows you down until you actually see what's in front of you.

Vera Cross
Vera CrossAI
Portraits & people

Studio and natural light, posing, directing. Connection first — a real expression beats a perfect exposure.

Paul Anderson
Paul AndersonAI
Feel first

Modeled on the real photographer behind Cadre — his philosophy, his voice. Feel first, technique second.

Memory

A mentor who remembers you

Every photo builds the relationship. Your mentor carries your history — and your growth is the whole point.

Your working-on list

A living list of what you're building, carried across every critique — and when you nail something, your mentor takes it off the list and says so.

get to eye levelwait for the peak momentseparate your subject

Assignments that build

Every critique ends with one transferable assignment for your next shoot. Answer it, and your mentor notices — and raises the bar.

A score that means something

Every photo gets a Cadre score, tracked over time. Watching 61 become 84 isn't a grade — it's proof you're becoming the photographer you wanted to be.

61 84

From the beta

Early, and already landing

35+
critiques given in beta
100%
of rated critiques marked helpful
Weekly
testers coming back, shoot after shoot

From the photographer behind it

Paul Anderson

"Nobody asks a graduate their GPA — they ask what your degree is in. Photography is the same: feel first, technique second. I built Cadre to be the mentor I wish I'd had — one that's honest with you, believes in you, and never gets tired of your questions."

Paul Anderson · wildlife & landscape photographer

Questions

The honest FAQ

Is a human looking at my photos?

No. Every Cadre mentor is an AI, clearly labeled everywhere in the app. The critiques are generated by AI studying your actual image — no person reviews your photos.

Who owns my photos?

You do, always. Your photos are stored only to power your own history and critiques, and deleting your account wipes them.

What does it cost?

The beta is free — no card, no catch. When Cadre launches, there'll be a subscription with a free trial, and beta testers will be looked after.

Do I need Lightroom?

No. Edit notes appear only when they'd genuinely help, and they translate to any editor — or you can ignore them entirely. Composition and light come first.

Do I need a fancy camera?

No. Phone shots welcome. The mentors care about your eye — composition, light, the moment — not your gear. Tell them what you shoot with and they'll coach to it.

Do I need to install anything?

It runs in your browser on any phone or computer. Add it to your home screen and it behaves like a regular app.

Your next photo deserves a second pair of eyes.

The beta is free while we grow. Bring a photo you love — or one that almost worked.

Join the free beta

Works in your browser · add it to your home screen like an app

Try Cadre free