Lesley Whyte

2021 Women of Influence finalist: Photography visionary

Multi-award-winning photographer and adventurer Lesley Whyte completed an MBA with Massey University. She says that the standout memory of that time was how it was the team of students working together that led to each individual student achieving their goals.

“The class taught us how to work as a team and that choosing a team that has diverse thinking provides success.”

After years of concentrating on her more corporate strengths, Lesley recently gave it all up to focus full time on her passions for photography, the environment, local business, and women’s mentorship.

“I swapped my Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss for Kathmandu and Ecco – I am now living the ultimate dream!”

Following two core philosophies, firstly to support women-led and owned organisations, and secondly to keep it local, Lesley founded Women in Photography, which provides collaborative photography workshops, field trips, photo walks, photography retreats, networking events, and photography tours for women within New Zealand, Australia, and across the globe. It is for her foundation Women in Photography, and for her policies and philosophies, which are across both Women in Photography and her other organisation Girls on the Road Again, that Lesley has been nominated in the Women of Influence category of Art & Culture.

To new graduates joining the alumni community, Lesley has one piece of advice: “Think big and believe in yourself as that will drive your success. Yes, you will have some downfalls but use these as learning experiences. Don’t use them to beat yourself up – make your downfalls a positive of what ‘NOT’ to do again.”