Author seen looking to the left in photo, I learned (5)
I believe the answer is:
eliot
'author' is the definition.
(novelist George Eliot)
'looking to the left in photo i learned' is the wordplay.
'looking to the left' says the letters should be written backwards (letters written right to left).
'in' indicates a hidden word.
'toile' is hidden in the letters of 'photo i learned'.
'toile' backwards is 'ELIOT'.
'seen' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for eliot that I've seen before include "One of two writers" , "Middlemarch author" , "Female novelist" , "thin material rejected" , "George - - (novelist)" .)