Photography Tours USA and Worldwide Photography Workshops

Interested in going on a photography tour or workshop? You are in the right place!

Photography tours are an excellent way to learn from the experts, refine your craft and capture amazing images, so be sure you get the most from your trip by traveling with our recommended photo tour and workshop companies listed here.

Click the link below to open the calendar of tours and workshops to find one that interests you!

Tours and Workshops Calendar for 2019 Onward

USA Photography Tour & Workshop Companies

Bill and Linda Lane and Nature’s Image Photography Field Workshops

Cascade Center of Photography

Worldwide Photography Tour & Workshop Companies

Jim Cline Photo Tours

 Hans Kemp Photography Tibet Horse Festival Photo Tour

International Photo Workshops

Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures

Arctic Exposure

Nomad Photo Expeditions

William Manning Photography / Photovian Travel

McKay Photography Academy

Luminous Journeys Photo Tours

Tim Mannakee Photography Holidays


Guide to Photography Tours & Workshops

Going on a photography tour or workshop is an amazing way to improve your photography skills as you will be learning directly from a professional photographer in a dream destination. We often get questions from photographers interested in going on their first tour or workshop, so we created this guide to help you get the most out of your trip.

First, to avoid any confusion let’s try to define the differences in Photography Workshops and Photography Tours. Please keep in mind that there are no formal definitions, and the trips can vary greatly between the tour operator, the guide leader, the location and focus of the trip. In addition to these names, you will often hear photography trips described as photography expeditions, photography safaris, or adventure photo tours. However, in general, a trip will focus on one of these two types so it is important to understand the differences so you can find what works best for you.

Photography Workshops

It is best to consider Photography Workshops as more educational, hand-on experiences, where the goal is to teach attendees specific skills to become a better photographer. This often involves specific instruction on camera settings or techniques to be used in the field, but can also include tips on post-processing and even business skills.

Photography Workshops often create value with personal feedback from the instructor based on their review of your work during the workshop. They will often move from attendee to attendee to provide suggestions and tips during shoots, so you can make adjustments in real-time.

The best workshops often include not only the lead instructor, but often a co-instructor as well to ensure that each attendee receives personalized feedback. The instructors typically are not taking photos during the workshop unless it is to utilize their images as a teaching tool.

A photography workshop is a great way to improve your skill set as a photographer and going on one can be viewed as a way to ensure going on a future photography tour will be a success.

Photography Tours

On the other hand, Photography Tours are typically less of a hands-on experience, and the main goal is to get attendees in the right place at the right time to enable them to capture amazing images. Although there will be some instruction and guidance provided, the idea is to maximize the opportunities for once in a lifetime images by chasing light across a variety of scenes.

Typically, the tour leader will provide general suggestions on camera settings and other tips to create stunning images, but it will be assumed you understand the specifics of your camera in order to take advantage of their guidance. There will be less attention on one-on-one instruction, and often the tour leader will be capturing photos alongside the attendees.

Photography tours can be very similar to any nature tour with one very important exception: the tours are planned and executed around the photo opportunities that present themselves. A good tour guide should plan every aspect of your time spent together and around the images that you will be capturing during your journey. From the position of the sun to the best vantage points and places to catch the most active scenes, your tour should revolve around what you can see through your lens.

Most tours offer guides who know the lay of the land like the backs of their hands and have walked every inch of it while capturing unique images from the perspective of the land itself. These men and women are there to guide you through their own back yards and introduce you to a brand new place full of beauty and new experiences. This presents a unique opportunity to travel to exotic locations with someone who is intimately familiar with the locals, and therefore will be able to provide access to unique photo opportunities that are unavailable to the average tourist.

Choosing a Photography Workshop or Tour

When considering a tour or workshop, it is important that you find one that offers what you want to get from it. If you are hoping for a lot of help and pointers while in the field, then you are going to want to make sure that you have a tour guide who is both willing and able to teach you. Many places tend to hire big names to lead their tours, but those people may be incapable or unwilling to offer a lot of instruction.

If you put in your research ahead of time and talk to your tour representative, you should end up with a skilled photographer who also happens to be a great teacher, then you are going to be much happier with your experience. Remember that you are the customer, which gives you the right to find the services that best fit your needs.

When searching for the right tour company, you can often find some that are both owned and operated by the photographers themselves. These are always a great choice because they tend to really build their tours around the best opportunities for great images. There are some great photography tours in Iceland and tours of India and Africa, all organised by photographers themselves. As we have personally worked with each of our recommended companies above, we are confident that traveling with one of them will ensure a successful trip!

Lighting, for example, is the foundation of a great photo. As such, you will find yourself traveling to destinations in order to be set up and ready to photograph at dawn or dusk. If you come across a tour with an itinerary that reads like it was created to torture you with absurdly early departure times and even later returns, then chances are good that the person leading those tours knows exactly what he or she is doing and is more than willing to put you in the right place at the right time to capture images that you can be proud of for years to come.

Another thing to consider when booking, is just how deeply into the photography you want to get. There are plenty of places that offer casual photography tours that cater to the amateur who wishes to go on a scenic trip while having plenty of time to take pictures for their friends back home.

Other tour companies can be much more immersive in the photography aspect of the trip. There are quite a few places that offer workshops along with their tours. With these guys, you can expect daily lectures, hands on teaching opportunities and even assignments. If you really want to learn something new about the art of photography in a hands on field environment, then one of these packages is perfect for you.

As with most things, location is pretty high on the list of things that you should be considering when you’re planning your tour. You should find a place that is centered on the things that you like to photograph. For instance, if you love taking candid life shots of people living in the urban jungle, then an Alaskan retreat is probably not the ideal place for you.

No matter where you want to find yourself with your finger hovering over the shutter release button, waiting for the perfect moment to flip the mirror on your DSLR and capture an image full of emotion and grandeur, you will be able to find any number of photography tours to take you there. Great photos can be found anywhere; you just need a tour guide who can take care of the details to get you there.

If you are interested in learning more about choosing the right photography tour or workshop, check out this article. Once you know what you are looking for, review the listings on our Tour and Workshop Calendar to find the right trip for you!