"I do hear some horror stories!" — Are photography workshops worth it?

Before I express my own opinion, I will lay my cards on the table, I run workshops and have done so for over twenty years. I have led workshops for the Nikon School and a few years ago now, ran the official LEE Filters workshops. I currently run my own one-to-one and small group workshops, from a single day to ten days in length, both in the UK, Europe and North America.

So, I am of course, biased. Obviously, I think my workshops are worth it, but on listening to some of my clients (they are not just my clients, they attend workshops led my many other photographers and companies as well), I do hear of some horror stories.

So what is a workshop, as opposed to a photographic tour? On a photographic tour you can expect to be taken to some great locations and then pretty much left to get on with whatever you want to shoot with little or indeed, no input from the tour leader. The leader may well be an expert on the region or locality but not necessarily a top photographer. If this is what you want from a trip this is ideal, and of course there is something to be said about being left to get on with image taking with no one standing over your shoulder waiting to pounce at the slightest mistake.

A workshop should be far more than just a tour of locations. In my view, there should be an educational element to the trip. This could be in the form of evening lectures about technique and post-production or on location, hands-on, one to one tuition. Simple guidance in the field, a gentle prod in the right direction, creative ideas that can be applied there and then are all part of an evolving learning process.

Post-workshop follow-ups such as written critiques of the client’s favourite images from a trip have proved popular as has continuing long-term contact for general advice and guidance. This is support and education, the basis of any workshop.

But here is what I do not understand. Photographers who shoot their own images on a workshop, and there’s plenty of them, just look at any social media platform. If they are shooting their own work, who is keeping an eye on the clients? Who is checking that they are ok and that they are getting ‘the’ shot?

As a working professional, I know that if I am concentrating on getting an image, I do not have time for anyone else, I am blinkered and focussed, I just want to get the best possible image I can and I become totally absorbed in the moment. It is why I rarely shoot on a workshop. I do shoot every now and then, but this is to show the clients how I see the view, what technique I have applied and hopefully inspire the them.

I recently heard a story from a client who attended a very expensive overseas workshop. Having set her tripod and camera up for what she thought was a great shot, the workshop leader then moved them so that he could take his version of the same image. I have heard numerous stories of photographers leaving their group to go and shoot their own images, offering no input to any form of creative technique.

All workshops and tours will have their own unique parameters. What is and isn’t included? Location transport, accommodation, meals, tuition, loan of kit etc. Some workshops and tours will aim to keep the group together, sharing meal times with the whole group, including the tutors. Others will provide the accommodation but find the tutors staying somewhere completely different and in some cases you have to sort accommodation and meals yourself and are merely given a location at which to meet at a specified time.

Booking a tour or workshop can be a minefield and you need to do your research well and decide what you want to get out of a trip. A recommendation is probably the best starting point. Speak to someone who has been away with a particular tutor, leader, or company.

But be warned. Even well-known photographic companies that advertise with phrases such as ‘as featured in’  a certain national newspaper are not all they are cracked up to be. Do your research and even track down and speak to the tutor who is leading the trip. Find out as much as you can and decide, do you want a photographic tour or do you want tuition and guidance on a photographic workshop?

I believe photographic workshops are worth it, just choose wisely, and don't be afraid to get in touch and ask how the course will work for you.

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