Choosing the best photographic workshop or tour

by James Clark
(USA)

With so many companies offering a wide selection of workshops, tours and safaris worldwide, choosing the best photography adventure can be a tedious and time consuming task.

Furthermore, not all websites are well indexed by search engines, resulting in great opportunities going overlooked.

We have put together a set of 12 guidelines that will make this process easier, fast and nonetheless efficient for you.

1. Save Time. Your first instinct would send you to search engines, querying by specific keywords, browsing lots of websites and delving into each one of them in search of the information and details you're after.

You can save precious time, by browsing hundreds of photography workshops and tours worldwide on the single largest directory on the net at http://www.allphotoadventures.com. If you haven't done so yet, this is the right time to do it.

2. Identify your goals. Take the time and write down what you want to learn and achieve. Read workshops/tours descriptions and itineraries. Each of our workshop pages, will give you plenty of information.

3. Workshop or Tour. It is vital that you understand the difference between a photographic workshop and a photo tour, to avoid a disappointing experience. We highly encourage you to read our article The differences between photographic workshops and tours on our website.

4. Destination. Whether it’s a workshop or tour, think about places that inspire you most either local or international. Our search page enables you to search geographically on a map and review the number of workshops/tours in each country and state. When travelling abroad, check overall political climate to make sure you're not travelling to a desitnation that is unstable and/or unsafe.

5. Cost. To narrow down your search you will have to determine what you are willing to pay. Many workshops/tours are held abroad and you should expect additional extra travel charges (such as flight, insurance, local transport to meeting point etc).

6. Filter. Once you have narrowed down your selection, carefully review workshop/tour pages. In the mean time you can save all the pages that interest you in a special favorites list online. Register for free and take advantage of this great feature!

7. Knowledge and Experience. Many workshops/tours specify the level of knowledge(beginner, intermediate, advanced) that is expected by participants. Make sure to select the one that best suits your technical knowledge and experience.

8. Participants Ratio. Unless you're looking for a one-on-one tuition, every workshop/tour is held in a group. Some groups are small and comprise of no more than four or five participants and some groups are as large as a dozen or so. Some workshops/tours are lead by one instructor and some by two. All these factors determine the amount of attention one can expect to receive.

9. Testimonials. Check testimonials and previous participant's reviews and ratings. Recommendation by people who have attended that workshop/tour can greatly help you come to a decision. Check our reviews section for more information.

10. Instructor. It is very important that you feel comfortable about the instructor that will guide you several days and even weeks. Research him, check his expertise, its portfolio and ask yourself whether it inspires you, whether its vision appeals to you and whether you'd like to take similliar pictures.

11. Company. Evaluate the company's website which is linked from each workshop's page. In the website you will find further information regarding its activities, vison, leaders, years of activity and contact details.

12. Final Decision. After you have made up your mind, take a day or two to think through so you're comfortable with your decision.