Travel Photography Tours
Introduction
To go on a photo tour with me is a real life experience. It is following the travel photographer that I am in a unique adventure that leads you to be in contact with local people and very often off the beaten track. I will be pleased to introduce you to countries and cities that fascinate me and their traditions, customs, festivals, cultures.
It is also, and mainly, learning the basics of photography … but not the basics you might think. We do not talk much about the technique (settings, exposure etc.). By intensively studying the aspects of framing, composition, light and moments, you will understand how to quickly improve the impact of your photographs. Than I will help you to question the meaning of your images and the photographic process implemented, and you will finally understand what makes a good photograph.
There will be a before and after “Travel with Greg” with a real awareness of your photographic vision. You will love the trip and come back with a fresh look at your photographic work.
I also want to help you become more independent travellers and so you could go anywhere in the world with greater confidence.
By accepting only very small groups (1 to 5 people) I really want to give my trips a very personalised dimension to the experience.
Description of a photo tour
- It is a mix between shootings in the streets, image reviews and theoretical explanations
- We take pictures every day and spend most of the day photographing and discovering different places.
- We will shoot in small groups, from 1 to 5 people maximum. So we’ll never be too many to take the same subject in photo. I can easily follow you and give you instant feedback while you’re shooting
- Before the workshop we will discuss together practical aspects of the trip: flights, visas, accommodation, clothing and travel equipment and photographic equipment.
- We will choose together the accommodation best suited to your needs and the needs of the workshop and each participant will be invited to book by himself. Ideally we will all sleep in the same hotel. This makes the organization much easier. I usually prefer affordable mid-range accommodations. If anyone wants more comfort or luxury it will be necessary that the hotel in question is in 5 min with foot of where the rest of the group will be.
- All workshops start on the morning of the first day and end on the evening of the last day. It is therefore necessary to arrive on the spot one day before the beginning and to leave the day after the last day.
- Those who have reserved their places for a workshop must wait until the workshop is confirmed before taking their tickets.
- I also take pictures and I’ll always be with you in the field. This gives you the opportunity to observe me and see how I work.
- I observe how you photograph and I will give you advices instantly.
- Special importance is given to reviews of your work and photo critics. We will do this most often in the evening back to the hotel (unless we decide to shoot at night). Photo critics is one of the best ways to progress quickly by understanding what needs to be corrected and what can be improved.
- At the end of the workshop we will select together your most beautiful images and we will edit them together using the Lightroom software.
- We will also study some of the images I took. I will explain to you how I made the photograph and the mental process that I had to realize it. You will learn what makes a good photograph, the different approaches that one can have. I will focus on teaching composition, framing and light.
- Our main focus is street photography, travel and documentary photography. We will therefore be very focused on the human aspects of the places we will travel to.
- You will be integrated into a private facebook group where you can interact with other participants and share your photos.
- The main objective of the workshop is to understand how to make better images while traveling. This is not solving technical problems related to a camera or editing software.
WHY to travel with Greg ?
Meet the locals
Meeting the locals is one of the main goal of my trips. I want you to be in touch with people, to interact with them and to take beautiful pictures of them. I want you to come back with new friends ! Photography is an exchange and it is important for me to give a lot of time in sharing moments and learning form the people we meet.
In all my travel photography workshops I give a big attention in learning new cultures and traditions and understanding new philosophies of life. We will of course visit historical monuments because knowing the history is very important but most of the time we’ll be in touch and between the inhabitants of the countries we are discovering. Making new friends is the best way of discovering a country !
Freedom
Another important aspect of my travels is to keep a certain freedom in the organisation of each days. I want to be able to follow the flow of the moment, to accept invitations, to enter doors that are opened, to go to some unpredicted events.
I will always leave the initial plans flexible to let you enjoy the present moment.
Follow me but feel free like you were traveling on your own.
Small group
I only go with a small group of maximum 5 persons. According to me it is a crucial choice to keep the possibility to meet locals and keep some freedom.
How to get some intimacy with people when you are a group of 30 tourists ? How to get invited into a house when the group is more than 10 persons ?
With a small group traveling with me we can still get chances to share some unique moments with the people we encounter.
And more I can easily interact with each of you and see how you are shooting and give you personal feedbacks
A unique experience
More than just a travel photography trip, I want you to experience the country we’re traveling in. I will guide you and bring you to places that are never on the list of travel agencies. I want to show you what gives me emotions, what I find unique, beautiful or sad. I want to bring you into the heart of life. I don’t want you to only see, visit or photograph… I want you to experience it !
Discover without limits
Everything can be interesting to experience and to photograph. That’s why I love to listen to the wishes of the participants of my tours in order to go where they want to. Entering a factory, documenting the work of an NGO, exploring a slum, visiting a museum or a red light district…. Everything can be done if we don’t put our lives in danger. Let’s enjoy the diversity and richness of this amazing world !
Off the beaten tracks !
Usually there is a lot to do and see in places that no travel guides are talking about !
I like to discover new streets and squares and go to authentic places and markets etc… Anyway you are traveling with me to photograph the common life and soul of a country not the touristic monuments.
Follow a professional photographer
This is probably the main reason why you’re here …
During my trips I’ll share with you everything. I won’t keep any secret. I’m here to share with you my experience and I’ll let you ask me all the questions you’ve got.
I’ll watch you taking pictures and give you my advices. Most of my travels are focused on portrait and street photography. I want you to start taking beautiful pictures of the humans you meet during your adventures and not only landscapes. I will show you how I develop my images in Adobe Lightroom and I will review your images to give you some feedback.
Of course I’ll teach you the basics of photography and how to use your camera for those who aren’t still very comfortable with it.
Local assistant and translator
During every trip I try to be accompanied by a local person to help in any situation and to translate in order to make it easier to speak with people. He/she will always be happy to assist you and help you in communicating with the locals.
Follow an experienced traveler
Traveling is a real passion. Being on the road always brings me a incredible joy and happiness. I got the chance to travel more than 60 countries and went back many times to a lot of them. Among all the countries I’ve been I visited some really remote places and also a few post-conflict areas. Examples include Iranian Kurdistan, Baloutchistan, Nagorno Karabagh (between Armenia and Azerbaijan), the Pankisi Gorge in Georgian Caucasia, the tribals in Pakistan, Andaman-Nicobar Islands, Bosnia, the Palestinian territories, Kashmir, Lebanon… to name a few.
I’ll be happy to share with you my experience of traveling the world.
Taste food like locals
One of the great joy of traveling is to taste new delicious specialities. I hate loosing time while sitting for hours in a restaurant when I know that the best food is right outside in the street made by local people. It’s always fresher and taste better !
During my tours I will always encourage you to eat and discover new tastes and new specialities.
If you have some food allergy or if you have a special diet we’ll always be able to adapt.
Meet my friends
I know a lot of people in each country I am traveling to. And I love to invite some of my friends to meet you as well. Again traveling for me is all about sharing moments and enjoying life with others. So I love to do that during my travel photography tours as well !
It will always be a good way to learn more about the place you’re visiting.
Not for tourists
It’s not a touristic tour and we are not going from one spot, click a picture to another one, clic another pic. We are not jumping in an air-con bus and go from one touristic place to another. We don’t visit the tourists highlights or museums.
Costs and payments
Costs :
The price includes the photography workshop tuition, my guidance and availability 24h each days of the workshop and the time spend on the workshop preparation. I am taking a lot of time to search for interesting places, organize the whole trip, and to correspond with the participants before the trip.
The participants are responsible for all other expenses. Flight tickets, accommodation, food, visas and other travel
Payments :
In order to avoid all the bank transfer fees, it is better you make a full payment. As soon as you make the payment I’ll book you on the photo trip.
Send me a message and ask me if the workshop still has places left before ordering the payment.
You can pay via bank transfer only in euros or USD. All bank transfer fees are to be covered by the participant.
Please wait that I confirm the workshop before taking your flight tickets.
Cancellation policy :
- If you cancel your trip more than 180 days before the first day of the trip, the total price will be refund to you minus the bank commissions charges.
- If you cancel your trip between 180 days and 90 days before the start of the trip, you will get 50% of the total price back minus the bank commissions charges.
- If you cancel your trip less than 90 days before the beginning of the trip, 100% of the total price will be charged.
Travel insurance :
I recommend you to always have a travel and health insurance and all required vaccinations. It’s better to be in good health when going to my workshops.
Responsibilities :
Gregory Kauffmann is not the organiser of your travel and is not responsible in any cases. I am not responsible for personal accidents or health issues during the workshop.