Photography Holidays, your experiences, insights and recommendations

I've had the good fortune over the last few years to attend a few photographic holiday trips, hosted by different parties.

They have varied in size (1 to 1, through to multiple models and photographers), duration (long weekend to just over a week), location (Europe, and Western USA) and cost.

On the whole, all have been fantastic experiences. There was one organisation that I'd not rush to book with again, but that was primarily down to weak communications from the host (an overseas organisation).

The main advantages for me is that I don't have the opportunities nor time to location scout. So utilising those that have the time or already have the knowledge is great.

Regarding finances, I've always gone with those that already have a good reputation. And have always felt confident that monies have been safe. Indeed there is one that has held a deposit for me for over 3 years (pandemic cancelled trip) as we've never been able to align dates till recently.

Can only recommend that you do some due diligence where you can for your own confidence.

The main negative, as far as I'm concerned, is that your not sure who the other photographers are. Most I'd happily work alongside / with again. A minority I'd rather not, but they are the exception.

Feel free to DM if you'd like details of those who's events I've travelled on, or any other specific questions.

I used to do long weekends to Normandy but post Covid the ferry services to Cherbourg have changed and there is no fast return ferry from Portsmouth. Always found models willing to go on a TF basis if transport and accommodation were paid. Stayed in a Gite owned by a British photographer, who did all the driving and obviously joined the shoot. I'm sure if you were looking at a longer stay the long ferry time would not be an issue. Loved the Gite and the village has a Trotting course, so a great fun evening out too. 

I guess it's like anything- check references and professionalism for the event you are thinking of going on to be sure you are investing in the right event.

Check the people organising it know what they are doing, have experience under their belt etc. These days it's easy to bang up a fancy looking promo video and promise the world- charge a few hundred quid and think you can run a mega event with no experience because others make it look easy. It's not easy.

There are people out there running very low cost events that I am sure are fine to attend. I can't understand how many actually make a profit from running events but some I guess do it for fun, which is fine- but not sustainable in the long run, obviously.

I have hosted Artemisian for many years now. Faced many battles (and still do) with the loss of my partner Iain who used to host them with me and big changes with assistants helping me over the years but I do pride myself in running some of the best and highly regarded all inclusive holidays out there. Versatility, personal touches, keeping it real, safe space for all with great communication, honesty and integrity. 

I have hosted month long events (week long trips with 4 photographers maximum per group) but also cater for 1-2-1 (smaller) trips too. I'm off to Lanzarote this December for example and for £475 a day shared with one other you can fly to Lanzarote and I do... absolutely everything else :)

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If you know you really can't work well with others or share time without getting frustrated- don't book a group event, invest a little more and book a 1-2-1. Know what you want to get from an event and ask questions to make sure it's for you.

Some events- if you are flexible on dates- can fit you into a group that might suit you better (style wise) so it's also worth an ask. I always share who joins the events and create group chats for us so we can get to know each other, sort flights and hotels pre event too.

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Cost varies. Everything is going up. Villa's that used to cost me £7,000 are now quoting me almost double for the same time away. A van that used to cost me £1,000 is costing me £4,000 etc. I do not run cheap events but for what you get? They are great value. I know photographers that have blown £10,000 on a week camping up in Scotland shooting landscapes- no food included, no wine, no en suite...

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Due to some more upheaval for me this year I need to refocus and rethink Artemisian again. I want to focus on smaller, shorter events during 2025 so this will also open us up to photographers that perhaps can't commit to week long events, and the cost of those.

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For me and Artemisian the goal has always been to strike a harmonious balance between holiday and photography- being as creative as you can, working as a team and enjoying your time away. Sitting round the pool sharing stories, going out wine tasting, drinking coffee round the breakfast table at 5am with bleary eyes but knowing it will be SO worth it when we see the sunrise.

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Like anything in life, find someone with genuine passion for what they do and you will most likely be in the right place. :)

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Hope my rambles made some kind of sense.

:)

What a great thread! Artemis, your insights are truly inspiring—this is what open, transparent advice looks like. Thank you!

I’m hoping soon to be offering personalised, one-on-one or two-on-one workshops in the picturesque Dordogne region of South West France. My barn conversion / Gite will be ready next year, the darkroom and studio are already fully operational and fully equipped.

I’m diving deep into analog photography, focusing on historic and alternative processes. We'll explore the beauty of wet plate collodion, Film photography will also be a key part, giving photographers the tactile joy of working with different film sizes and types and developing in the darkroom. Additionally, we’ll experiment with alternative printing techniques like platinum and albumen printing, both known for their exquisite tonal range and archival qualities. The aim is each participant will leave with a set of their own handcrafted prints.

I’ll be blending this analog approach with both model and landscape photography, but every workshop will be custom-tailored to individual interests and goals. 

I understand this is a niche market—these traditional techniques aren’t for everyone—but that’s exactly the point. The goal isn’t to get rich, but to share my passion for analog photography with others who appreciate its beauty and craftsmanship. 

I’ve been wondering, though: Should I market the experience, with every evening featuring fine dining, there are plenty of Michelin-starred restaurants around here or as a more affordable, home cooking retreat? What do you think?

I have been on a lot of such events but organised by models I have known well. They have ranged from Wonderful to superb.They are always expensive but you get what you pay for.

They have ranged across all sorts of locations. The last was central Italy. The next is Southern Portugal.

The central feature of all of them was in taking photographs with the holiday bit being secondary.

One fascinating aspect of these events is that some of the time I am shooting stuff that I would never shoot in my normal programme but I just dive in and see what happens because I enjoy myself so much.

Obviously, I don't go on trips where all the images we will be producing are all not what I would want.

The Covid time has changed everything though. I missed out on several trips that were cancelled during that time and some that I have done in the past I would struggle to justify now, even if they actually took place. See Artemis' costings above

And goodness knows what it will be like when we all have our pips squeezed until they sqeek!

Photography trips was something I always wanted to do but when I started to look going back 14 years ago not many was available apart from one I knew of with a guy called Steve, but he didn't have many spaces and it was always full each year with returners, back 11 years ago I had a photographer who was a regular at my studio who wanted to look into doing trips which we began to look together but found I put a lot of time into it and he just faded away saying he didn't have the time but I now had the bug for it.

So back in 2013 I started to look around to find best options which would give a large variety of shooting options, beach, derelict etc and flew out to several countries to start scouting, not only that finding villa's that was suitable to host models and photographers in too, but fell in love with the Algarve so back in 2014 was my first trip, this was a learning curve and everyone came back with stunning images and got on so well.

Now I've run trips to Paris, Amsterdam, Budapest but my main trip each year is the Algarve every September, even now I always try and better things in some ways and the villas I now use to host them are huge, this allows me to take a good variety of 7 models allowing photographers to work 1-1 with them, I've had photographers book as far away as Australia come along too. My job is to make sure everyone has a great time and gets along, Don't get me wrong as with all trips something may crop up that needs sorting but It's usually something easily solvable and I'm on top of it right away.

I think part of the reason I return my trips here is because not only does it work well for everyone being local to beaches, the town etc but I've also gained a lot of Portuguese friends who now also help me in making everyone feel welcome and they look after us with anything we need, but the trips are about the social side too and so many new friends have been made.

I could go on and on really but you're welcome to talk to me about it and I'll be honest and tell you like it is, and feel free to look at my holiday page on here or link to my website too (both on my profile)

But I think you need to think about what kind of trip you're looking for, more a city or beach trip, look at how much time they have put into the trip, have locations been scouted, do they have a plan for each day, how they can help you with flights or transfers, what's included in the price etc and take it from their.

Hope you find what your looking for though and once you've been you'll want to do it again. 

I've been on several holidays run by Artemis Fauna and they have been, without exception, superb.  Her locations are well-researched, the accommodation splendid and the trips are as successful socially as they are photographically.  On one occasion I brought another model out with me, too.

I'm also shortly about to embark on another trip to Budapest with Aurora. - these are different in character, being one on one rather than in a group. The fact that this will be my third visit probably says as much as anything else I could say.

I'm also booked on the trip to Chamonix next year run by AshleyAshton - my first time shooting in snow!

As time goes on I've had a hankering to have more input to who, what and where I shoot, so I've organised several trips abroad taking a model with me. That's something else worth considering if you need more flexibility.

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP. STUDIO said

What a great thread! Artemis, your insights are truly inspiring—this is what open, transparent advice looks like. Thank you!

I’m hoping soon to be offering personalised, one-on-one or two-on-one workshops in the picturesque Dordogne region of South West France. My barn conversion / Gite will be ready next year, the darkroom and studio are already fully operational and fully equipped.

I’m diving deep into analog photography, focusing on historic and alternative processes. We'll explore the beauty of wet plate collodion, Film photography will also be a key part, giving photographers the tactile joy of working with different film sizes and types and developing in the darkroom. Additionally, we’ll experiment with alternative printing techniques like platinum and albumen printing, both known for their exquisite tonal range and archival qualities. The aim is each participant will leave with a set of their own handcrafted prints.

I’ll be blending this analog approach with both model and landscape photography, but every workshop will be custom-tailored to individual interests and goals. 

I understand this is a niche market—these traditional techniques aren’t for everyone—but that’s exactly the point. The goal isn’t to get rich, but to share my passion for analog photography with others who appreciate its beauty and craftsmanship. 

I’ve been wondering, though: Should I market the experience, with every evening featuring fine dining, there are plenty of Michelin-starred restaurants around here or as a more affordable, home cooking retreat? What do you think?

This sounds interesting to me! Have you considered looking at modern alternative processes too (photosensitive etching, Rockaloid etc.)?

Re: food, if I may offer one thought based on my own life experience: don't make too much of the food situation.

Loads of us photographers are at least a bit neurodiverse, and the overlap with ARFID (sensory issues/restrictive diets/food fears) can be noticeable. I am at this point in my life very much in control of the sensory/texture issues that truly blighted my life until my late teens, but I know lots of geeky/artistic people who have not been so lucky.

I don't mean to say "avoid exotic food" because that's not it -- it was very different food that helped me most, actually! But fear about not liking someone's food choices is something that has never quite left me. I know creative people who will cancel a meal if they are afraid they won't find something they can eat without anxiety.

Make it clear that there are choices around food and I think you're going to be onto something.

(It's perhaps a particularly British thing to be unreasonably nervous about French food, as it goes, so you cover both bases ;-)

Edited by Unfocussed Mike

I am on my phone and I dont think mentions work for me but I recommend Keira Lavelle - not only are her UK shoots, locations and sets amazing, I know that she also organises amazing trips abroad (I want to come along just for the amazing food she cooks for everyone! :-D ) She is brilliant!

Hey Allesandro , great post!

I am Ashley, long time model of a whopping 15 years (HELPS!!!) haha... no doubt you've likely heard my name or laughed at my "sometimes" critical responses to our wonderful community of forum posters , on here.. i try to keep out of it .. (honestly!) 

You may or may not be aware of my photographic trips but thought i'd jump on a and share a little info about me and the trips i offer!

For starters, there is an abundance of trips out here already.. they all look pretty exciting to be honest. 

Iceland, Portugal (Algarve -which i adore), Lanzarote .. the list goes on...

How do you know which one to choose ?

As you mention, for security its always worth going with someone well known. The references speak for themselves and as Artemis mentions above, it takes alot of work , capitals!!   "ALOT" of work goes into the trips, making sure they're secure, models are well sought out and venues, locations are scouted. It takes alot of background work, constant admin feed and attention to detail throughout the year! 

Trips.. the good ones are usually more expensive. This is because the model has pre scouted and is offering a very good package as is paying the models fees etc , to give a good all round business friendly environment. I havent heard particuarly great things about the lower cost holidays. Generally, models are not mainstream, inexperienced or are not getting paid at all, so usually are there for the holiday , rather than putting in the work! 

Despite the prices, trips are generally more cost effective for photographers . Allowing a greater opportunity for the client to shoot multiple models at once, with the additional holiday experience and all the little nitty bits are covered.. e.g transfers.. as a combination share price, even with the hosts costs involved , it would likely cost you triple the amount to achieve a trip of the same standard independently . Hence, why it works ! 

The community spirit, shared interest ...experience is the BEST! How often are we sat amongst friends or colleagues and cannot disclose our interests and hobbies !! Even if you' re a professional sometimes, the conversation is just a little bit awkward... and well, they just don't understand the vibe haha! 

My trips... 

I generated WanderlustGetaways . 

As a self employed person, i had to learn how to use both the winter and the summer to my advantage! 

I love the sun, but i also love the snow. But not so much in the UK! 

In less than 2 weeks, our team will be out in Ayia Napa Cyprus , with an average of 26 degrees.. Beautiful natural light to shoot in and with temperatures warm enough to entice our models to get on their bikinis , in November! Just before christmas ! We will enjoy great food and great company for 10 days !! All models are well scouted and come as reliable and professional models!

Flash forward to March and we're extending our winter period to Chamonix, French Alps... but again, not like the Uk, sat in traffic and counting down the days until summer starts to breathe.. 

No, we're getting active! The team are going out to Chamonix for a breathe of fresh alpine air!  We will be shooting in the most photogenic towns, playing in the snow in the highest mountains and creating some art nude in most beautiful natural surroundings. Words cannot describe how the experience makes you feel. You are alive and you are pushed to test your skills in all sorts of envornments with the trip. Not to mention, we are finishing off our event with a luxury outing to the outdoor spa, heated pools over looking the maginificent Mont Blanc! 

Its as every-bit-as glamourous are the sunny destinations, if not more... 

Again, we've carefully selected some of the best models to attend this trip. Selected in terms of versatality and offering both the best of fashion and art nude! 

We are currently SOLD OUT until March 2025, but are working as quickly as possible to get the mid year trips anonounced.

We are hosting both uk and european events and dates will be released shortly. 

Our next trip, available to book on as " early bird" is Cyprus 2025! Which offers a 5 % extra discount! 

With models ... Aurelia Karolina, Layana Devis, Sigrife and our 4th suprise model !! 

Please feel free to follow our page WanderlustGetaways where all the trips will be announced. 

As for photographers attending in groups, we like to check all our photographers out. Mainly for the safety of our models, but also because we are spending a great deal of time with them. 

We have a strict policy to protect everyone on the trip and those who do not come reccomended or have adequate references will not be given a place on the trip.  

Models also need down time, and we like to respect that, therefore we brief everyone on arrival.

We also appreciate photographers need time to concentrate on their shoot and not everyone works at the same pace. This is why we offer alot of 1 to 1 shooting and try to avoid any "over shoulder" shots. 

Our "downtime" is what it is, models like to update their instagrams and photographers like to edit, as long as we all come together in the evening for a lovely meal , we are very much a freindly and organised environment. 

Kindest regards 

Ashley

Edited by AshleyAshton

I love the idea of photo holidays…..just the thought of the kind of quality and detail Artemisian Luxury Photographic Holidays provides takes me to dreamland.  It’s like looking at brochures for luxury cruises.  Such bliss.  Then I remember….

You are stuck with a group of people not of your choice who you may or may not like for a short or (heaven forfend) long period.  The things you enjoy on holiday - the locals’ wine really cheap wine choices, the most off-the-wall local food - may not be available as they don’t suit the rest of the ‘team’.  (I am a rarity on PP being non-neurodiverse [neurohomogenous? neuronormal?] and love the non-routine, ‘out there’ experiences available when not at home).

So I dream of my perfect photo holiday- but doubt it exists so I will ever book one.  (Sobs quietly)

Carlos said

(I am a rarity on PP being non-neurodiverse [neurohomogenous? neuronormal?] and love the non-routine, ‘out there’ experiences available when not at home).

I didn't say don't do it. I'm just saying: making a specific feature out of luxury dining or gastronomy on a photography holiday might be narrowing the customer base.

I like my food now and I eat broadly -- I may even now be considerably less fussy than average because of all the work I've had to put in to pass as normal!

But if I saw a thing like this making a big deal out of the finest restaurants, luxury food experiences, eating food you're not used to etc., I'd likely feel the twinge of anxiety and back out of going on a course I might already feel was pushing the limits of my experimentalism. It's not something that the average person books onto after all.

By all means serve good food and point out restaurants, but if someone is managing all of my day time activities, especially in quite close quarters, I might need them not to manage where I eat quite so keenly. I might just want to eat quietly, gather my thoughts and rest.

Even if that just involves me making my own selection of a place to eat.

(IYKYK)

Edited by Unfocussed Mike

Mention made earlier of Keira Lavelle's trips abroad.

I have been on several and going on one in a few weeks.

The food is always good, but then, I eat anything and she always scouts terrific locations.

A lot of people have great problems with the food they are willing and able to eat and I have always been surprised how well organisers have catered for what seem to me to be strange fads.

You go with her to take photographs and she always does her best to kill me in the process.

I started these trips with the previously mentioned Steve and since then I have been all over the world.

I can only think of one photographer and one model that was less than OK on all these trips organised by various people...models and studio owners.

I would suggest that anyone who has not been on these trips research them and make sure that the sort of shooting that you will get is what appeals to you.

I have never organised my own trips as I am extremely lazy and just want to be pointed in the right direction.

Great Post because it is becoming a "Hot Topic" and there seem to be a lot photography holidays on offer these days. This is in sharp contrast with my initial days on PurplePort where it was only one Studio owner from Yorkshire (Steve) organising photographic holidays abroad. How much things have changed.

It is another wet, grey, cold morning here in the North West and having just returned from Sunny Spain, I am also thinking about quality holidays and the prospect of photographic holidays.

The short answer is "Yes" I would recommend it.

But reading your profile, they are few important points. Deposits need to be paid in advance and these could vary from £500 to £800. So it is important that you look at trustworthy people with experience and lots of positive references. You also said that you are not usually able to plan too far ahead and some photographic holidays are already almost "Sold Out" for November 2025

My experience has been very positive, in fact a "game changer". The reason for this is that without even you planning, you do learn a lot. One of the most common topics of conversation is of course photography and different techniques and camera settings. It is interesting to hear from other photographers and challenge yourself to try different things. Sharing few days with other photographers is like sharing a wealth of experience. Feeling refresh and feeling passionate about photography.

I understand that some people do not feel comfortable paying a deposit but without a cashflow these trips could not be organised as they also need to pay deposits for villas and other things. I do not find paying a deposit an issue as I have booked my trips with very professional people and very well known to the PurplePort community.

Planning 12 months in advance can be an issue but the popular photographic holidays get fully booked very quickly.

I have done coast, city and I am booked for mountain, Chamonix next March with WanderlustGetaways

Last year I was part of a group in Cyprus organised by Zeus photoshoot and was an amazing experience.

These holidays are very well organised. Attention to the detail is paid. The shooting schedule has precision but you can be flexible if you want to skip some hours and have a rest instead. Attention is paid to level of fitness, health issues, emergency contact numbers, diet requirement, luxury accommodation, transfers from airport, sunrise/sunset times, scouted locations ..... everything.

The choice of models is something that I do take into account but requires flexibility because sometimes things are beyond control, like booked models cancelling the last minute and alternative model having to be found at short notice. Accidents ... sadly they do happened (we had a serious one in Sicily - June 2024). It require a positive attitude and problem solving mentality.

What I got from these trips is priceless, brilliant photos, new friends, new models, holidays, luxury accommodation, great locations, great food, great social time, more photographic passion, new photographic skills .... and so far a much better weather than the UK weather.

Already they are suggestions of models and photographers offering photographic holidays and I could recommend them 100%

Personally I have attended events created by Zeus photoshoot and WanderlustGetaways and they are 100%

Well, this has been my experience. Definitely a good one.

FabioRoso said

I have done coast, city and I am booked for mountain, Chamonix next March with WanderlustGetaways

I'll see you there, then!  :-)