Photography Holidays, your experiences, insights and recommendations

HauserBrubaker said

I have now been fortunate enough to go on 3 Photography trips abroad. All with Photography Holidays . In 2023 I travelled to The Algarve Portugal, my first trip of this kind. It was a week long trip comprising of 5 days of shooting and taking of around 2500 photos. Each day is different, using different locations and covering fashion, Lingerie and some Art Nude. Working alongside fellow Photographers and experienced Models, the whole week is a great social experience. Gaining knowledge and understanding from both Models and Photographers, this is a great time to share ideas and create great work. The days are structured and easy to follow. After the day is over, you have the opportunity to socialise both at the amazingly large villa and also on the evenings out to dinner.

I followed up this trip with another in Budapest, Hungary. A very different experience within such a cultural city. With amazing locations around an incredible city.

This September saw me return again to The Algarve. Another amazing trip, an opportunity to meet again with old friends and meet new ones.

I would thoroughly recommend anyone to go on one of Photography Holidays trips. I will be definitely be going again. Just a great experience to practice your photography with the company of talented individuals on both sides of the camera.

A great time away collaborating with great people.

Totally agree with this. As I highlighted I have been 3 times on Photography Holiday events. Tried and tested so works very well. 

Particularly the group of people I have met have become 'creative friends', the Models have been superb, Martin is always positive, helpful, cares about his product.

Artemis Fauna said

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.

:)

All very good points and very well said.

I had wanted to attend a model photography holiday for a while but wasnt really sure where to start and who to trust.  In the end I was persuaded by a model who had been on one of these trips personally and said what a great time it was, both for the models and the photographers.  The trip I booked was a well established one to the Algarve, organised by Martin Newton Photography and I had a really great time!  For me it combined the right balance of highly varied photography opportunities, with plenty of holiday fun and relaxation.  Everyone on the trip was great, offered loads of advice, and the models were outstanding - really hard working, creative and fun.  The best thing really was that all the work such as the logistics of finding locations, accommodation, transport  etc was all handled by the organisers, leaving me to concentrate on getting some amazing images.  I am already looking forwards to going back next year, and would recommend the experience to anyone who is considering it.