Bill Maynard

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Wildlife Photography Tours and Workshops:
All Things Are Not Created Equal

Wildlife photography workshops or wildlife tours are a great way to get up close and personal with wildlife that you might otherwise never have an opportunity to shoot.  However these wildlife tours are not cheap and therefore you will want to do your homework before you place your deposit.  That’s precisely why I created this section of the website so I could help to point fellow wildlife photographers to quality wildlife tours and workshops and minimize the risk of spending a whole lot of coin only to be disappointed.  The tours and workshops reviewed herein are offered from people I have worked with in the field and/or I have been on their wildlife tours or workshops and therefore you can feel comfortable in trusting that they offer a quality service to their customers.

As you may gather from this opening paragraph not all wildlife workshops and tours are created equal.  Like most things in life, some are great, some are good and some are let’s just say not worth your time and money.

First off I think it is important to make the distinction between a wildlife photography workshop and a wildlife photography tour so your expectations are set correctly:

Wildlife Photography Tours

The guides role on a wildlife photography tour is to lead you or the group to the intended wildlife subject you’ll be shooting however it is assumed that you know what to do from that point forward. Photography instruction, post-editing workflows, image critiques, etc. are not typically included so if that is what you are after you’d be best served to sign up for a photography workshop.

Wildlife Photography Workshops

Unlike wildlife photography tours, wildlife workshops do include instruction. You should expect your guide to be assisting you on location with improving your capabilities as a wildlife photographer like exposure compensations, camera angles, choosing pleasing backgrounds, how to approach the subject you are shooting, etc. And once the days shooting wraps up there is typically a session to review your images where your guide will make suggestions for improvement. This may also include a review of editing workflows in Adobe Photoshop, Elements or Lightroom so you’ll also learn how to process your images which is an important aspect for every wildlife photographer.

These important distinctions can save you much disappointment if you think to ask your guide whether they offer a tour or a workshop before you sign up. As you read my reviews I intentionally call out whether the offering is a tour or a workshop. If you are just beginning your journey as a wildlife photographer I highly recommend you begin with a photography workshop as there is no better forum to learn the basics. And as a last word of advice if you are just starting out, before you register for a workshop spend the time to have a working knowledge of your camera, its menu’s and the basics of photography so when you are on location you can spend more time shooting bears or owls and less time crawling through menu’s.

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