Exploring photography independently is beneficial, but attending professional workshops offers focused learning in specific genres like landscapes or portraits. These workshops, including extended tours to stunning global locations, provide practical experience and skill enhancement. I’ve curated a list of the best photography workshops for 2024 in the USA, Canada, UK, and Australia. Remember, spaces are often limited and fill up fast, so if you’re interested, act quickly.
Best Photography Workshops in 2024
Best Photography Workshops – USA
The USA is a sprawling country with an unbelievable range of unique landscapes, cities, and wildlife and there are some fantastic photography workshops in different states. Whether you fancy exploring Yosemite National Park, braving the harsh weather of Alaska, or heading into cities like Seattle and New York there is something for you.
Slonina Photography – National Park Tours
I have always found the US National Parks to be so incredible and varied, so the workshops Slonina Photography provides look especially enticing. They offer a range of multi-day tours to some of the most renowned national parks in the country including the Arches, Yellowstone, the Everglades, Great Smoky Mountains, and Acadia National Park.
All the tours are between 4-7 days but they sell out fast and already many of the 2024 spaces are gone. Parr admissions are usually included, as are things like boat rides where appropriate. The team who will offer instruction and guidance include John Slonina, Jenny Bowlden, and John Chumack, all of whom are published photographers with a wealth of experience and knowledge.
Jeff Parker – Colorado Wildflowers Photo Tour 2024
Jeff Parker is an accomplished wildlife and nature photographer and has had his work published in numerous sources like the Wildlife Magazine, Wildlife Photographic, and Outdoor Photographer and he uses his passion for these subjects to teach others via a range of US and worldwide long-form photography tours.
One that caught my eye was the Colorado Wildflowers Photo Tour 2024 which offers something different to most of the other available workshops. This concentrates on a specific subject and with small group sizes of no more than 5 people you can expect plenty of attention and tutoring.
The mountain landscapes and fields of wildflowers around Silvertown in Colorado look incredible and Jeff is always there to provide hands-on tutoring and guidance so you can get the best out of this photographic experience.
MPA – US Photo Tours
MPA or the McKay Photography Academy was founded by David and Ally McKay and they have a team of professional instructors for their workshops and tours with decades of experience. If you have never attended a class or course before, these are the best photography workshops as you can book a range of short classes based on specific areas of photography such as Mastering Your Camera and Beginning Editing Adobe Photoshop.
However, if you are looking for something more extensive, MPA offers a range of domestic photography tours in the US heading to locations like Yosemite National Park, Bodie Ghost Town, Yellowstone, and Slot Canyons. These tours are usually 6 days or more so are essentially a complete photography holiday!
Bryan Peterson – US Photography Workshops
Bryan F Peterson is an accomplished photographer with over 35 years of experience and he has worked for many notable companies including Kodak, US, and American Express. He is also the co-founder of The Bryan Peterson School of Photography which offers a range of workshops in 2024 both in the US and worldwide.
Spaces for his workshops fill up incredibly quickly and many 2024 tours are sold out already. However, US destinations include Kodiak in Alaska, Seattle in Washington, Minneapolis, New York City, the Oregon coast, and Tampa Bay in Florida. The US tours are usually 2 days but more remote locations in Kodiak in Alaska are longer.
The workshops cover various types of photography including macro, wide-angle, street photography, and more.
Best Photography Workshops – Canada
Known for its epic landscapes such as the Rockies and vast Northern Territories, Canada is a photographer’s dream – especially for those who love landscape and wildlife photography. Many workshops here center on famous national parks like Banff and Jasper, but there are also wildlife workshops to photograph migratory birds or capture the gorgeous landscapes of Newfoundland.
Mountain Photo Tours – Canadian Photography Workshops
Mountain Photo Tours is for the more adventurous and for those who are looking for exploration and excitement as well as improving their photography skills. The company was created by Nick Fitzhardinge who is a certified guide in Banff National Park and also a professional photographer.
The company has a range of tours specifically in Banff National Park and they range from single-day workshops to multi-day tours. For example, there is the dusk to dawn one-day workshop which allows you to capture stunning images of Banff National Park at night and teaches you the fundamentals of night time photography including how to shoot the stars and Milky Way Galaxy.
Kevin Pepper Photography – Photography Workshops in Canada
Kevin Pepper is a professional photographer who has had his work published worldwide including various Canadian tourism boards and popular photography magazines. This has led him to create a range of workshops, mainly in Canada, but also in some truly remote locations like the northern parts of Finland and the eastern parts of Mongolia.
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For Canadians, he offers ample opportunity to photograph the wildlife the country has to offer in multi-day tours typically lasting 4-5 days. For example, the 2024 Migratory Birds Workshop takes you to Ladner in British Colombia to specifically photograph the migration of Bald Eagles. The tours are incredibly detailed and are aimed more at those who want to become professional wildlife photographers.
Banff Photo Workshops – Landscape Photography Tours
Banff Photo Workshops is created by Dani Lefrancois and she offers a range of private tours and group adventures that are aimed at landscape photography enthusiasts. The group adventures include Frosty Rocky Mountains 2024, Newfoundland 2024, and an Intro to Landscape Photography. These are multi-day workshops that usually run for 5 nights and include accommodation.
The workshops and tours are suitable for all skill levels and are usually for 2-4 people which gives a fantastic small group feel. If you want a more personalized experience, the private tours allow you to try your hand at specialist skills like night photography and sunrise photography.
Best Photography Workshops – United Kingdom
Despite being such a small island, the UK has varied scenery and there is a wealth of photography workshops that allow you to explore the countries of Scotland, Wales, and England. Whether you want to head to the dramatic Lake District, delve into the depths of London, or study the architecture of other cities like Cardiff and Birmingham there is a workshop to suit you.
Light and Land – UK Photo Workshops
Light and Land is based in Dorset in England but offers photography workshops and tours worldwide. The company was created by Charlie Waite and Sue Bishop, both of whom have years of experience and have traveled the world extensively.
This company offers perhaps the most varied range of photography workshops in the UK and covers a range of destinations including the Peak District, Suffolk, London, the Lake District, Liverpool, Northumberland, Bristol, and the Yorkshire Dales.
The workshops typically last 2-5 days and usually include accommodation and transport during the trip, so they are more like mini holidays as opposed to just one-day workshops.
Nigel Forster – UK Landscape Photography Workshops
Creative Photography Training is the brainchild of Nigel Forster who has decades of experience and is a master photographer at the popular Photography Academy. He offers a range of group photography workshops that run between 2-5 days but also one-day workshops.
They assume a basic level of photographic knowledge and experience so the workshops are not suitable for complete novices. I love the variety of the workshops and they cover various locations in the UK including the Isle of Skye, the Lake District, London, Pembrokeshire, Port Talbot, Snowdonia, Manchester, and Liverpool.
Melvin Nicholson Photography – UK Photography Workshops 2024
Melvin Nicholson is a professional photographer based in the UK with years of experience including being an expert judge on sites like Photocrowd. He offers a range of superb UK-based photography workshops specifically in England and Scotland at locations including Glencoe, the Isle of Skye, Harris and Lewis, Dorset, the Lake District, the Peak District, and Northumberland.
If you have a love of the outdoors and landscape photography then these destinations are perfect and they boast some of the most spectacular scenery the UK has to offer. He offers a range of one-day workshops and longer multi-day photo tours which are reasonably priced and include 1-2-1 tuition in most cases with two professional photographers.
Street Snappers – UK 1-Day Street Photography Workshops
Street Snappers offers something completely different from the typical landscape photography workshops and allows you to get up close and personal with an exciting range of street photography workshops. These are some of the best photography workshops if you like exploring cities, photographing people, and seeing what the UK has to offer.
Their 1-day street photography workshops cover locations including London, Brighton, Blackpool, and Liverpool. Each session lasts for a full day and includes a lunch break and I like how the workshops are structured into clear sessions that cover different aspects of street photography.
The courses are aimed at any level of skill and experience and the only real requirement is that you have a basic grasp of your camera’s functionality such as its settings and understand the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed triangle.
Best Photography Workshops – Australia
From the desolate and mesmerizing outback to thriving cultural hubs like Sydney and Melbourne, Australia has it all for photographers and there are some excellent workshops available.
Mark Gray – Australian Photo Tours
Mark Gray is an accomplished photographer with over 260 international awards and has built a huge range of 1-day photography workshops and longer photo tours throughout Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide.
The 1-day photography workshops are particularly interesting and typically involve city walkarounds and visiting the best photography spots such as the Brighton Beach boxes. Transport is included and is usually in a mini-bus, and most of the workshops also include lunch at a quality restaurant.
The group sizes are usually limited to 8 people which gives more of a personal feel and means that you get more 1-on-1 interactions with the professional photographers. Throughout the day, they will also critique your work and provide valuable feedback on how you could improve your compositions, etc.
Photo Workshop Australia
Photo Workshop Australia offers some of the best variations of photography workshops and I like that they appeal to all skill levels – whether you are a beginner and using your first mirrorless camera, or a veteran looking to branch out to learn new skills. Their workshops are centered around Sydney and the Northern Beaches and can range from shorter 2–3-hour sessions up to 4-week in-depth training programs.
They offer private tuition sessions that can be tailored to suit your individual needs, but there is also a great range of specific workshops. Examples include the sunrise photography course at Manly, learning Lightroom & Photoshop essentials, and the photography course Sydney: Intro.
Scott McGale is the main teacher who has been a professional photographer for over 20 years and has exhibited his work internationally in places like London and Prague.
We Are Raw Photography
We Are Raw Photography is spearheaded by George Triantafillou and Karolin Schild – both of whom are professional photographers with decades of experience. They specialize in landscape photography but have a range of photography tours, workshops, and one-to-one sessions on a variety of subjects.
Examples of their Australian workshops include beginner photography workshops in Melbourne, full-day tours exploring Toorongo Falls, and specialized long-exposure workshops on the Mornington Peninsula. All the workshops are small groups, typically of up to four guests, and are held regularly throughout the year although places are taken quickly.
I also like that they offer a series of Lightroom and Photoshop workshops as photo editing seems to be an area that is lacking overall in workshop coverage.
Take Your Photography to the Next Level With These Superb Workshops in 2024
These represent the best photography workshops available in 2024 in the UK, USA, Australia, and Canada and if you are serious about your photography then I highly recommend booking one or researching further.
As stated above, these workshops and tours sell out quickly and oftentimes you will have to book months or even years in advance. Most of the workshop providers have mailing lists that you can sign up to so you can be notified when new courses or spaces on existing courses become available.
Joining a photography workshop has many benefits and they can be life-changing experiences. You get to explore a new destination, see magnificent sights, work with a professional photographer, and spend time with like-minded individuals who also share your love of photography – what could be better?