Now that I have been leading photo trips to Portugal and Iceland for Brockmann Photo & Travel for 3 years, I would like to share a few experiences and thoughts on the subject of guided photo trips and also show a few ‘behind the scenes’ pictures at the end.
I think the article should be worth reading for anyone interested in photo trips who is still struggling with the choice of trip or provider.
A disclaimer in advance: to be on the safe side, I'm declaring today's blog article as advertising - even though I'm freely sharing my thoughts on the subject of photo travel in this article and am not being paid for it, there is ultimately a paid partnership with a travel provider and I would like to make this transparent for the sake of form.
Briefly about my situation and motivation: photo trips are not my main source of income, but I only offer a few of them every year and turn down a lot more, to be precise - I do just as many as I feel like doing 😉
Me and my wife have travelled extensively in Europe for a number of years and only offer photo trips to places where we have tried out the most beautiful spots, best hotels and tastiest restaurants ourselves and found things to be good. We would like to share our enthusiasm for these places and for nature photography. Fortunately, I don't have to travel to a place for economic reasons, nor do I have to accept a predetermined travel setup just because it's economically worthwhile.
I will mention the most important factors for a successful photo trip according to my experience with participants of the photo trips and at the end of each chapter I will also describe how ‘we’ handle this (on our Brockmann trips). Let's go!
If you are thinking about booking a photo trip, you will quickly realise that there are significant price differences. So now you have to somehow compare the quality of the trips - not that easy...
Sure, you could compare the number of photo spots with the number of days and the price, but in my opinion that doesn't say much about the quality of a trip, unless my premise is ‘as long as it's cheap’.
Based on my experience to date and conversations with participants, it is rather these factors that I should pay attention to when deciding on the type and provider:
- The basic first: is the travel description actually sufficiently transparent?
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- There is a wide range in the quality of travel descriptions on the photo travel market, take a look for yourself - sometimes you get the impression that there is a lack of desire for a detailed description or that details are hidden (?), for example when it comes to the exact description of the accommodation or the corresponding spots
- In my opinion, this doesn't have to be the case - as a participant, I would like to see transparency - what is the schedule, what level is my accommodation, are there meaningful sample photos, which spots are exactly the destination?
- I think Brockmann Photo & Travel does this very well - you can take a look here as an example or reference of what something like this looks like: Algarve 2025
- Do hotels and restaurants suit me?
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- ‘Oh what the heck, I can do without luxury for a week or two if necessary’ - Mmh, sorry, but that doesn't match my experience. I'll expand on that a little:
- Photo trips are usually designed for exclusive locations that I visit at exclusive times. This means that it usually takes a certain amount of time to get to the spot and a certain amount of walking, even at ‘inopportune times’ when tiredness still plays a major role. As we do this every day and, depending on the country, there can also be storms, cold and wet conditions and long periods of standing, many photographers sometimes reach their physical limits
- For example, if you arrive at a hotel soaked from a fresh rain shower, perhaps with rubber boots soaked from an Atlantic wave and tired from a long photo session, in my experience the
tolerance level for bad food, cold coffee, hard mattresses, cold room temperatures etc. etc. is very low 😅
If you are a passionate long-term camper, tiny house owner or rock nomad outside of the photo trip, this can work quite well - but if you normally sleep and eat in rather good quality, then in my opinion you should simply make sure that this is just as guaranteed on a photo trip. On my Brockmann trips, we therefore only use high-quality hotels and restaurants that we have tested ourselves and found to be good. And depending on the country and spot, these can be expensive and not so easy to find
- Does the maximum number of participants, including the number of guides, ensure a personalised trip and a good photo session?
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- A very important point! I have now experienced different group sizes and try to summarise my conclusion: in my opinion, you have to be aware that the exact number of the maximum group size has a big influence on the ‘character’ of the trip
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- This is particularly relevant when it comes to individual freedom of movement on location (not getting in each other's way, footprints in the sand, etc.), at least if you don't just want to take photos in a row
- But you also tend to have an advantage with a small group when it comes to organisational issues, special requests, challenges, queries, speed, etc.
- In my experience, every 2 steps makes a clear difference - for example, whether 4, 6, 8, 10 or more people take part
- There are destinations and concepts of photo trips where 8 participants work well; by the way, I would clearly advise against more than 8 participants
- I have personally decided to only organise trips to the Algarve and Iceland with a maximum of 6 participants; this number is easy to manage, the participants can coordinate well with each other at the spot and it ensures a truly personal approachability
- The number of guides is also important in this context!
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- if there is only one guide, everyone must be aware that the photo trip offers significantly less flexibility - I will go into this in more detail in the next ‘chapter’, because this also has something to do with the vehicle situation
- First of all, at Brockmann Photo & Travel there are always at least 2 guides, and in my experience this is extremely important, especially in the Nordic countries!
- Does the number of cars and seats create enough space and flexibility?
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- You are 9 people including guide and have a 9-seater at your disposal - should fit, right?
- My experience: Definitely not! I can't tell you how cramped it gets and how difficult it is to react quickly and flexibly to photo opportunities ‘at the side of the road’ because all the tripods, photo backpacks and suitcases are stacked on top of each other (the same applies to 8 people in a 9-seater)
- Even more important, however, is another aspect which, as mentioned earlier, has to do with the number of guides:
- In my eyes, a fluid and good photo trip clearly needs 2 guides and 2 cars, even with only 6 participants! This is the only way to always be able to respond to individual needs
- Let's take the 14-day Iceland tour last month - on the summer trips in Iceland, participants are very happy to be able to ‘get out’ in the second half of the night (approx. 1.30 to at least 4.30 am). On our Brockmann trips, the second guide (Christina or Christian on my trips) can then take participants to the hotel
- In addition, we can usually react to special requests regarding spots, we can split up without further ado, we can deal with administrative issues more quickly, parallelise things... etc., all in all this simply makes a trip more fluid for the guests
- Does the workshop leader's portfolio show expertise in my target photos?
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- At the risk of sounding a little conservative, it is an advantage if the workshop leader is a very good photographer - I know that sounds trivial at first. But if you take a look at the market for photo trips, this is not a given, just by looking at the pictures in the travel descriptions alone
- The decisive factor is not any prizes, awards or levels of recognition - but simply YOUR personal taste
- But why does this actually matter, isn't it enough to simply have very good local knowledge and a driving licence 😅?
- Well, a photo trip is not a study trip - when it comes to landscape and nature photography, you can't plan everything in theory in the context of the weather, but a good guide must constantly question the planned sequence of spots during each journey, react to changes in the weather and be able to quickly recognise whether it is worth stopping at a location from a photographic point of view - because as a rule, many potentially good opportunities arise ‘spontaneously at the roadside’ in addition to the travel description
- And there are often many possible locations on site and here, too, you should be able to make the best decision for the group depending on the weather
- All in all, the portfolio should simply match my desired idea of good pictures - for example, you shouldn't be surprised that you often visit certain spots in too hard light when the photographer's pictures would have suggested this in advance, the same applies to motifs and picture styles
- Is photography guaranteed at the ideal times?
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- This is certainly also linked to the previous point: I would check the trip description or consult with the provider again to ensure that photography at sunset and sunrise is guaranteed
- With established providers and coaches, this is a matter of course, but I have also heard other experiences from my participants where, for example, photo times clashed with breakfast times and a timely departure in the morning was simply not guaranteed - often it was more a matter of infrastructure or organisation that failed here
- Is the ‘number of spots’ realistic? Do I have time to devote to photography at the best locations or do I tend to rush from place to place?
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- There are travel offers with a pretty full list of spots - of course, if you don't take a closer look at them, that's certainly an adequate sales argument
- But how many of these spots can you actually visit at ideal times and in good conditions? And what does it ‘cost’ me?
- I have a simple answer to this: it costs me time at the good spots in good light conditions, and ultimately also the fun
- I have designed my trips with Brockmann, for example, so that we don't rush from spot to spot, but rather bring home good pictures of the best spots and enjoy our time there
- If you look closely, you can also read this quite well from travel descriptions - and especially with very diverse spots, I would attach great importance to having enough time, as we are usually talking about hours in one place
- What type of person is the workshop leader?
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- There are a few more criteria that are also important from my point of view, but I simply need to have got to know the workshop leader a bit, which of course isn't always possible in advance
- In my opinion, however, there is nothing to be said against having a quick phone call during the interest phase to get a feel for whether the chemistry is right...such things should definitely not be underestimated:
- Is the person in charge more of an introverted photo nerd or can they also empathise with people and have an open manner? For example, if this person is not good at dealing with problems (which naturally come up from time to time) or communicates poorly, this can quickly affect the mood of the group
- Does the person on location also offer enough freedom for everyone to express themselves individually photographically, or do you stand tightly in a line, receive constant feedback without being asked and are encouraged to ‘re-photograph’ perspectives?
- Are you dealing with a humorous person?
These are the topics I would look out for if I were interested. I hope this has already helped you.
Before I get to the pictures, I would like to finish by discussing what other added value you actually have when you go on a group photo trip compared to planning and organising such a trip yourself:
- Firstly, of course, there is no need to do all the planning, including research and organising bookings
- You also benefit from the expertise and also the failures of a guide who has already tried out a lot of things on site and saves yourself some potential disappointments, e.g. overrated spots, bad hotels and bland restaurants
- Fun at the same time: a great group dynamic often develops on such trips - you get to know open-minded people who share the same hobby and it's often like meeting good friends for dinner by the second evening
- An experienced guide...
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- knows exactly at which moon and tide level, for example, which spot is worthwhile and can also react to weather conditions - this is why you will also find a note in every good travel description that the exact spot selection and sequence can always be adjusted subject to the weather
- can assess the validity of the forecast apps, knows the microclimate and can also react well to changing forecasts
-> Both points increase the probability of a good photo yield
- Through the exchange of experiences in the group, even advanced photographers always gain good insights in theory and practice
- As a participant, you can use the (sometimes strenuous) car journeys to relax
- I reduce dangers for myself and/or my equipment, as I am adequately briefed - especially on the Atlantic there are many of them; for example, sneaker waves on certain beaches, impact of the tide on certain beach sections, on individual cliff edges and while driving in storms and icy conditions
- And last but not least, I also reduce economic risks, and here I would particularly like to mention the sometimes dubious practices of car hire companies: I could write a separate blog article about this. Both at pick-up (scope of services and additional insurance), when handing over the keys (condition of the car), as well as during use (handling with susceptibility to errors) and on return (completely exaggerated billing for the smallest signs of use), we regularly experience underground things, although we always book the best category with the largest providers. Sometimes a weeks-long aftermath follows. This is particularly an issue in countries where the vehicles are subject to severe road conditions, but by now we know almost all the tricks of the car hire companies...
I would like to leave it at that for now. In conclusion, I can say that I am very impressed with the collaboration with Kathrin Brockmann from Brockmann Photo & Travel and can only recommend such a trip to everyone. By the way, my next ‘stop’ is the Algarve, in case anyone doesn't have any plans for the turn of the year 😉
And now here are 25 pictures from the last workshops in Portugal and Iceland to give you some impressions. I don't do real shootings, but here and there I spontaneously ‘snap’ portraits...
I would have loved to show a photo of every participant - but as I don't post without explicit permission, I didn't have the administrative time to write to everyone and so there are only a handful of pictures of photographers whose contact details I had to hand.
Thank you very much for the permission to Austria, Germany and Switzerland 🙏
I hope you enjoyed these impressions.
Best regards, Thomas