Photo tours are especially designed for photo taking. It means that what you will see can be quite different from what people who visit the same place with a regular travel itinerary will see. We will go to places that are particularly photogenic, or meet local people who will introduce us to their culture or to some of their tradition to facilitate the shooting. It also means that we will often wake up earlier than most travelers, in orders to capture the best light and bring the best photos, so our schedule could be a bit different. For instance, we can get up very early to catch the sunrise, then come back to the hotel for breakfast, or take a break during midday when the sun is too strong and then go out later again to capture the golden hour and sunset, or some night views. It all depends on the itinerary of the tour.

You don’t have to be a photographer, amateur or professional, to participate to our photo tours. As long as you enjoy photography in general and the idea of capturing the best moments, you should enjoy traveling with us! Photographers of any level can enjoy our tours, from beginners to advanced, even smartphone photographers! The idea is also to learn from each other and to enjoy! We recommend however that you to let us know a bit more about your level and material beforehand so we can adjust the tour accordingly so you can make the most of it.

Please note that for photographers with specific requirements, it is also possible to organize customized tours. Please contact us for more information.

You can choose the gears you want, and we can also give you some recommendations if you need. A basic kit for travel photography would be a camera body and or or two versatile lenses, such as 24-70mm and 70-200mm. For some trips, some specific lens could be recommended such as longer telelens. We would also usually advice to bring a tripod for low light photography (we usually bring one or two spare tripods with us as well in case you don’t have one). We will let you know for each trip what gear we suggest.

For tours in China, it is possible to rent cameras and lenses. I have a partner in Beijing with whom I can arrange this. However, please let me know a while ahead to have enough time to arrange. This service is not included in the price of tour. We would give you a quotation beforehand, and a deposit would be needed additionally to the daily fee. Please not that it is not possible to rent drones in China.

It depends on the destination. In China, drones have become increasingly popular over the last years, and regulations are adjusting fast. So far, drones are allowed in most our shooting locations in China, but forbidden in big cities for instance. In Vietnam or Kyrgyzstan, drones can be used almost everywhere. But in Morocco for instance, drones are strictly prohibited and it is virtually impossible to get authorization. Please contact us before the tour if you need more information.

We will arrange setups for you to shoot people during the tours. Some of you could have the idea that it lacks authenticity, but there are reasons why we work like this. First it is a way to make sure you will end up with good photos, as it is very helpful to create a beautiful shot, because you will have more time to find the right angle, ask for a specific posture, or see how to capture the best light. The people we will photograph are not models, they are local people willing to showcase their traditions and culture for us, and give us a chance to witness what most visitors will have a hard time witnessing. Besides this, there can be some specific reason to go with setups. For instance, in China, the society is evolving very fast and traditions are quickly fading. To be able to capture them, we will go to the people who are really familiar with those traditions for they have lived with them for most of their life, and therefore are the best at showing us what those traditions are.

Street photography is also part of our tours. We do our best to bring you a good balance between landscape photography, arranged setups for portrait photography, and street photography. However, when doing street photography, we ask you to always behave respectfully wherever we go, to respect the local people and culture, and to ask for permission when taking photos of people.

For the countries that require visas, we can assist you by providing invitation letters, detailed itineraries, or helping you with flights booking. Please contact us directly for more information.

Please note that since December 1st, 2023, citizens of France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland and Malaysia can travel to China for up to 15 days without visa.

No problem, we are here to help! Please send me an email at hello@cecilezehnacker.com or check the “contact” section.