Photography Tours & Workshops in Laos, China, Cambodia, Vietnam. Learn photography while experiencing  Asia and it’s  people. All courses taught by internationally acclaimed photographer, Jonathan Taylor.

Photography School Asia offers Group and Private Tours & Workshops throughout the year. These are not your average Photo-Tour where at 6.00am you will be standing in front of this or that site with such and such a camera setting. Our commitment with these tours remains the same, to make you a better photographer, in some fantastic locations allowing you some amazing experiences. A real chance to get in touch with the local customs and interact with the people in-depth too.

With a private tour you obviously choose if you want to learn alone or bring company. With our mixed group tours the size of the group is deliberately set to just a few, between two and five participants. Too many photographers definitely spoil the broth. You will be instructed not to take photographs over each other’s shoulder of the people you meet. We find it not only rude and insensitive but also useless in terms of producing great photography with empathy. So many ‘Photo-Tours’ encourage this type of behaviour.

Below are a list of tours available to you, if you decide to take one privately these can be modified to suit your travel itinerary needs. You will also receive individual instruction and personal projects on all our courses.

The prices for each tour ranges from $1500 USD to $3000 USD depending on the size of the group. The hotels we choose are all locally run, clean safe and beautiful boutique style accommodation. Full of local charm. At present we have highlighted just two tours below to China and Laos. Please note Cambodia and Vietnam are an option too, please ask for details.

Luangprabang, Northern Laos

Set in lush rain-forested mountains, this is yet another world heritage protected gem of Southeast Asia. It offers fantastic photographic opportunities. Take a river boat down the majestic Mekong River and visit ethnic tribe communities whose homes are scattered along the banks. Or head off to the hills to see shaman practise their traditional healing methods, or photograph the rice harvest on the sides of steep mountains.

• Day 01: Get to know Luangprabang, it’s markets and people, we will meet in the early afternoon as a get together opportunity and to further outline your course.
• Day 02: Float down the majestic Mekong River, stopping at ethnic hill tribe villages along the way. Truly spectacular scenery and an amazing look almost back in time. One of Asia most beautiful of rivers is surrounded by lush densely green jungle.
• Day 03: Visit various mountains ethnic hill-tribe villages, photograph and experience their culture all set in spectacular mountain top vistas.
• Day 04: Visit the beautiful water falls at Kuangxi they are worth a visit, we will make regular stops to visit local communities, each trip is slightly different depending what we and our expertly eyed driver sees along the way. It may be Mon ( eithnic hill tribe ) Shaman performing a ceremony or a women who wants to show her nearly born baby, who must sit by a heated stone as the birth and after care are deeply rooted in Laotian culture.
• Day 05: Here Jonathan will give you individual assignments to complete that are personalised to your level and study targets. We will visit local communities that produce silk, rice whiskey and photograph agricultural farmers at work. You may wish to work on a personal project or stick with a lesson plan given to you by Jonathan. In the evening we can relax together, have a final critique of your best work over they last five days, while reflecting on your experience of the place, its people and your photographic growth.

Yunnan – North West China

Yunnan Province is Jonathan’s favourite in the China, the diverse people are very open and friendly. The landscape and vistas amazing. Kunming is a beautiful vibrant city, with an amazing lake in it’s centre. Packed with life and things to photograph. Dali Old Town has been on the backpacker trail for years now and while it is starting to feel over crowded Jonathan knows of some great farming villages easily accessible by hired transport. Gong, our translator and guide, is a great guy, very informative and brilliant at getting us well of any beaten track. And beyond if asked for.

• Day 01 & 02: Explore Kunming, it famous traditional Chinese Streets. The amazing Flower & Bird Market. The street entertainment around The Green Lake each evening.
• Day 03: You will be taken around Dali Old Town, then head of to the hills to visit farming villages, Gong and Lao Hei are well known in the area and you will be shown different farmers homes, their land and be welcome to photograph the locals as they work. For lunch you eat in a farmhouse restaurant, they will spread out a whole option of traditional food on the table for you to choose from. Most farmers around Dali Town are from the ethnic group known as Pai. Many still wear their traditional costumes as they work. The village centres normally have a thriving mid-day market to photograph. The village elders sit together and have fascinating faces and are totally open to being photographed. In the evening you head back to the guest house in Dali Old Town for photography critique.
• Day 04: Today you head for a fishing community on the Dali Lake, here the local fisher-people use Cormorant Birds to fish with. The birds are tied to fishing boats, they then fly off to catch fish and bring their catches back to the boat for collection. You will ride in a boat following the events, great for photography and an amazing experience. For lunch you again eat with the locals, of course fresh fish is very popular in many of the dishes. Critique again takes place in the evening back at the guesthouse.
• Day 05: Today we look at your photography and have a final edit and group critique session. You will be given ideas on where to go further with your photography, from people wanting to make a career out of their work or just create great travel blogs etc. Any gaps in your compositional awareness or technical understanding can be addressed here too.

Your lessons will personalised with hands on help throughout the day plus group critique each evening but can include:

• Learning to use the camera on Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority.
• Flash Photography
• Tripod Photography
• Depth of Field
• Light Metering
• Composition Techniques including: Framing, Movement, Abstract and Art Photography.
• Location Photography including: Street photography, lifestyle, nature and architecture.
• People Photography, learn how to approach people for great portraits and street photography.
• Documentary Photography including: Feature photography, choosing a story, finding a narrative, editing and selling commercially, presentation techniques and Photojournalism.
• Creative Photography learn how to conceptualize and create unique images expressing emotion or theme.
• Photoshop and other post processing programs to enhance your photographs.
• Learning to work on your own personal mid and long term projects, for further development.
• and more….

Your study aims and objectives will be personalised to suit your exact needs – that’s the reason for Jonathan preferring One-To-One or small private groups to larger tours. It means you get lots of valuable tutor time too. With Jonathan’s twenty five year’s of experience in the region he makes sure you enjoy your photographic exploration in full.

Please refer to our Terms & Conditions page before booking a course.

Please use the contact form to make a booking or further enquiries about the dates of the next available tours, or email us at info@photographyschoolasia.com

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