We run 8-day Morocco photography holidays on the Atlantic coast of Morocco in the UNESCO Medina of Essaouira for all levels of photographic ability. With daily flights into Marrakesh and twice-weekly flights into Essaouira from several European cities, it’s time to take the next step up with your photography and indulge yourself with a week’s learning in an exotic location. The course offers exceptional value from a tried and tested supplier.
Take Beautiful Photographs on one of our photography holidays
Truly a treat for photographers, this part of the world offers so much to photograph. Its exotic appeal has drawn photographers for generations so why not follow in their footsteps and book one of our all-inclusive photography holidays. With workshops in street photography, portraiture, abstract and landscape imagery, we’ll help you get the best from the location, to capture the unique atmosphere with your smartphone or DSLR camera. If you have some gaps in your photographic knowledge, be it the composition, how to get what you want from photographing people then we’ll get them ironed out for you. Photography is pretty complicated if you delve down into its possibilities but on these photography holidays, we simplify it.
The port of Essaouira
The historic medina
Rural surroundings
Leading provider
We are the premier supplier for Morocco photography holidays having received over 600 guests since 2010. We can offer you the reassurance of booking a holiday with a trusted agency when visiting a country you may see as ‘foreign’. Morocco draws around 10 million visitors a year and arriving individually you’ll be looked after. Join a group of like-minded enthusiasts and indulge yourself in picture-making in a relaxing and enchanting location. Essaouira is a great base for a week and you’ll be surprised by what you can achieve here.
The week’s plan
I run four days of photography teaching in the medina and port here in Essaouira with a morning out in the countryside at a local market. We look at building street photography skills and confidence in making portraits. Your sixth is your project day where you can find your own ‘photographic feet’ image-making to a brief after a one-to-one discussion. Each day you’ll also have free time in the afternoon for yourself when you can do other things and there are many other activities to do here including cooking workshops, shopping and horse riding.
Intensive learning
Compared to taking a part-time course back home, here you’ll learn quicker, and more intensively with images to show for your learning. The week’s teaching is progressive so each day you’ll learn new skills and how to shoot across different genres. The group size is a maximum five so you won’t get lost in numbers and with daily image reviews of each other’s work you’ll learn how others saw the same location in their own individual way. By the end you’ll have produced themed galleries of images which are loaded online for you to keep.
Exotic locations. Photography for all levels
I cater for all levels of ability for the week’s photography holiday. With a background in teaching, I can juggle different ways of learning, requests and students’ individual needs often all at the same time! So don’t worry if you feel at a loss with any aspect of your camera skills. We’ll cover the basics in a fun and inspiring way assisting you on the way to technical proficiency. If you’re a photographer with more experience but need a push with creativity then we’ll create a personal development plan for the week to get you on to the next level. For the more experienced, the locations and review session some of the wonderful and surprising images you’ll get will keep you busy. The week is open to all ages and we get a good mix.
Camera Controls
It’s useful if you come armed with some understanding of where your camera controls are but during the beginner’s week, we’ll cover the technical aspects of setting your camera up properly including the correct mode to shoot in for your level of photography. We’ll also cover the following: eradicating camera shake and producing sharp images time after time, changing your camera for different lighting situations, understanding how to utilise the depth of field and for what situations, controlling the exposure and using histograms to save time correcting on your computer afterwards. If you have a smartphone camera then all these tools are on there to work with. Check the gallery link for photos taken with an iPhone 13.
Composition
Seeing the world around you a-fresh purely for photography needs a bit of practice but everyone is capable of producing photos that are compositionally sound. Learning how to see how the camera sees is something we cover. It’s an essential component of becoming a better photographer. During the week you’ll learn how to see the ordinary in a new light; to find value in less obvious touristy scenes, skills that you can use long after your week here. Another aspect of the holiday is understanding how to harness light and its creative powers; the real essence of photography. Likewise, portrait, abstract and reportage (street photography), all require different compositional strategies and we’ll cover them during the week.
Your photography
We expect by the week’s end your photography has come on leaps and bounds and your ability to photograph in different situations is intuitive. Exceeding expectations is part of the plan. During the week you can expect to photograph seascapes, boats in the port, medina architecture and rural communities. Photographing people is quite a skill and it’s generally the first thing people ask on the first day. Suffice to say it’s an integral part of the week’s learning and we cover different approaches in street photography, building up from day one for you to become more confident. In the gallery link you can see the range of approaches to street photography here in Essaouira, from guests who were new to photographing people on location.
Abstract Photography
People Photography
Landscape Photography
Your accommodation
You’re booked to stay in an authentic 18th Century Riad, with rooms usually allocated on the rooftop terrace, perfect for privacy and catching a bit of sun. Rooms are all en-suite and authentically decorated. There’s no room for sharing or single supplements. Everything is arranged from the moment you touch down. The course is inclusive of private airport transfers, your en-suite room and 30 hours of teaching. Perfect for singles, the holiday is absolutely safe for women arriving alone; the hotel has excellent Trip Advisor reviews for its warm service – it’ll feel like home. Click on the picture for reviews. The Atlantic coast of Morocco is also an ideal all year destination with about 300 sunny days a year. Essaouira town is also famed for its laid back attitude. There’s none of the street hassle associated with a more famous larger city 2 hours away. You can enjoy exploring at your own pace during non-teaching time.
Join a group and reserve your place
With prices starting at £1185 for a single person, excluding flights, our Morocco photography holidays in Essaouira, are an exceptional experience and sharing the week with other photo enthusiasts makes it an unforgettable memory shared through your photo galleries. Please use the adjacent form to enquire about availability during the summer months. Your week is inclusive of 7 nights’ accommodation and airport transfers. Take a look at the week’s itinerary here. You can also fly directly into Essaouira with Ryanair as well as Marrakesh. Please note that in 2022 we began to offer two different kinds of workshops in Essaouira. One for beginners to understand their camera controls and a second course for developing your creativity. Visit our new Photography workshops page to find out more: Creative Camera Workshops.
