Photography Holiday & Tours FAQs

Yes. We were founded in 2017 as Fusion Photography Workshops, but as the our offering expanded we rebranded in June 2023 as Creative Photo Adventures.

It is run by photographer Steven Gosling and we also occasionally colaborate with other specialist photographers.

Since 2017 we have organised over 40 holidays, tours and workshops. Before this I had been involved with a few camera clubs and including that time I have organised over 200 photography related events, trips, holidays, workshops, etc.

You can email me on hello@creativephotoadventures.com and if you want to chat to me over the phone you can give me a ring on (+44) 07836 705 705.

Yes we are fully insured with Professional Indenity and  Public Liability cover.

All our guides and photographers also have up to date First Aid training and carry a small First Aid kit.

Your own travel insurance is mandatory. Your cover must cover any medical expences and repatriation back to your home country. Ideally you should have appropriate photographic equipment insurance to cover lost, damaged or stolen equipment.

We want everyone who attends one of our workshops to come away with an amazing set of images that are different to others on the trip. We don’t line you up and instruct how to shoot the same images.

At each location I will show you how the place is typically shot, where to stand, and pitfalls or accessibility issues, then let your creative juices flow.

We allow you freedom to create your own compositions and then offer tweaks and we checkin with everyone. Some need more guidance than others and that is fine.

We can guarantee you will come away with new skills, new ideas on compositions and an amazing set of new images to be proud of.

We have different types of tours and some tours have come under two styles:

DISCOVERY

This is a tour where it is the first time we have run the trip and thus the trip will most likely be run at a lower cost. However we will still have visited and scouted the locations so we know where and when to go, but it will be the first time taking a group to the location.

SIGNATURE

These are our best tours. These are locations we have visited with group many times and locations we have a very high level of knowledge. We will typically have knowledge of loctions not covered by most other photo tours.

ADVENTURE

These tours will typically be or have elements off the beaten track, have more accessibility requirements, have more challenging weather conditions, etc.

URBAN-ARC

These are tours that predominently feature town and city locations with architecture and street photography featured heavily.

CREATIVE

These are highly creative workshops such as dance, portrait, carnivals, music, etc.

LAND-SEA-SKY

These are landscape tours where the predominent photography will be of landscape, seascape and sky.

Most of our publically booked tours are limited to 6 participants. Small groups mean I can provide better personal guidance and help you improve more. Occasionally a destination or setup allows for more but we never accept more than 8 participants.

Some destinations we are joined by a local guide and/or driver where local regulations dictate.

Yes, in most cases they will also take photos at the same time. Our passion for photography simply doesn’t allow us to stand in front of a stunning location and not take photos. However, we are there to guide and help you and the participants needs come first.

We have never had to cancel a tour due to low participant numbers, but it is prudent to contact us first before booking any non-cancelable travel or accomodation.

Initial deposit payment is due when you book your place. 

The final payment is due 6 weeks before the workshop start date.

If you’re booking within 6 weeks days of departure date then the full payment is due at the time of booking.

Please see our full Terms & Conditions for more details.

If for some reason you have to cancel your place on the tour or workshop, I will either offer you the choice of a place on a future workshop or I can refund you based on my refund policy below.

You must contact me as soon as possible regarding your situation so that I can advertise the place to someone else and so that we can tranfer you to another tour.

In the unlikely event that I don’t have the required numbers to run a given workshop, I reserve the right to cancel up to 30 days in advance. I can offer you a place on another future workshop, or I’ll refund all monies paid including the deposit.

If you do not turn up for the tour or workshop, I am unable to offer a refund or a place on another course.

Flights are not included in the price. It is your responsibility to book your own flights to and from the destination.

Do not book non-cancelable flights or associated elements until the tour is designated as  Guaranteed Departure.

As part of our environmental policy we encourage participants to travel light. I ask people to only bring one suitcase based on airline restrictions and their main camera bag.

Cameras, lenses and any delicate items should always be carried within your hand luggage.

We welcome all levels of photographers from absolute beginners to pros.

Ideally you need to understand the basics of operating your camera and know the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO.

Most tours will have hotel accomodation and breakfast will be included. Where possible we will stop in local supermarkets for snacks and drinks. Lunch and dinner will be at local cafe’s and resturants which are optional. There may be times were sunrise and sunset times colide with food times and we may have to delay eating. If you have a medical need to eat at certain times, please let us know.

This will change from country to country and some have strict rules on which foods can and cannot be taken across international borders. Since the UK left the EU, we are bound by stricter rules. As a general rule, sealed non-fresh foods such as noodles, energy bars, cup-a-soups, pot noodles, etc, should be fine.

But do check with the government web site of the country you are visiting.

All my tours are spoken in English. Although my partner also speaks fluent Portuguese, Spanish and Catalan and she will often attend tours in those countries.

You must have good mobility and be able to walk up to 3 miles / 4.8 km.

Some locations will have shooting positions that will be close to the car park, others may be a long walk in the dark along rugged paths, or along sandy beaches.

All shoots are optional and I will guide you as to whether each location is sutable.

If you’re unsure whether you are suitable, just drop me a message.

Generally we will meet you at the final airport, or a prearranged location on the first day of the tour. Most destinations you will need to arrive between set times for everyone to be collected efficiently. If you arrive outside of these times then we will do our best to accommodate your pickup but you may have to make your own transfer arrangments.

We use a private Whatsapp group for communication during tours.

We create private Whatsapp groups for all participants to join. If you are not a Whatsapp user, then we encourage you to create an account if only for your tour. You can disable the account afterwards. After the tour I normally leave the group open and participants have often continued chatting in their group.

1. Immediately after booking you will receive an email confirmation that we have received your booking.

2. If you payment has been received and cleared, within 3 working days you will receive a welcome email from us confirming your place on the tour.

3. 8 weeks before the tour starts you will receive an email reminder of the outstanding balance payment to be paid by bank transfer.

4. After final balance has been received you will receive a PDF Welcome Pack with full details of the tour, including what to bring, where we meet etc. There will also be a Pre-tour Questionaire to complete.

5. In the days before the start I will confirm all final meeting details via email and the a Whatsapp group will be formed for participants to join.

The requirements for each tour will have a few common elements but many will be specific to getting the best from the destination.

The requirements for each tour will be sent within 7 days of the final balance payment.

Your safety and wellbeing is of primary concern. You must have the appropriate clothing to protect from cold weather conditions.

Layering can be a great method for keeping warm:

1. Under layer: A thermal underwear layer of long sleeved top and long johns bottoms are ideal. These are designed to wick sweat off the skin.  Find examples on Amazon.

2. A normal t-shirt can be an extra layer if you feel the cold. Find on Amazon.

3. Base layer: A long sleeve fleece layer on top with high neck designed to retain warmth. Find on amazon.

4. Outer layer (shell layer): Shields you from wind and rain whilst stopping the cold penetrating. A hooded jacket is ideal. Find on Amazon.

Legs need protecting aswell. Warm thermal fleece lined trousers are ideal. Find on Amazon.

Around the neck I suggest a snood rather than a scarf. Find on Amazon.

Your head can be a large area where heat loss can ocure. A good wool hat with thermal lining or a Balaclava can be even better. Find on Amazon.

Your fingers are often the place where the cold is felt first and layering is often the best option here too. A thin inner or liner can work with a thicker outer layer. Ski gloves often have these options. The thin inner layer is great to keep the cold of the skin but allow you to feel the controls of your camera. Find on Amazon.

Lastly your feet. A good quality pair of waterproof breathable boots are needed together with good hiking socks.

These items can be expensive to buy and you may only use them on the one trip. So one great way to save is to rent your cold weather kit.

A high quailty waterproof down jacket costing around £500 to buy can be rented for around £60 per week. Check out https://www.outdoorhire.co.uk/ as an example of where to hire.

Our web site uses a x.509 TLS secure certificate which encrypts all data transfered from your browser to our web server – see the padlock symbol in the address bar.

In addition we use a premium subscription to WordFence which protects the web site against hacking attempts.

The web site is also scanned daily using ClamAV to check for malware and viruses.

Our email uses Google Workspace which virus checks all email sent.

When paying by card, your details and card numbers are handled securely by our card processor Stripe. We do not see nor store these details.

Our web hosting provider is ISO27001: 2013 registered and is PCI-DSS Scan Compliant.

For me photography has been a life long passion. Whilst I need to make a living from the tours, I price them at a level that I would be happy to pay myself, thus they are often priced at a lower level than many others. I know of several competitors who are pricing their tours 25% more than me as they are a well known name and participants think they will get something special.

But you can be assured I will go the extra mile to get you the best shots, up early, out late, continually researching locations, and generally improving the tours every time. I make good contacts in the destinations and they update me on different issues and locations. Nothing is taken for granted.

You only have to read my reviews to understand that you will come away with an amazing set of photos from my tours.