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Photography Hero Holiday Charente

Highlights

  • Benefit from expert tuition in photography from your friendly local expert.
  • Relax in a stunning medieval convent house in the beautiful countryside.
  • Work in a lovingly restored barn which makes an incredible studio space.
From £1499 pp
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7 Nights

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What you'll do

Overview

This 7 night photography holiday combines 35 hours of exciting photography to transform your understanding and ability to work with your camera with local activities and excursions in this spectacular region of South-West France, leaving you inspired and taking fantastic photos.

2025 Dates:
5th – 12th April
10th – 17th May
4th – 11th October

Have you got a digital camera and not sure how to get the best out of it? Are you stuck in Automatic Mode and want to learn more about your camera’s other features and functions? If you love photography, you need to spend some dedicated time, in a relaxed environment and really understand how to improve your technique.

This 7 night / 8 day photography holiday is a fantastic opportunity for photography lovers who want to improve their photography abilities and technique. With no more than 6 people on each course, you will get the individual attention necessary to really flourish and get to grips with using your camera to its highest potential.

You will receive more than 6 hours of tuition, guidance, advice & discussion each day from your warm and experienced tutor, who will open your eyes to the functionality of your camera and help you to vastly improve your photography skills.

With an expert at your side and Trisha cooking delicious food for you to enjoy after a long day of work at your photography, this holiday is a real treat. Whatever your choice of camera or photographic ability, this photography holiday will dramatically improve your skills and give you confidence and expertise to continue to take beautiful photos long after you return home.

Lay bare the mysteries of your camera and photo-editing software in the lovely on site photography studio. With state of the art computers and software at your fingertips, you will hugely increase your knowledge of the camera in a gentle, relaxing environment on this photography holiday with a difference.

Arrival and welcome dinner

Don and Trisha are happy to pick you up from Angoulême train station at no extra cost and bring you back to the Studio anytime from around 5pm.

You will enjoy a lovely welcome dinner where you will get to know your hosts and the other guests you will be sharing this wonderful experience with.

Your hosts will also go through the program for your holiday tonight so that you can prepare for your days ahead.

The photography Sstudio is situated in the heart of the Michelin-starred and picturesque town of Villebois-Lavalette, which is about 20 kms south of Angouleme, (capital of the Charente department), in South West France.

Within a short distance of the studio there are photo opportunities galore, which means the studio is open whatever the weather! With rolling hills; rivers; huge landscape vistas; the Atlantic Ocean; fortified churches; castles; the bigger cities of Bordeaux, Angouleme, Perigeux and Bergerac; as well as delightful small villages with heaps of character. And with the brandy distilleries at Cognac and Jarnac only 25 minutes away, there are vineyards a-plenty!

A typical day

At 9am you will have a continental breakfast at the studio, and discuss the plan for the photography packed day ahead.

After breakfast your first photography session will start at 10am.

Many of your photography sessions will take place at photo shoot locations which Don will take you to and from, giving you a chance to experience some of what the local area has to offer.

At 1pm you will break for lunch or a picnic.

Your second photography session is typically on location and starts at 2pm and will also last for at least 3 hours.

Depending on the day you might continue shooting at the photo-shoot location or come back to the Studio to carry out some photo editing and manipulation and learn computer based photography skills.

From around 5pm you will have free time in which you could go for a walk, relax by the pool, read a book from the extensive collection or even have a go at a spot of painting.

Dinner is served at 7:30pm, made by Trisha, and will be entirely homemade from fresh local produce and served with delicious wine from the area.

Please note that Tuesday or Wednesday will be a free day for you to relax

 

 

Departure

You will take your final breakfast at 9am on the departure day.

Please note you will have a final photography session on day 7 (Friday) from 10-4pm and you check-out the following day on Saturday morning when your hosts will happily give you a lift to Angoulême train station at no extra cost as you take your new photography skills with you!

What's included

Included

  • 7 nights accommodation in a private twin/double ensuite room, in the beautifully restored studio, set in the grounds of a 17th century convent house
  • 6 days of photography tuition (around 6-7 hours per day) starting on Sunday (the day after arrival)
  • More than 35 hours of photography tuition, advice, information & discussion on all aspects of photography with your talented photographer
  • All meals for the duration of your stay including a welcome dinner on Saturday evening when you arrive
  • Transportation to and from on-location photo-shoots
  • Occasional use of digital cameras & lenses and, in the event of poor weather, use of the studio's lighting equipment
  • Use of the photography studio, grounds and swimming pool
  • Four A4 prints of your best work
  • Please note: you will have a final photography session on day 7 (Friday) from 10-4pm and you check-out the following day on Saturday morning
  • Free return transfer to Angoulême train station (airport transfers can be arranged for an additional charge)
  • Check in any time around 5pm on day 1 (Saturday) and check out by 4pm on day 8 (the following Saturday)

Accommodation

Restored Barn

Your accommodation is a lovely restored barn with historic features which has gained the Office de Tourisme accreditation.

Each of the three en-suite bedrooms have been stylishly restored and have views down the garden, over the pool and to the valleys beyond. It is a place where you can relax, restore and discover the art of photography.

Features
- Meals cooked with fresh local produce and lovely local wine
- Private swimming pool and extensive book collection for you to unwind
- Beautiful countryside surrounding with lots of lovely walks
- State of the art software and computers on site
- There are parking facilities at the accommodation
- Free WiFi throughout the house
- Enormous range of cultural local excursions and attractions' including market visits and local fetes and festivals - there's a wonderful fresh Saturday market on the doorstep that supplies flowers, wicker baskets, jewelry, vegetables, cheese, meat, fish and poultry from the surrounding farmers.

Your local host

Don & Trisha

Don and Trisha, are natural hosts and entertainers who take pleasure in teaching and inspiring budding photographers to flourish. They both love meeting new people and have travelled extensively during their careers.

Don is a talented photography instructor and has achieved many photographic awards and holds the Licentiate and Associateship Distinctions offered by the Royal Photographic Society. Don was also a co-founder of a business which developed and sold a variety of Photoshop plug-ins so he has a deep understanding of image editing applications. He’s worked with Kodak, Epson, Wacom, HP and Toshiba to name a few and has done many lectures and presentations during his photographic career.

Trisha loves taking advantage... Read All

Don and Trisha, are natural hosts and entertainers who take pleasure in teaching and inspiring budding photographers to flourish. They both love meeting new people and have travelled extensively during their careers.

Don is a talented photography instructor and has achieved many photographic awards and holds the Licentiate and Associateship Distinctions offered by the Royal Photographic Society. Don was also a co-founder of a business which developed and sold a variety of Photoshop plug-ins so he has a deep understanding of image editing applications. He’s worked with Kodak, Epson, Wacom, HP and Toshiba to name a few and has done many lectures and presentations during his photographic career.

Trisha loves taking advantage of the lovely fresh food market on their doorstep and cooking delicious meals from local produce. Local wine also features at evening meals, which is famous throughout France. Trisha is a keen painter and sculptor and is more than happy to help guests get started with a few pointers in their spare time.

Don & Trisha image

Location

This lovely photography school in South-West France combines state of the art technology with beautiful accommodation and warm, attentive hosts. Nestled in the French countryside, guests enjoy stunning views as well as an abundance of engaging cultural activities in the local towns and villages which will stay with you long after you return home.

Nearest airport: Bergerac (approx. 1 hour 45 minutes away). You can also fly to Limoges and Bordeaux (both within a 2.5 hour drive).

Pre-booked transfers:
Private transfers to and from Angoulême train station are included in the price. Please contact the photography school with your arrival and departure details to arrange your transfer post-booking.

Other transfers: 
Transfers from Bergerac, Limoges and Bordeaux airports can be provided – please advise us at the time of booking.
The cost is 150 Euros each way – payable in cash on arrival.

 

 

What our travellers are saying...

Don and Tricia are wonderful hosts. Don is passionate about all things photography and knows this region of France extremely well. Tricia prepares gorgeous food and helps make sure everything runs smoothly.

M de Bethlen

I knew nothing about digital photography when I arrived and learnt a huge amount during the week - excellent tuition and wonderful accommodation. I highly recommend this course.

A Galbraith

This was the best week I have ever had with any other company. Tuition, visits, accommodation and food were all outstanding! I cannot recommend the programme enough!

P Fortune

FAQs

Who is it suitable for?

- Suitable for all levels from beginners to enthusiasts
- This photography holiday is suitable for keen photographers who are ready to get stuck in and develop their skills
- Minimum age 18
- Courses have a maximum of 6 people in each group, singles are very welcome as you'll meet others with a passion for photography and there are NO single supplements

When can I start?

- Photography courses start on Saturday, finishing the following Saturday
- Check in around 5pm on day 1 and check out around 4pm on day

Restricted mobility access

Please find below some information regarding the accommodation and location of the holiday which may be useful when deciding if this is the right holiday for you; should you have an further questions, please contact us and we will be happy to help
- Please note this accommodation does not have disabled access
- All of the bedrooms are located upstairs in the building and they have walk-in showers
- Each day there will be excursions to various local villages and there will be light walking involving carrying your own equipment

Are meals included?

- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners will be provided for the duration of your course
- Delicious meals are prepared by Trisha from fresh local produce
- Examples include French classics such as creamy asparagus tarts with salade girolles, magret du canard au sauce bigarde with dauphinoise potatoes or salmon en pipolotte with moon blush tomatoes
- Evening meals include lovely local wine for which the region is famous

What should I bring?

- Bring your camera, lenses, camera bag, memory cards, battery charger and any other equipment you might have
- A laptop if you have one
- Comfortable clothes and walking shoes as you will be out and about in the local area
- A hat/cap or sun cream as well as an anorak to prepare for all weather conditions

What photo editing software do you use?

They use Lightroom and Photoshop, plus the Nik Collection (a set of Photoshop plug-ins).

Do you offer tuition in using it?

Yes – they cover all three pieces of software with hands-on tuition and type-written “recipes”.

How much access do students have to Mac/PC to work on their work in their own time?

Each client has a dedicated iMac that they can use whenever they want.

Can you cater for dietary restrictions?

Absolutely! Vegans/vegetarian welcome. Don, your tutor, is gluten free so they cook just about everything.

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