No other way to say it: spring is the best time of the year to visit Tuscany.
As this is one of our most popular workshops – we decided to open a second date in case you can’t join us the previous week!
Country roads, cypress trees and picturesque country houses on every hill contours the rest of this idyllic landscape.
Spring is hands-down the best season of the year to visit this region of Italy, since the harvest is almost at its peak and as the weather is getting warmer and drier, the flowers are in full bloom and the wheat has a vibrant green color before it starts turning yellow.
Join us in this once-in-a-lifetime photography adventure and spend a week hunting the best light. Your instructor will show you the most popular spots as well as some hidden gems that no one knows about, discovered during years of scouting; he will teach you how to find the best compositions based on the light conditions that you have at any time during the day, and through-out the week he will also show you some tips and tricks of his post-processing workflow.
All of this is obviously accompanied by some of the finest food you can taste in Italy: we are Italians after all, and the workshop couldn’t be considered complete if we wouldn’t do some tasting of the delicious dishes that this area has to offer – from meat to cheese, from vegetables to pasta, Tuscany has all of them! There’s nothing better than relaxing in front of a warm dinner after a day of shooting.
This workshop is designed to show a sensible growth in terms of compositional and technical skills on the photography side, as well as obviously enrich all of the participants with some fantastic and joyful memories from one of the most particular and unique landscapes of the world.
Truth is that we never run two identical workshops – due to the weather, due to the light, due to the length of the days at any given time of the year and a bazillion other variables that come into play when dealing with outdoor photography.
Take this general itinerary for what it is – and by any means don’t think that we’ll stick to it at all times!
Time to start our workshop together! On our first day, we will pick you up at the Florence (or Pisa) airport around mid-morning, so that we can start our drive to Pienza (our final destination, 1h45m drive from Florence) straight away.
Lunch: 12:30PM
As soon as we arrive in the beautiful Val d’Orcia, we’ll immerse ourselves into the rolling hills and we will have a lovely lunch in the countryside to set the right mood! You will have a first taste of Tuscany’s delicious cuisine.
Hotel Check-in & Afternoon Break: approx. 2:30/4:30PM
After our tasty lunch together, we’ll drive back to Pienza – the place where we’ll be staying for the whole workshop – to check in into your hotel and take a breath before hitting the road again.
Sunset Session: 5/8PM (depending on sunset time)
Our first official photography session together! Since it’s our first, we’ll have a longer session so that your workshop leader can assess your skills and give you the necessary notions to capture the golden light in the best possible way given the weather conditions of that day. The location we will probably visit is called “The Cipressi of San Quirico d’Orcia”, a classic of the area that we like to call “The Photographer’s Playground” because of the endless perspectives you can get there! See a few examples in the pictures below.
Dinner: 8:30PM
It’s been a long day: finally we will have the chance to sit down and have a warm meal with some fine wine to end it in the best way!
An early wake up call waits for us: we will go out when the twilight glow is just starting to appear, so that by the blue hour we will already be set up and ready to shoot! During our first sunrise session we’ll visit the iconic “Podere Belvedere”, one of the places that better represents the landscape of Tuscany: a country house, endless rolling hills and cypress trees all over the scene.
Breakfast & Morning Break: 8/10:30AM
By the time we’ll be back at the hotel, I’m sure that you will be very much looking forward to having a nice breakfast and a bit of a break to gain some energies back.
Visit and Lunch to Montepulciano: 10:30AM/2:30PM
Time to hit the road again and visit a different town out of all the marvelous ones in the area: today we’ll visit Montepulciano, famous for the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (noble wine of Montepulciano) and obviously we won’t miss having a delicious meal in a winery!
Afternoon Break/Editing: 2:30/5:30PM
Depending on how tired we are, we might either take another break or do some post-production on the shots taken in the past couple sessions. Or maybe a mix of both!
Sunset Session: 5:30/8PM (depending on sunset time)
Another day, another sunset: at this “round” we will visit the infamous Podere Baccoleno, another popular house lost in the countryside a bit north from Pienza. This is actually one of the very few locations that it’s not in the Val d’Orcia but in a different area called Crete Senesi. That winding road is definitely an unmissable view of Tuscany!
Dinner: 8:30PM
Another long day has passed, nothing better than sitting down and having a delicious meal in the fabulous small city centre of Pienza to wrap things up.
Another day, another early wake up call! During our second sunrise session we’ll visit Poggio Covili, a lovely house on top of a hill with its characteristic straight cypress trees road: getting the low fog here with just the house peaking out is every photographer’s dream when visiting Tuscany.
Breakfast & Morning Break: 8/10:30AM
By the time we’ll be back at the hotel, I’m sure that you will be very much looking forward to having a nice breakfast and a bit of a break to gain some energies back.
Visit and Lunch to Montalcino: 10:30AM/2:30PM
Time to hit the road again and visit a different town out of all the marvelous ones in the area: today we’ll visit Montalcino, famous (yep, again) for the Brunello di Montalcino, another type of wine that they produce nearby.
Afternoon Break/Editing: 2:30/5:30PM
Depending on how tired we are, we might either take another break or do some post-production on the shots taken in the past couple sessions. Or maybe a mix of both!
Sunset Session: 5:30/8PM (depending on sunset time)
On our third sunset together, we’ll visit Leo’s favorite location of the entire valley: the so-called “Gladiator House”, due to the fact that the originally shot a scene of “The Gladiator” movie of Ridley Scott there.
Dinner: 8:30PM
Another long day has passed, nothing better than sitting down and having a delicious meal in the fabulous small city centre of Pienza to wrap things up.
On our third sunrise we will cover one of the most unique spots of the area: the incredibly photogenic Chapel of Vitaleta – a small church built on top of a hill in the countryside.
Breakfast & Morning Break: 8/10:30AM
By the time we’ll be back at the hotel, I’m sure that you will be very much looking forward to having a nice breakfast and a bit of a break to gain some energies back.
Visit and Lunch in San Gimignano: 10:00AM/3:00PM
A longer drive awaits for us today: we’ll pay a visit to San Gimignano, 1h20m away from Pienza. One of the most incredible Tuscany towns from an architecture perspective, with its tall towers seen from miles away. Definitely a place worth the longer ride: they also have one of the best gelato in the world – in case you are an ice cream lover!
Afternoon Break/Editing: 3:00/5:30PM
Depending on how tired we are, we might either take another break or do some post-production on the shots taken in the past couple sessions. Or maybe a mix of both!
Sunset Session: 5:30/8PM (depending on sunset time)
Tonight we’ll capture another pretty country house called “I Cipressini”, just a minute drive out from Pienza. Another classic view of the area!
Dinner: 8:30PM
Another long day has passed, nothing better than sitting down and having a delicious meal in the fabulous small city centre of Pienza to wrap things up.
One of the many “pros” of opting for the 6 nights/7 days workshop is that you will get the chance to shoot not just the iconic and popular photography spots – but also the lesser known ones, the hidden gems, the ones that we personally found after years of experience in the area. We will dedicate this morning (and possibly also the next one) to some of those un-named locations – where you’ll be able to get some more personal and more particular shots.
Breakfast & Morning Break: 8/10:30AM
By the time we’ll be back at the hotel, I’m sure that you will be very much looking forward to having a nice breakfast and a bit of a break to gain some energies back.
Visit and Lunch in Siena: 10:00AM/3:00PM
Siena is the capital (the province, technically speaking) of the whole rolling hills area – and by far the biggest city around here. Piazza del Campo, the Duomo and the gorgeous street views are just some of the things you’ll be able to see and shoot there!
Afternoon Break/Editing: 3:00/5:30PM
Depending on how tired we are, we might either take another break or do some post-production on the shots taken in the past couple sessions. Or maybe a mix of both!
Sunset Session: 5:30/8PM (depending on sunset time)
Tonight we’ll drive up north again in the area around Monteroni d’Arbia (just south of Siena) to shoot some other beautiful rolling hills, lonely trees and country houses at sunset.
Dinner: 8:30PM
Another long day has passed, nothing better than sitting down and having a delicious meal in the fabulous small city centre of Pienza to wrap things up.
As we already mentioned when describing the previous day’s sunrise, we will visit some other less known locations far from the main ones (well, not really that far!): in case the weather has been bad in the previous days or you didn’t get the shots you wanted in a specific location, we might stop there again too!
Breakfast & Morning Break: 8/10:30AM
By the time we’ll be back at the hotel, I’m sure that you will be very much looking forward to having a nice breakfast and a bit of a break to gain some energies back.
Visit and Lunch in San Quirico d’Orcia & Bagno Vignoni: 10:30AM/2:00PM
No longer drives today: we will stay closer to Pienza and visit a true gem of the valley: Bagno Vignoni, a tiny town famous for its hot springs!
Afternoon Break/Editing: 2:00/5:30PM
At this point of the workshop – you already had a few editing sessions with your instructor, but today as it’s your last full day here we’ll do one last post-production session to select some of the best shots you’ve taken throughout the workshop and possibly to give you some helpful critique on them.
Sunset Session: 5:30/8PM (depending on sunset time)
Our last sunset together: time flies! Depending on the conditions, we might visit the Chapel of Vitaleta (yes, the one we shot from far away a couple mornings back) and shoot it from up close, as you can see from the images down here!
Dinner: 8:30PM
Your last full day of the workshop is just finished, time to celebrate the (hopefully) amazing time we had together in front of some pasta and wine!
We are mentioning one last sunrise in the itinerary, even in our very last day: since you’ll probably have to pack things up and get ready for your trip back home, you are 100% free to decide whether you’d like to go for it or maybe just sleep in and get ready a bit later. Our recommendation is to see how the weather looks like and then decide.
Breakfast & Check-out: 8:00/9:30AM
Time to pack everything up, get some “juice” for the trip back home and start our drive back towards the airport!
Drop-off: 11:00AM/12:00PM
After a 1h45m drive back to Florence (or a 2h40m drive if you leave from Pisa), it’s unfortunately time to say goodbye: your instructor will help you take the luggages into the building and wish you a safe flight back home!
– Scroll down, find the “book now” button, fill in your details and follow the process to the check-out. You will be able to leave a refundable deposit (500€ x person most of the times) via credit/debit card, bank transfer or even Paypal.
– Scroll down to the very end of the page to find the contact form or visit the “Contact Us” page to, well.. Contact us! We will be more than happy to help you with any request you have and set up the ideal workshop you have in your mind – and ultimately give you all the details to complete the deposit and secure your spot on the tour.
In either case, we only ask for a 500€ deposit to confirm your spot – we will then reach out around 2 months before your workshop starts with a link to complete the remaining part of the payment. If you booked last minute and need to pay the entire quote right away – we will be in touch as soon as we receive your reservation with the aforementioned link!
Why? So that you to get your own room for yourself without having to share it with anyone else. The single supplement is something we add at cost price (if not less), and as annoying as it might be, that’s something that unfortunately we can’t avoid.
That’s also how we manage to guarantee every workshop departure, even if you are the only participant for that date.
Of course you can opt for the single supplement even if you are traveling with friends and you like to have your own personal space.
– Digital Camera (preferably a DSLR or mirrorless camera, APS-C, micro 4/3 and FF will be more than fine);
– An ultrawide lens (e.g. Nikon 14-24mm, Canon 16-35mm, Tamron 15-30mm, Tokina 16-28mm etc); we recommend a lens with a wide maximum aperture (like f/2.8) in case we might do some night photography.
– A standard zoom lens (e.g. Nikon/Canon/Sigma 24-70mm or 24-105mm);
– A telephoto zoom lens (e.g. various Nikon/Canon/Tamron/Sigma 70-200mm);
– A super telephoto zoom lens (e.g. Sigma/Tamron 150-600mm); this lens is not necessary but we recommend it anyway since it allows to capture the far away details of the landscapes;
– A sturdy tripod that permits to do some long exposure photos, specially at twilight;
– A set of ND filters; these are the only filters we feel to recommend, since they become useful when you need to stretch the exposure time a little bit during some difficult light conditions;
– A camera remote to avoid blurry shots.
