highlights of venice tour

Between gondolas and canals, bridges and amazing architecture, let Venice inspire you: embark with us on this three days workshop to discover all the hidden corners of the floating city!

2 nights/3 days

FROM €1590,00 P.P.

all skill levels

easy walking involved

5 PERSONS MAX.

ALL YEAR ROUND

OVERVIEW

The “floating city” of Venice surely doesn’t need an introduction: it’s unique, plain and simple. There’s nothing else quite like it. The gondolas, the canals, the buildings. It’s just amazing to see how the entire “ecosystem” adapted to the town – from the police to the ambulance, from bread delivery to all sorts of transports.

Photography wise, this town is nothing short of picture-perfect: there are endless scenes that seem to be made exactly for the purpose of being photographed!

We thought and prepared our shortest Venice workshop with the aim of you learning as many things as you can – and visit some of the very best locations that the city has to offer: in this way we will help you make the most out of the time you’ll have in Venice!

workshop itinerary

A small disclaimer before you start diving into the day-by-day itinerary: what you will read here is a “standardized” version of it. In other words a simplified, very rigid schedule created to give you a rough idea of what our days together will look like and a “taste” of some of the locations we will shoot.

If you’d like to get more infos about the locations – you can also visit our Venice Photography Guide, that should give you an even clearer idea of the places and the best times of the year to visit!

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!

DAY 1 - ARRIVAL & RIVA DEGLI SCHIAVONI
Pick-up: 10/10:30AM

Time to start our workshop together! On our first day, we will pick you up at the airport (or train station, depending how you prefer to arrive) around mid-morning; the airport is really close to the city – but it might take some time between ferries, traffic and bridges to actually reach our hotel. We will stay downtown really close to St. Mark Square – the prettiest part of Venice – where all the main photography locations are.

Lunch: 12:30PM

After dropping the luggages at the hotel we will take a first stroll around town, where you will be able to admire the amazing architecture together with gondoliers, canals and bridges: all the things that made Venice so famous all over the world!

We will end our morning walk with a delicious lunch somewhere downtown.

Hotel Check-in & Afternoon Break: approx. 2:30/4:30PM

After our tasty lunch together, we’ll return back to the hotel to check in and take a breath before hitting the road again.

Sunset Session: 5/8PM (depending on sunset time)

Here we are: let’s start our first photography session together! During our first sunset we will visit the amazing Riva degli Schiavoni, one of the most iconic views of Venice just out of St. Mark Square: we will find endless different compositions along the shore – playing with several different subjects such as gondolas, churches and small wooden piers. An amazing location for long exposures too! See the images down here for reference.

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 wine to end it in the best way!

DAY 2 - ACCADEMIA BRIDGE, BURANO & RIALTO BRIDGE
Sunrise Session: 5:00/8AM (depending on sunrise time)

Before the first lights appear in the sky – we’ll already be out headed to our sunrise location: the Accademia bridge, another impressive view of the Venice’ Gran Canal.

Breakfast & Morning Break: 8/9:00AM

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 Burano: 9:00AM/2:30PM

It won’t be long before we meet again: the reason why we take a shorter break compared to many other our workshops is because we want to beat everyone else and reach the small island of Burano before them: the place tends to be quite calm and empty till late morning generally, then the crowds start to flock in. The ferry will take around 45 minutes to reach Burano from Venice, so arriving there around 10 will give us some time to shot in peace.

Afternoon Break: 2:30/5:30PM

Since we haven’t really got any rest till very early this morning – we will use these couple hours to gain some energies back while preparing for the sunset session.

Sunset Session: 5:30/8PM (depending on sunset time)

Time to head out again – this time to the incredible Rialto Bridge, which we are going to shoot from a bunch of different angles! Your instructor then, depending on how’s the light and the crowds, will decide where to spend the “real” golden hour.

Dinner: 8:30/9PM

After twilight is gone, we will walk to the restaurant and finally get a well deserved dinner before heading to bed!

DAY 3 - DEPARTURE
Sunrise Session: 5:30/8AM (depending on sunrise time)

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, depending also on what conditions we got the previous day 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 journey (yes, everything in Venice is a “journey”) back towards the airport (or the train station)!

Drop-off: 10:00AM/10:30PM

After one last ferry ride and some walking, 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!

You have two different ways to secure your spot on any available workshop date:

– Scroll down, select the package that more fits your needs, 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.

Down here above the price you’ll find a list of the most important things included in each package, but for an in-depth answer check our FAQs page!
All our quotes are always based on a double room occupancy: that means that if you are traveling here by yourself, we will automatically add the so-called “single supplement” to your price.

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.

A few weeks before your departure, we will contact you suggesting the best clothes to bring with you based on the weather forecasts and the current temperatures, so that you will be perfectly equipped by the time of your arrival!

CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE:

SMART PACKAGE

From 1590,00€ per person
  • accommodations (3* or better) (double occupancy)
  • breakfasts
  • Car transports
  • gas, tolls, road taxes, etc
  • pick up/drop off at venice airport
  • editing sessions
  • assistance and guidance by a professional local photographer 24/7
BEST PRICE

COMFORT PACKAGE

From 2090,00€ per person
  • accommodations (3*/4*or better) (double occupancy)
  • three meals per day (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
  • car transports
  • public transports tickets (if needed)
  • attractions tickets (monuments, towers, etc)
  • gas, tolls, road taxes, etc
  • pick up/drop off at venice airport
  • assistance and guidance by a professional local photographer 24/7
  • chance to make it a private workshop at no added cost

NOT INCLUDED IN BOTH PACKAGES

  • AIRFARE TO/FROM ITALY
  • SINGLE SUPPLEMENT (500€ FOR THE SMART PACKAGE, 700€ FOR THE COMFORT PACKAGE)
  • VISA (IF NECESSARY)
  • TRAVEL INSURANCE
  • EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE "WHAT'S INCLUDED" LIST

customers reviews

what people say

Kelly redacted
Kelly redacted
2023-06-04
Cinque Terre is a MUST see location in Italy! Our experience there was incredible for many reasons, and Leonardo with Tuscany Photographic Tours played a huge part in making this the experience of a lifetime.Leo speaks perfect English and he's very easy to understand. He likes to keep groups small so he can spend more individual time with everyone. Our group included my husband, myself, and a good friend. With our group size of three, each of us having different levels of photographic experiences, as well as some mobility issues (Leo has unending patience!), Leo helped us find the best compositions in each Cinque Terre village that we visited! He also recognized that we are tourists and gave us plenty of opportunities to explore or shop (although we preferred to take more photos!).Leo is very knowledgeable about photography, and has experience using various types of cameras which really helped when we needed to change camera settings. He coached us on how and why to change our camera's settings for different shots. I love that he taught us a new skill or two at each village. For example, Leo taught us to quickly adjust to rapidly changing light conditions during sunset. We learned why and how to merge photos to get crisp focus on subjects separated by distance, and how to use ND filters and bracketing! All in just one day!Leo is very friendly and open, has a great personality, and is a very good teacher. It's quite easy to become fast friends with him! He is able to effectively coach people of all ages and photography skill sets. He loves what he does, and it really shows. After the workshop was over, Leo welcomed us to contact him if we have any questions or need any help while processing our photos!We learned more about photography in one day with Leo than we've learned from any other workshops, books, or online videos! We are already planning to return next year to accompany Leo on a photography expedition in beautiful Tuscany!
David Havlik
David Havlik
2023-05-30
Three of us spent a day with Leo who provided a crash course in Cinque Terre photography. It was an interesting dichotomy of sorts being that the three of us has just completed a different week-long photography workshop covering other parts of Italy. Based on shared feedback among our small group, we feel the instruction we received from Leo over a single day was far superior to that we experienced over the previous week. Leo was very attentive to our needs and tailored his teaching to our level of photography expertise. He was very patient and did not mind repeating concepts to be sure we had a good understanding. He was determined to make sure we made the most of the time we had with him, but he in no way pushed us to the point of exhaustion. Two specific photography techniques I learned from Leo that day were bracketing and the use of filters. I highly recommend Tuscany Photography Tours to photographers of any skill level. You will learn something new from Leo!
Sue Barrell
Sue Barrell
2023-05-24
My husband and I cannot speak highly enough of the wonderful experience we had, both photographically and personally, with Leonardo in Venice on his Classic Venice Tour. His extensive familiarity with Venice meant that not only did he take us to parts of the city that we would never have discovered otherwise (and where few other tourists lurked), but we were there at the right the right times of day to capture the ambience and atmosphere of this amazing city. We also benefitted from his deep photographic knowledge and generous advice on technique - he taught us things about our own cameras that we didn't know! On top of this, he was a personable and entertaining host and guide, adding to our overall experience. Leonardo dedicated all his time with us to ensuring our images were the best we could capture on the day.
Samuel Kwok
Samuel Kwok
2023-05-07
I was so happy to be with Leo of Tuscany Photography in Tuscany. He led our group to visit all the beautiful places Shot in good timing and shared his professional experiences. Trust I will follow him in the next trip in Italy soon.
Vicki Anton Athens
Vicki Anton Athens
2023-05-06
I spent a week with Leo and 3 wonderful photographers. I’ve been on many photo tours. Leo is a consummate excellent tour leader and photographer. He spent a considerable time, one on one in the field and on post processing in Photoshop. He knows his stuff, easy to follow and kind. He knows where to go according to the weather so that you get phenomenal images. Looking forward to more tours with him!
Ronnie James
Ronnie James
2023-05-05
Leonardo’s Classic Tuscany tour was simply amazing! As promised, we visited all the best locations in the area, at the right times and in the best lighting conditions. We did city walks as well, to include the very scenic towns of Pienza and Montepulciano.Leo is an extremely accomplished award winner photographer. Landscape photography is a new genre for me and I gained so much from his instructional teaching style that I saw my compositions and the overall quality of my images improve dramatically in just the first two days. Take his constructive criticisms and recommendations to heart and you’ll come away with images you will be proud to post, print, enter into contests and even sell.Obviously, the food in Tuscany is amazing and Leo took us to all the best local restaurants. The food, the desserts, the wine…all outstanding.Leonardo is friendly and easy going, but at the end of the day the group I was in booked with him to come away with great images. I know those are the types of images everyone on this tour produced. I wouldn’t hesitate going out into the field again with Leo. I highly recommend joining one of his tours.
anand Nirgude
anand Nirgude
2023-05-04
Leonardo is amazingly punctual and knowledgeable guide for this trip. I am going with him to Iceland
Kathy Phipps
Kathy Phipps
2023-05-01
We are two wildlife photographers that, while in Italy, decided to give landscape photography a try. Luckily we found Tuscany Photography Tours and were able to spend 3 great days with Leonardo. We learned so much, captured some wonderful scenes, and had great conversations about photography, food, wine, and life in Italy and beyond. If you are interested in landscape photography, I would recommend a trip with Leonardo!
John Crifasi
John Crifasi
2023-03-26
Leonardo far exceeded my expectations of a photography tour through Tuscany! I only had a limited time frame, as I was on the back end of my stay in Italy; however, Leonardo crafted the perfect itinerary for my available time. From meeting me at the train station in Firenze, to our final shooting and outing through the Tuscan countryside, it was a dream come true experience! Wanted to take advantage of the full essence of Tuscany, I opted for the upgraded level, which included all meals. Pro tip: opt for the upgrade! Breaking bread, while immersed in the Tuscan life, was almost as enjoyable as photographing the winding cypress trees and hills and valleys of Val d’Orcia! Wholeheartedly endorse using Leonardo and Tuscany Photography Tours for your expedition through Italy!! John F Crifasi
Ena Singh
Ena Singh
2023-03-11
I had the pleasure of visiting the Dolomites last fall, and I can confidently say that it was an unforgettable experience. Leo is not only an incredibly talented photographer but also an amazingly knowledgeable guide. He took me to some of the most picturesque locations in the region, allowing me to witness stunning sunrises and sunsets while capturing breathtaking shots of the landscapes.Leo's expertise didn't stop there; he provided me with valuable tips and tricks to improve my photography skills and shared his extensive knowledge of the region's history and culture, adding an extra layer of depth to the tour.Right from the start, Leo's communication was exceptional, making sure everything was taken care of, and he continued to be incredibly patient and accommodating throughout the tour. He went above and beyond to ensure that I had the opportunity to capture the shots I wanted and was attentive to my needs.Overall, I highly recommend Leo and Tuscany Photography Tours to anyone who loves photography and wants to explore the beauty of Italy while learning from a skilled and passionate guide. Thanks to Leo, I came away from the tour with some incredible photos and unforgettable memories, and I can't wait to go back!

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