Morocco Photography Tour
Overwhelm your senses in our photography tour of Morocco: colorful cities, breathtaking sand dunes, and warm hospitality.
Why Morocco?
Morocco has an incredibly diverse array of things to see. From colorful market stalls crowded with interesting people to the silent “sand sea” of the Sahara desert dunes, this trip is a feast for the eyes (and the lens). Enjoy the remarkable hospitality of the locals–to say nothing of the delicious food!–as you practice a wide rage of photographic techniques with your professional photographer and guide.
Nothing can quite prepare you for the landscapes in this part of Morocco. Traveling across desert plains you’ll see grandeur from a bygone age where dramatic rock formations, an extraordinary testament to natural forces, form a backdrop to sweeping river valleys and crumbling Kasbahs. Dunes offer a kaleidoscope of shifting color and texture and the architectural splendor of the region’s most famous Kasbah –-Ait Benhaddou, dating back to at least the 13th century is undiminished and it still houses many families within its mud-brick walls.
For this incredible location, we have prepared 2 options for you:
- 8 Days Tour: Fully experience Morocco to visit Ait Benhaddou, Dades valley, Todra Gorge, Ksar village, Dessert Dunes.
- 3 Days Tour: Air Benhaddou, Dades Valley, back to Marrakesh.
See the exact schedule below. Next trip start date: October 21st, 2022.
Trip highlights
We’ll fly into and out of Marrakech. The time in between will be spent exploring southwards. We will split up into two 4x4s to ensure everyone has plenty of space to take unblocked pictures of the stunning views on the road trip. We’ll see many sights along the way, such as:
Program Highlights
-
High Atlas and the Tizi n Tichka summit before arriving at Ait Benhaddou
- Dades Valley
- Todra Gorge
- Local family & people shoots
- Dunes at Merzouga & overnight stay in nomad tents
- Gnawa musicians in a nearby village followed by a large desert market at Rissini
- Skoura and its palmeries, a UNESCO heritage site
- Marrakesh
ACCOMODATION
We will stay at the best available hotels depending on the location plus a one night at a tent in the desert. See the representative photos above.
Tickets
The best way to improve your photography is to practice, and we intend to give you many opportunities during this trip to do just that. This photography tour of Morocco gives you the opportunity to practice a very wide variety of skills. This means that, no matter your photographic background, you’ll have the opportunity to grow new skills and shoot outside of your comfort zone.
You’ll shoot street photography in Marrakech, landscape and wildlife photography among the desert dunes and in the twisting mountain passes, architectural photography in the medina of Marrakech, and natural light portraiture wherever you go. Not to mention stunning sunrises & sunsets and astrophotography from our bivouac among the dunes. It is a fully-loaded program of photography practice. What’s more, your guide will give you individualized guidance based on your personal skill level, as well as feedback on your pictures to show you how you can make the most of each new situation.
On this photography tour to Morocco, expect to practice and improve:
- How to handle high dynamic range situations, apply composition rules, manage colors and contrasts
- Outdoor & indoor portraits in different environments and light conditions
- Using reflectors, flashes on and off camera
- Night and astrophotography
- Editing techniques and how to form a series of images
- Daily assignments to get you out of your comfort zone and broaden your abilities as a photographer
What is included?
- Fully loaded program of photography practice led by our instructor
- Transfers to and from the airport
- Lodging expenses – hotels or camping equipment, depending on the location
- Breakfasts
- Local transportation
- Ride in a camel caravan
- Snacks & water during the day
- All entrance fees to the attractions listed in the itinerary
Not included:
- Flights to and from Marrakech
- Lunch & dinners
- Personal expenses like souvenirs, bar beverages, laundry
- Insurance (travel, medical, cancellation, which are all recommended)
Why Swiss Photo Club?
- Small Groups: This photography tour of Morocco is capped at 6 participants, giving you plenty of opportunity for individualized instruction
- Experience: Swiss Photo Club has been running photography tours since 2016. Our experienced instructors will teach you many new skills during your travel.
- Expertise: Swiss Photo Club is the only photography school in Switzerland that has been certified by EduQua for quality.
- Support along your entire photography journey : We offer a wide range of photography services, like classes to take before you go and photography competitions where you can exhibit your best photos upon your return (participants of our photo tours receive a discount on entry to the Photo Awards competitions).
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Darren Lewey
Darren began taking photographs in the early 1980’s and printing in a makeshift darkroom at home. He went onto study photography, firstly on an art and design foundation course, before graduating with a degree in Photographic Studies in 1992 and an MSc in Film Production in 1994.
Photographing both landscape and portraiture using digital and large format film, his images are characterised by a high level of compositional and technical accomplishment. Based in Morocco, Darren explores the region for project related work.
Darren first visited Morocco in 1991 to make a student film and take photographs in the Anti-Atlas Mountains. He returned in 1993 again for a student project, this time to Essaouira. During the 1990’s he made several visits to the town, making a documentary on an Englishwoman’s adventure with Gnawa music.
Darren is also qualified lecturer with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and has several years experience planning and delivering courses in the UK. He is a passionate photographic educator, collaborating with Swiss Photo Club since 2022.
FAQ’s
Unless differently stated in the trip description, the following conditions apply to cancellations and booking changes for each trip:
- Up to 90 Days: 20% of the price is held as cancellation
- 89 – 31 Days: 50% of the price is held as cancellation
- 30 – 0 Days: 100% of the price is held as cancellation
Please note that some of the trips have stricter cancellation rules due to agencies we work with. In these cases, the cancellation policy in the trip description applies.
Tickets are not for resale.
For shared rooms, we strongly recommend that you book with somebody you already know and comfortable to share the room with.
If you book a shared room alone, that means you accept to share your room with any other participant regardless of gender or age.
With individual booking of a shared room, your booking can only be confirmed if there is another individual shared room reservation with us. Otherwise, depending on the time and availability, you have the option to upgrade to a private room reservation.
If you decide to upgrade to private room, the conditions depend on the timing of your decision, pending of course on the availability.
Before the trip: Possible by paying the price difference at the time of your decision (e.g. if you bought an early bird ticket but decided to upgrade during normal prices, you pay the difference at normal prices).
After the trip has started: If you decide to upgrade during check-in, if there is room available, you will have to pay the price difference plus 20% of your original payment as penalty.
Unless otherwise stated in the course description, the group conversations will be in English.
Our instructors are all at least bi-lingual, so we will probably be able to help you in your own language in private, in case of any questions. Please check before registration if you do not feel comfortable in English.
No. The application is open to everybody who have the passion for photography and learning. This trip is for beginners as well as for pros because we believe that we all have different talents and we can all learn from each other. Even though, a basic knowledge of photography is highly recommended.
Once we receive your payment, we will get back to you with a short survey or a call to get to know your preferences for language and accommodation. As the trip gets closer, we will keep in touch with you again to confirm the trip, introduce the instructors, update you on the progress and communicate the full program.
No. This trip will be organized by and for Swiss Photo Club only.
Children:
Minimum age of 16 years is required.
Pets:
Pets are unfortunately not allowed to bring.
Allergies/food intolerances:
Please let us know about your allergies and food intolerances so we can adjust the organization according to your needs.
Additional photo equipment:
We have a partnership with great photography manufacturers. If you need to buy photo gear for your trip, do not hesitate to contact us and we will send you a quote (hello@swissphotoclub.com).
There is no insurance included in the weekend photography trip. Please make sure you have health, travel and accident insurance coverage.
We will ask you to give us a way to get in touch with a contact person of your choice before the trip.
You and your beloved ones can contact all of us during our trip and our team back in Geneva and Zurich.
In case of any special allergies or medical treatments, we highly recommend to contact your doctor before applying for the trip.
Swiss Photo Club does not provide any insurance.
You can either pay via:
- Credit Card (fastest/prefered option),
- Bank Transfer
- Invoice (send us an email with full name and billing address)
- Cash (get in contact with us to arrange an appointment)
- Photography equipment for landscape and night photography (body, lenses, tripod, filters, strap, batteries, sd cards, etc.)
- Laptop with Lightroom or Photoshop for the editing session (optional)
- Warm clothes according to weather conditions
You will get a recommended packing list with your welcome information