FAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What to Expect at the Workshop

All of our on-location workshops adhere to the same proven formula for success. 

Meet and Greet:
The evening before each workshop, we will gather at the Meet and Greet location identified on the website for approximately an hour. This time is an opportunity to meet each other, share a little bit about ourselves and get acquainted. We will discuss equipment and any concerns you might have along with your goals and expectations for the workshop. Most importantly, we will cover the proposed agenda for the workshop days based on student interest, current weather and local events.
Typical Workshop Agenda:

Depending on the location, our day could start as early as a half-hour before sunrise, making certain that we have arrived at the shooting location for the best possible light and the best possible picture taking opportunities, whether our location is the beach, the countryside, or the city itself.
After spending the morning out on location, we will take a break from roughly 11AM to 2PM and students will be free to download images, take a nap, sight-see grab some lunch, etc.  Around 3PM we will gather together and pick up the cameras again for some afternoon/evening shooting.  You will once again see and shoot some amazing imagery until approximately 30 minutes after sunset.

Workshops typically conclude approximately 30 minutes after sunset on the final day of the workshop. 

What Will We Cover
Emphasis in the workshop will be placed on the Art of Seeing as well as ‘difficult exposures’ and compositional fundamentals: filling the frame, horizontal versus vertical, size and scale, color, pattern, line and texture and their symbolism, freezing action and implying motion opportunities, the importance of lens choice and point of view, macro work, and the proper use of the polarizing and graduated neutral density filters as well as reflectors and extension tubes.
What Is The Cost

All of my workshops adhere to the same formula for success; no student will go home without an abundance of amazing images-promise! The workshop fee varies depending on location (see schedule for cost).

In addition to your travel expenses to the workshops location, (by air or car) you are also responsible for your hotel and food costs. For those coming by air, perhaps you don’t need to be reminded, but check out Expedia.com or Travelocity.com. In addition, in those workshops where we travel by metro (i.e., New York, Paris, etc.), each student is responsible for securing a two or four day metro pass which one can purchase on the first day of the workshop at that workshops given location.

In other workshops, such as Provence, Santorini, Germany, Oregon and Dubai, ground transportation is provided at no additional charge as we travel from one location to the next in large rental vans.

What You Will Need

What to Bring – Click Here

Payment
A deposit of $200 is required for each workshop, and you can pay by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Zelle or PayPal. The balance is due within 90 days of the start of the workshop.
 
All funds listed on the website are in US Dollars ($USD).
Cancellation Policy

Cancellation Policy

All deposits and any other monies paid are 100% refundable if you choose to cancel any workshop 90 days or more before the start date of the workshop.

If you need to cancel inside the 90-day window, every effort will be made to register you in a future workshop of your choosing within 12 months of the start date of your workshop. We will apply a credit valued at 100% of your deposit and any other monies you have paid toward the future workshop.  No additional discounts may be applied to that future workshop.  

The only exception is in workshops in which we use an outside tour provider, which is identified below and on each of the applicable workshop pages.  If you need to cancel inside the 90-day window for any of these workshops that use an outside tour provider, your credit will be based on our ability to recover fees that we have already provided to the outside providers.  Obviously, the earlier you provide notice of your need to cancel, the more likely we are to be able to retrieve funds for you.  Any funds that we retrieve from our outside tour providers will be available to you to use as a credit in a future workshop of your choosing within 12 months of the start date of your cancelled workshop.  No additional discounts may be applied to that future workshop.

Please understand that we are not in the business of taking your money and not delivering workshops.  We want you in our workshops, learning and growing as a photographer, expanding your creativity and making new friends, because we know that in all likelihood you will keep coming back for more workshops.  This new refund policy is necessary to cover the increased fees that we have to pay when providing refunds. 

 We hope you will understand.  Thank you for your continued loyalty.  

Workshops in 2024 with an Outside Tour Provider:

Ethiopia 2024

Morocco #1 and #2 2024

Bhutan 2024

 

Guest Policy

Students often ask about our policy for “non-photographer” guests.  The answer is complicated, but below is some background and some general rules regarding our policy.  

When we are in a weekend workshop (like the New York City or San Francisco workshops) walking around or taking public transport, a non-photographer guest is always welcome at no additional charge.  

When we are in a workshop in which transportation is provided (like the Holland or Provence workshops), the answer is a bit trickier.  In these workshops, we typically rent vehicles and drive from one shooting location to another.  In that situation and if we have capacity in the vehicle, we might ask for a small fee to help cover expenses for a non-photographer guest.  

In some workshops we provide accommodations (like the Lofoten/Norway or Alaska workshops), and again we are flexible about accommodating non-photographer guests.  Generally speaking, we might ask for a small fee to help cover expenses if the guest stays with the student and if we have the space. 

In some workshops we work with a tour provider (like the Ethiopia and Bhutan workshops) and we owe the same amount to our tour provider whether the guest is a student or a non-photographer guest.  So in these workshops the cost for a non-photographer guest is the same as the cost for a student.  

Another important note is that we are going to start being very serious about the definition of a “non-photographer” guest, meaning that the guest cannot even use their mobile phone to take photos during the workshop.  I know this might sound a little harsh, but we are providing a service and Bryan is sharing his vast photography expertise with the students.  It’s just not fair to him to have a student participating in the workshop for free as a guest of a paying student.  We have recently had our flexibility tested in a few unfortunate incidents so we are going to start being a bit more rigid about that policy.  

If the above doesn’t address your situation directly, please reach out to Lisa at [email protected] and she can provide an answer that specifically addresses the workshop and the guest that you’d like to add to a workshop.  

How Do I Sign Up?
  It’s easy!  Click on the “Pay the Deposit $200″ link in the payment box on the workshop page.  You will receive a confirmation email within 48 hours from Lisa Phillips.  
 
–  When a workshop is full, you can email Lisa Phillips at [email protected] and ask her to put you on the Waitlist. If a spot becomes available, Lisa will contact you as soon as possible to confirm your registration in the workshop.
I'm Interested in Taking an online course of Bryan's!
Bryan offers two options for online learning!

  1. The Bryan Peterson School of Photography (or BPSOP) – a fully interactive online photography school where students have the opportunity to submit assignments each week and receive instructor critiques and feedback from fellow classmates.
  2. You Keep Shooting – a worldwide community of photographers who all share a passion for image-making! You Keep Shooting is a membership-based website where you are given the opportunity to follow Bryan on his creative journey around the world without ever leaving your living room!