Photography Workshops and Tuition
Photography Tuition
Photography tuition is available for clients of all abilities, whether you would like to concentrate on a particular species or refine your technical skills. Rates include access to our land and hide facilities on that day. If you are booking one of our workshops or day trips then tuition is of course included within the price. However, you will need to bring your own camera equipment.
Please note that all tuition is given in English at the present time.
Rates (on-site tuition):
For one person: 250€ per day or 150€ per half day
For two persons: 325€ per day or €225 per half day
For three persons: 400€ per day or 300€ per half day
Special offer: Introduction to Nature Photography (three consecutive half days), 295€ per person
If you are staying with us for three or more days why not take part in three half-day tuition sessions aimed at beginners. We will look at equipment choice and basic settings, work from hides to capture images of birds and mammals close up, discuss fieldcraft and practice macro/close up photography with insects and flowers and, during the final session, look at the basics of processing your images and storing them securely. Half day sessions allow you to visit surrounding attractions or relax for the rest of the day.
Macro Photography
Les Teyssonnières is the perfect location for macro photography with thousands of insect species (over sixty species of butterfly) plus wildflowers, including twenty species of orchid. The potential for images is limitless. We also have a large wildlife pond which attracts many species of damsel and dragonfly which breed and emerge from the water on Sping mornings. Access to some areas of meadow and woodland is included in the cost of accommodation, however access to our wildlife pond and the majority of our land can be secured by booking a tuition session or hiring the hides (affûts).
Landscape Photography
With stunning scenery and some of the most beautiful villages in France on the doorstep there are some great opportunities for landscape photography without travelling far. We can take you on a guided tour of a selection of the best locations, or simply provide details of walks or places to visit where you can obtain some wonderful shots in your own time. See the Day Trips page for further details.
Camera Trapping
The property is home to a variety of mammals (badger, hare, fox, roe and fallow deer, wild boar, pine and stone marten) which are mostly active after dusk and which use regular trails. We have Camtraptions camera trapping equipment (compatible with Canon, Nikon, Sony and OM System/Olympus equipment – for other manufacturers please enquire) which can be used during your stay following an introductory workshop to demonstrate its use and the best locations for deployment.
The equipment for rental comprises a camera housing and support, camera connecting cable, up to three flashes in waterproof housings, IR trigger and radio receivers/transmitter for camera and flashes. Cost of Camera Trapping Workshop (and subsequent use of equipment for up to a week) €95 per person.
Astrophotography
Les Teyssonnières is located in one of the darkest areas of Europe (Bortle Level 3 with Level 2 a short distance to the north). Unaffected by light pollution and with lots of clear skies year round, we have amazing opportunities for astrophotography and star-gazing both on the property and in the locality. On many nights in the Spring and Summer it is possible to see the galaxy core of the Milky Way and shooting stars and satellite passes are readily visible on the numerous occasions when there is no cloud cover. In addition, local historic villages, windmills and other historic monuments and landscape features offer perfect foregrounds for night-time shots. Whilst Simon loves taking images of the night sky he does not consider himself an expert in this field so does not offer tuition on this aspect of photography at the moment.
Adobe Lightroom and Post Processing
Simon has been using Adobe Lightroom since its early releases and can provide tuition on all aspects of its use from image import, cataloguing, post processing, export and printing to cross-working with Photoshop and other similar programmes. Advice can also be given on PC specifications for photo work and safe file storage and backup. A morning or afternoon session costs 150€ per person.
