It finally came through...your significant other gave the go ahead and you can take one of those expensive, multi-day photography workshops. You couldn't be more thrilled. Now the fun part begins! You get to spend hours browsing the Internet, magazine ads and talking to friends looking for the perfect workshop. But wait a minute - this isn't fun! There are too many choices! Do you want to go to a far off exotic location or stay close to home? How about a workshop from a well-known Pro? Birds, Wildlife, Landscapes...how do you make sense of the hundreds, no thousands, of workshops promising the perfect photo opportunities?

This can be a daunting task and even frustrating to the point of being paralyzing. Then comes the horror stories about trips gone bad, unreturned deposits and promises not delivered. This can put some people off so much that they decide to not even take a workshop and end up using the money for a new car, a cruise or, god forbid...bills!

To help with the selection process, I have developed a list of 5 steps that you can follow to help make sense out of this chaos and hopefully make the selection process easier. Following these steps will help you to define your goals, determine your needs and ultimately help you in selecting the appropriate workshop.

Step 1: Define your Goals! - While this may sound fairly simplistic it is the essential first step to finding the workshop for you. You need to know what you are after and then whether the leader/workshop you are selecting can accommodate your needs. Do you want a total "hands on" workshop with lots of instruction? Some instructors expect you to learn from watching them shoot and then asking questions when something happens that you don't understand. Do you have the personality type for that? Or maybe you want to be left alone and want guidance only when you ask for it. In that case, a photo tour may be more up your alley with the instruction kept to a minimum. There are many different varieties of workshops and tours so defining this intention from the beginning will lead you on the right path.

You then need to decide what you want to come home with. Are you looking to pad your image files with thousands of new images or you hoping to learn a new skill that can be applied on later shoots? Some workshops can be technique rich and image poor while others are just the opposite. Decide which is more important to you. Once you define your overall goals, look for the workshop that can meet those criteria.

Step 2: Determine Cost! - After you know what you would like to achieve from a workshop you now need to know how much you are willing or able to spend. For some people this may seem like a first step but if you don't know what your goals are, it will be difficult to then place your goal set into a price bracket. There are many, many different price points out there and vary greatly by the length of time, accommodations provided, amount of instruction given and where the workshop is located. Don't make the mistake of using price to define your workshop experience, as you run the risk of not getting the workshop that you want.

Step 3: All Inclusive or Al a Carte`! - This little tidbit can often sneak up on you, and I have heard of people who felt misled by what they understood the workshop was providing. One couple I talked to was incensed after they arrived on a workshop location to find that not only did the leader not provide rooms (as they assumed he did) but also that the rooms in that popular area had all been booked. What should have been an enjoyable vacation turned quickly into a frustrating and expensive ordeal. Some workshops can look like a great deal on the surface, but once you delve into the details, you find you get little other than the company of an experienced photographer. Decide what you are willing to accept in terms of accommodations. Do you want to be housed with the other members of the group, or do you want to be able to select your own lodging? Is a tent camp acceptable to you, or are you looking for a luxury hotel. All of this should be spelled out in clear language in the workshop description, so you know what you are getting and for what price, right up front. If you have doubts or questions, make sure you ask.

While providing your own transportation and lodging on a workshop can seem like a great way to keep the price down, you may end up spending more than you would by buying it all as a package. Workshop leaders are often able to book rooms at a discount, transport people in large vans or suburbans and have prearranged meals available. All of this means lower cost and less money out of your pocket before and after the workshop starts. Either choice can be a successful option but again, defining your goals ahead of time can help you select the workshop that you want.

Step 4: Location, Location, Location - This will quite often be a big determination of the overall price point but choosing the location as step 4 will help you determine the workshop that will fit within your already established goal criteria. Knowing the subject matter you wish to shoot is important and must be factored into this equation. Obviously some locations are more expensive to get to than others, and that must be factored into your decision making process but you can't photograph polar bears in Texas so you need to keep your expectations realistic. Few workshops provide transportation to your destination, and this can be a major factor in determining where you go. Is it within driving distance or do you need to fly? Is your intended subject matter in strong proliferation or are they an occasional passerby? Nothing can be guaranteed when it comes to nature photography, but you can up the odds considerably by choosing areas with strong concentrations of certain subjects.

Many locations, particularly on public lands require that the workshop leader purchase a special permit to hold workshops there. Ensure that your leader has the proper permits for their area and knows the rules and guidelines where you will be going. It would be disastrous to arrive in a wonderful, expensive location only to have your workshop brought to a sudden halt because your leader didn't obtain the proper permissions. Don't accept a leader who insists that there is not a problem or asks you to lie about your participation in a workshop. There are far too many honest, well-run companies to put up with shoddy ones!

Have an idea of the experience you wish to have and how many other photography groups you hope to encounter. Make sure that the leader is up front with you about this. Being told that you will likely have a location to yourself and then find out that you are shoulder to shoulder with other photographers can be a little disheartening. However, there can be a lot of camaraderie in heavily photographed locations and if that is what you want, great. But the more heavily photographed locations can make it more difficult to maneuver to the best spots, navigate the roads or to come home with unique images. Again, define your expectations and then ensure that your intended workshop fits the bill.

Step 5: - Big Name Pro or Up and Comer! - There are many workshops taught each year by some of the big name pros, and many of them are outstanding. However, just because someone is a top pro photographer doesn't mean that he has the ability or personality to teach you. Does their personality mesh with yours? Are they a good teacher? Do they put your photographic needs first? The first workshop I ever took was from a big name pro, and it was the worst experience I could have imagined. Name does not ensure quality.

There are many up and coming photographers (many of whom have been in the business for many years) that provide excellent workshops. They quite often work as hard or harder for the customer than the guys with big names do. Also find out what qualifications your potential leader has. Just because they have a long list of published credits to their name, doesn't ensure that they will have the ability to help you make images in various situations or conditions. Many leaders were (or are) photographers in fields other than nature photography. Having a workshop leader with a varied background and education can help expand your learning potential and introduce a new and fresh perspective.

There are so many workshops out there that finding a good one can seem almost impossible. While the five steps listed above will never guarantee a perfect workshop experience, they can go a long way to helping you to itemize and prioritize your goals and to ensure that you get the most for the money you are paying. After all, your images deserve that!

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