If you’ve started looking at photography workshops, you’ve probably noticed something:

Everyone looks amazing.

Big banners. Dramatic photos. “Once-in-a-lifetime.” “Bucket list.” “World-class.” After a while, it all starts to blur together.

Behind those pretty pictures, though, there are some real differences in how companies run trips, how they teach, and what your day-to-day experience will actually feel like as a photographer.

This isn’t about tearing down anyone else. There are lots of good companies out there.
This is about helping you read between the lines—and showing you why a lot of photographers end up feeling most at home in the kind of small, photographer-first workshops we run at Akari Photo Tours.

What big workshop companies are really selling

Most large photo workshop companies sell three main things:

Scale – long trip calendars, dozens of destinations, something going on almost every month of the year.
Convenience – all-inclusive style pricing, where most of the logistics are bundled together.
Brand comfort – a name you’ve seen in magazines, on social media, or in ads.

There’s real value in that. Big operations can:

Negotiate good rates with lodges and operators.
Offer a huge menu of destinations.
Deliver familiar, predictable experiences.

And many do a genuinely good job. You absolutely can get strong images on those trips.

But scale comes with trade-offs that matter a lot once you put a camera in your hand:

Larger groups – 8, 10, sometimes 12–16 photographers on a single departure.
Less flexibility – more people means the schedule has to be stricter and harder to adapt on the fly.
Crowded scenes – vehicles full, viewing areas lined with tripods, everyone shooting from the same two spots.

If you’re simply looking for a comfortable tour with a camera in hand, that might be enough.

If you’re serious about your photography, it often isn’t.

What photographers actually need from a workshop

Strip away the glossy marketing, and most photographers really want three things:

1. Access, time, and space

You need to be:

In the right place.
At the right time.
With enough room to move, think, and work a scene.

That’s hard to do when there are three people squeezed in every row of a game drive vehicle, or a dozen tripods stacked along the same rail while the light is changing by the second.

2. Real, in-field teaching

You don’t just want someone at dinner to say, “Nice shot.”

You want:

A leader beside you at the sighting, talking through why they’re choosing a certain shutter speed, angle, or background.
Help with timing, behavior, and anticipating the moment before it happens.
Honest critique and guidance when you bring images back to the lodge at night.

That kind of teaching is very hard to deliver if the leader is focused on building their own portfolio on every outing.

3. Trips that are truly scouted, not guessed

You only get so many chances at a dream trip.

You want itineraries built by people who have already done the homework:

Where the migration crossings are likely to be.
Which canyon or valley catches first light best.
Which village actually welcomes cultural photography—and which shouldn’t be treated like a zoo.
When a destination genuinely shines, and when it’s better left to the brochures.

Guesswork is expensive when it’s your one shot at a place you’ve dreamed about for years.

Where Akari fits in: small groups, big care

We built Akari Photo Tours very deliberately. Not to be the biggest. Not to be everywhere.

To be small, serious, and focused on the things that actually matter to photographers.

1. Tiny groups and real elbow room

Most of our flagship wildlife and landscape workshops run with 4–5 photographers.

That changes everything:

In wildlife vehicles, you get your own row whenever possible—or at most share with one other person.
At busy locations, we’re often there earlier, closer, or on angles the general public doesn’t know.
Leaders have the time and space to actually work with you individually, instead of shouting general tips over a crowd.

It’s simple: fewer people = more time on each subject, more variety in your portfolio, and less frustration.

2. Your shot comes before ours

This is a core Akari rule: your images are the priority.

In practice, that means:

If there’s only one clean angle, it goes to a guest, not a leader.
Leaders often put their camera down entirely when someone needs help.
Evening sessions are about your RAW files, your edits, and your questions.

We love making our own photographs. We’re photographers too.
But when we’re on a workshop, our job is to help you make yours.

That one difference affects every moment in the field.

3. Value in the premium tier

We’re not the cheapest option, and we don’t pretend to be.

We run high-end workshops with:

Quality lodges and camps.
Private or semi-private vehicles where it matters.
Professional local guides we’ve worked with for years.
Extra days in key locations, instead of racing through a checklist.

But we’re also not interested in inflating prices just because the market will bear it.

When you compare:

Our trip lengths
Our group sizes
Our level of access
And our accommodation choices

…to many similarly priced tours, what you’ll often see is that a greater share of your fee is going into the parts of the trip that directly improve your photography, not into brand overhead.

Call it “old-fashioned value.” You should know where your money is going.

4. We only run trips we know deeply

We don’t wake up one morning, circle a country on a map, and say, “Let’s sell that.”

If a destination has an Akari logo on it, there’s a very good chance:

We’ve already been there multiple times.
We know the seasons, the moods, and the specific locations that really work for photographers.
We have long-term relationships with local guides, families, and communities.

That matters.

The local eagle hunter who trusts us in Mongolia. The ranger who knows our Namibia groups always respect the wildlife. The lodge owner in Tanzania who knows we’ll stay out late for one more lion sighting and be the first at breakfast the next morning.

Those relationships translate directly into better access, better timing, and better photographs for you.

How to evaluate any workshop company (even if you don’t choose us)

Here’s a simple checklist you can use with any company—including us.

1. Group size and vehicle layout

How many photographers are on the trip total?
How many people per row in wildlife vehicles, boats, or zodiacs?
Are there seats reserved just for “leaders” with cameras, or is space truly managed with the clients in mind?

2. Who actually leads the trip?

Is the person on the brochure actually going to be there?
Will there be one main instructor, or are you sharing them with a second group?
How much time do they realistically have for individual help?

3. Scouting and experience

How many times has this itinerary been run?
Has the leader personally shot in those locations and conditions?
Can they answer specific questions about light, weather, and seasonal behavior?

4. Teaching style

Do leaders shoot heavily for their own portfolio, or do they deliberately prioritize instruction?
Are there structured image review sessions, or is teaching “as time permits”?
Do they support you before and after the trip as well?

5. What’s actually included

Is the price low because key costs aren’t included?
Are there unexpected extras: internal flights, park fees, single supplements, tips, mandatory transfers?
How are cancellations and refunds handled?

6. Client loyalty

Roughly what percentage of guests are repeat clients?
Are there testimonials from photographers at your skill level, not just pros?

We welcome those questions at Akari. In fact, we encourage them. A good workshop operator shouldn’t be afraid of a detailed conversation.

Why so many of our guests come back

We’ve noticed a pattern over the years.

People often:

Try a few of the big names.
Join a trip with us because a friend recommended it, or because they liked something they read on the blog.
Then quietly start planning the next one… and the next.

They come back because:

They like being in a small group where they’re known by name, not by room number.
They appreciate leaders who will happily give up the “hero shot” angle so a guest can have it.
They enjoy knowing that when they sign onto Namibia, Mongolia, Alaska, Tanzania, or Iceland, they’re traveling with people who already know those locations inside out.
They see their photography improve—not just their passport stamps.

We take that trust seriously. It’s old-school, in the best sense of the word.

Choose the company that shoots for you, not just for their portfolio

There are many ways to travel with a camera.

If you want a big ship, a big bus, or a big brand, you’ll have no trouble finding one.

But if you want:

A small group with real breathing room,
Leaders who put your images before their own,
Trips built on deep scouting and long-term local relationships,
And pricing that reflects value, not just a logo,

Then you’re very much our kind of photographer.

If you’re comparing companies right now and have questions—even if you’re not ready to book—we’re happy to talk through your options.

In the end, you should choose the workshop company that treats your time, your money, and your photography with the respect they deserve.

That’s the bar we hold ourselves to at Akari Photo Tours.

How to Choose a Photo Workshop Company (And Why Many Photographers End Up with Akari)