Turn Your Everyday
Snapshots into Cash
There are no traffic lights in Venice. No cars. No honking horns. Just canals and waterways that make it the premier location for your next photography adventure.
Join us this fall to photograph Venice’s beautiful architecture, candle-lit cathedrals, misty harbors and more.
It’s magical there any time of year-but by mid September is perfect for photographers. Not only will you come away with a real passion for Venice – having discovered it with a photographer’s eye – but you'll also learn all the ins and outs you need to take amazing photos … and sell them.
This September in Venice, You Can …
- Learn from a professional photographer how to shoot pictures that sell for $150, $250, $500 – and more …
- Get hands-on practical experience – applying your new skills – while you explore one of Europe’s most beautiful cities …
- Discover how travel photographers create and market their photos – and enjoy the freedom, independence, and travel opportunities that freelance photography delivers …
- Find out how to turn your photos into cash – and double or even triple your photography income …
Dear Reader,
If you're intrigued by the prestige of seeing your photos in magazines … if you long for a career or sideline that lets you travel whenever you like and live wherever you prefer … then this is, hands down, the best place to begin your adventure.
Join us in Venice this fall and spend four-and-a-half days learning from and exploring some of the city’s most photogenic spots in the company of a professional photographer ready to share his hard-won insights and secrets.
I assure you, not only will you come away with a real passion for Venice – having discovered it with a photographer’s eye – but you'll also learn all the ins and outs you need to take amazing photos … and sell them.
Whether you have little experience and modest equipment or you’re already a talented amateur photographer, you’ll benefit from this program.
The bottom line is: You don't need to have a $1,000 camera to take photos you can sell for $200 … $400 … or more. And, this September 13-17, 2011 in Venice, we'll show you exactly how it's done.
Our Participants in Similar Programs
are Enjoying Great Successes
Programs like this one in Venice boast an unbeatable track record – it really does propel people from amateur to pro, fast.
Take Lynnia Allison. She attended our workshop in The Bahamas, and one month later, displayed some of her photographs at a local gallery exhibit and sold four at $500 apiece.
And there's Sue Wright who attended our workshop in Paris and sold more than $1,500 worth of photos within three months of returning home.
They both paid for their workshop fees in short order, and the skills they used to do it are the same ones you'll learn in Venice this September.
We'll teach you everything you need to know to create your own successes … and turn your photos into cash so you can enjoy the freedom, independence, and amazing travel opportunities freelance photography can deliver.
Discover the Skills and Secrets You Need
to Turn Your Snapshots into Cash …
and Your Travels into Paid Vacations …
This Venice program will focus on fine art and travel photography and selling your photos locally.
Rich Wagner will be your instructor. He’s a highly-skilled digital photographer whose images hang in public corporations and private foundations from San Diego to Boston and in homes from the Americas to the Far East.
He’s a master at teaching just about anyone – with any kind of camera – how to take better pictures.
And, Rich will share his expertise in composition and editing, as well as pointers on selling locally to fund your vacations on this trip … all while leading you through the streets and historic sites of Venice and helping you to create stunning travel photographs.
Shoots and presentations on this expedition will focus on …
- Professional tricks of photographers “on assignment” abroad … including how to capture the essence of a place in your photos
- The difference between vacation snapshots and travel photos that you can sell to magazines and newspapers
- Which markets to target when selling vacation photos
- How to set yourself up to sell your photos as fine art in galleries, libraries, online, and more …
- Pro-level photo-editing techniques that’ll make any photographer look like an expert
- And much more …
We'll Be Based at the Historic Hotel Abbazia, an Ancient Abbey in the Northernmost District of Venice
Housed in an historic building – and part of the Monastery of Venice’s Discalced (or barefooted) Carmelite Friars – the Hotel Abbazia is located just a few steps from the Santa Lucia rail station in the Cannaregio district.
Behind its seemingly simple façade is the structure of an ancient abbey, complete with inner garden sanctuary.
And Cannaregio is the perfect jumping off point for this expedition. It's the largest and most populated neighborhood. Yet it still retains an air of tranquility.
(Your five-night hotel accommodation at the Hotel Abbazia is included in your workshop fee.)
Learn How to Capture Architecture, People,
and Landscape Shots That Will Sell
You'll find this program fast-paced and fun, and you really will see Venice and the surrounding lagoon islands in a way that you never could as a regular tourist. We have a full itinerary planned for each day, and most of the workshop will be done out and about on foot, so you'll need to be prepared for high-activity throughout the week.
You’ll also benefit from unique one-on-one instruction throughout the four-and-a-half days, both in shoots around town and special classroom sessions.
And, you’ll learn which types of subjects (including architecture, people, and landscapes) sell best for fine art and as editorial in magazines, newspapers, and more. And, every day there'll be special group photo reviews, where you’ll learn what you’re already doing well and what you can do to improve your photos and bump up your success.
Rich will provide you with the insights you need to really put your camera to work for you … and come away with saleable images.
Here's a run-down of what you can expect …
Day 1: September 13
We’ll meet mid-afternoon with professional photographer Rich Wagner. He'll take you step-by-step through camera settings and show you how you can manipulate your camera to turn an average vacation snapshot into a photo worthy of wall space and a magazine cover. You'll also learn what you need and don't need to be a travel photographer and how to go about finding a need for your photographs.
Following an optional and informal traveler’s Italian lesson, there’ll be a special welcome reception at a local cichetteria—a Venetian establishment where locals enjoy a glass of wine with characteristic appetizers. Dinner is on your own tonight but we'll likely dine together in a nearby restaurant.
Day 2: September 14
Like the Venetian locals, we’ll start our day by boarding a water bus. Our first stop will be the Piazza San Marco,referred to by Napoleon as "the finest drawing room in Europe." From a table at the famed Café Florian or Café Quadri, you can photograph the bell-tower; the clock with its two giant bronze Moors; and the symbol of the city, the winged lion, who gazes eternally out across the Grand Canal into the Lagoon. You can also climb the bell-tower to photograph panoramic views of the city.
Next we’ll visit the Basilica di San Marco, a stunning example of Byzantine architecture, constructed in 830 AD to house the bones of St. Mark, which were smuggled out of Alexandria. Starting as a small, modest chapel it has become one of the most extravagant and fascinating structures in the world over the last 1,200 years.
Then we’ll head next door to the Venetian-Gothic-style Palazzo Ducale or Doge's Palace, the subject of many Venetian paintings since the 16th century. The Bridge of Sighs connects the palace to the dungeons where generations of political and criminal prisoners spent their last days.
Lunch will be on your own today. You can select from charming quayside eateries or a simple deli panini.
In the afternoon, we'll spend some time reviewing our photos and get feedback on what we're doing right and what we can improve on in the next few days. Then we’ll visit a mascherari (mask maker). Once an expression of social status, masks continue to occupy an important place in the history of Venice, and mask-making was officially recognized as a profession in 1436. You’ll get to photograph the many characteristic masks and learn about their historical significance.
Day 3: September 15
Get ready for a busy day. Today we’ll take a full-day excursion to the Venetian lagoon islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello. We’ll start again with a water taxi transfer to Murano to tour a glass-making laboratory and then head on to the sleepy, bucolic island of Buranowith its charming pastel houses where lace has been made for centuries.
And we’ll finish the morning in Torcello. Having once held the largest population in the Republic of Venice, and still considered the oldest continuously populated region, today it is quiet and sparsely populated. Its main attraction, the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta with graphic mosaics depicting The Last Judgment, is not to be missed.
Lunch is on your own. We’ll give you some recommendations..
We’ll return in the evening to our hotel for some more photo reviews. Dinner will be on your own, at any one of the many restaurants surrounding our hotel.
Day 4: September 16
Today we’ll take a three-hour walking tour with a private guide. We’ll start by crossing over the Ponte di Scalzi bridge to the area known as the Frari and San Roccoand thenweave through the narrow streets of Campo San Polo to Rialto to photograph its open-air food markets, restaurants, and cafés.
We’ll then continue past the Piazza San Marco, and you’ll have the opportunity to photograph the impressive architecture of Scala del Bovolo and the famed opera house La Fenice.
We’ll end the morning by catching a gondola ferry and crossing the Grand Canal to the Dorsoduro district to snap some shots of the famous Chiesa Santa Maria della Salute. Commonly referred to as “Salute,” it was designed in Palladian style by the Renaissance architect Palladio’s student, Baldassare Longhena. We’ll tour the area where gondolas are built, and the workshop where the oars and oar locks are crafted.
For lunch, we’ll stop by the open air cafés and restaurants of the lively Campo Margherita. Feel free to order a whole pizza for yourself, as they do in Venice.
In the afternoon we’ll do some more photo reviews before heading across the Lagoon to the Lido. The 11-kilometer-long sandbar is home to the Venice Film Festival that finishes just before our arrival.
We’ll stroll Lido’s main street until we reach the coast, where you can photograph the belle époque Hotel Excelsior and the Grand Hotel Des Bainon the Adriatic Sea. The Des Bain was the setting for Thomas Mann’s work, Death in Venice. Here you can experience the Italian seaside lifestyle with row after row of beach cabanas. Dinner is on your own. You may choose to eat on the Lido in a trendy eatery, or return to Venice.
Day 5: September 17
On the last day, we’ll start with a presentation on how to manipulate your photos in Lightroom to make them as saleable as possible. Rich will also tell you how to get started selling your photos locally.
Then you’ll be on your own to rest for a few hours or go out and explore more of Venice individually. In the afternoon, we’ll regroup for a special treat, a gondola ride through the Grand Canal and lesser known canals of Venice. We’ll get some greats shots of Venice from this unique vantage point on the water. After the photo shoot, we’ll head to the Castello neighborhood.Our adventure in Venice will conclude with a farewell dinner – our treat – at Al Giardinetto da Severino.
On the morning of September 18, you’ll return home. Or stay on in Venice, or travel to other locations within Italy or Europe.
Note: Our workshop schedules are always subject to change due to weather and construction. The primary focus of this workshop is on photography and areas that are good for travel photographs.
A Very Special Price When You Register
Before July 29, 2011
Rich, who you’ll hear from in Venice, brings with him decades of photography experience. He’s created a systematic approach to learning photography that anyone can follow …
A system that, when coupled with a bit of persistence, is so powerful, our past workshop attendees are finding great success.
The information you’ll gain at this workshop could, quite literally, change your life.
The registration fee for the workshop includes:
- Admission to four-and-a-half days of intensive class sessions geared toward producing photos you can sell …
- Special presentations and demonstrations by highly-regarded photographer, Rich Wagner …
- Four walking photo tours, plus optional sunrise and night shoots …
- Transportation to and from all photo-shoots …
- Five nights’ hotel accommodation with breakfast …
- Welcome reception with beverage and appetizers …
- Farewell dinner at an atmospheric trattoria with wine …
And all of that is yours for just $3,599 per person.
But if you sign on by July 29, 2011,
you pay just $3,299
Lock in your spot now, and you can save hundreds of dollars with our special Early Bird Discount. Plus, enjoy an easy payment plan. Here's how it works:
- Reserve a seat at the workshop for just $1,099 when you put your name on our attendee list by Friday, July 29 at midnight.
- When you do, you automatically lock in the discounted workshop price of only $3,299* – a full $300 SAVINGS for you! (*Other discounts may apply.)
- For the next two months, we'll bill your credit card your last two payments of $1,100. So you split your registration fee into three payments and spread them out comfortably between now and when the workshop starts this fall.
What’s more, if your spouse or a guest would like to join you, he or she can do so for just $2,598.
Space is limited and this is the only photography workshop we’ll be hosting in Italy this year. I strongly urge you to sign on soon. This is the first time we’ve ever offered a workshop in Venice (and we may never offer one there again). I expect this program to fill up quickly. And I’d hate for you to miss out.
Cancellation Policy: All our workshops and expeditions are non-refundable. If, however, you are unable to attend – and you give us at least 15 days notice – we will be happy to apply your payment toward a future workshop, minus a $200 processing fee for overseas expeditions or a $50 processing fee for state-side workshops like those in San Antonio, Chicago or Portland. Cancelations with less than 15 days notice may be subject to extra fees.
“This is more than what you can get from any other workshop that I know about – there were so many professional and knowledgeable people involved.” – Rose Fuller
“Thank you so much to Lori and the staff for providing such a fabulous experience. I learned so much and feel so confident about the information – I can do this!” – Lyrae Perry
“It’s a total experience – lots of learning, lots of socializing, extremely professionally done. You don’t let us down in any area.” – Viki Hildreth
So please, register here now by clicking below or call our office at (202) 370-6459 (Eastern time zone) or toll free at (866) 415-1425. You can also e-mail me at lori@thetravelwriterslife.com.
I look forward to seeing you in Venice!
Sincerely,
Lori Allen
Director, AWAI’s Travel Division
P.S. If you can take a simple photograph, you have what it takes to become a successful freelance photographer. It’s that easy. The many successful folks who have attended a workshop of ours in the past don’t do anything you can’t learn to do.
You don’t need fancy equipment. And you don’t need to know a thing about photography to get started. In Venice, you’ll learn all the real-world know-how you need to turn a trip here or a vacation there into a little cash on the side … or even jump in full-time. To turn 2011 into the year you transform your snapshots into cash, join us in Venice and learn how you can pursue your passions and get paid to do it …