Amsterdam Photography Masterclass - Private Photography Lesson

It was a fabulous three hours walking through the streets and canals of Amsterdam with Mick. I got to learn so much more about the city’s history, and things to do and see as we walked through the streets, talking about photography and shooting good pictures. Got to learn quite a bit more about my camera and shooting good photos from Mick in terms of settings for manual mode, aperture mode and shutter speed mode. I’ve always used the auto mode on my camera, but now will be using the manual mode as it makes a huge difference and gives you greater control of the picture. Good learnings that I will take back with me along with some really good pictures that I was able to shoot with Mick’s guidance. I would recommend this for anyone who loves photography, is visiting Amsterdam, wants to enhance their skills and take some good pictures.

Had a great time, Mick showed me beautiful places and technics to put the scenery of the city in a good light 😊. Thanks to Mick for all the informations and the great experience

We had an amazing time with our photographer, Mick. Not only did I get some postcard shots, I also learned a ton. Mick was very engaged and focused on us! He even educated us on many Amsterdam highlights.

The tour guide and the tour was wonderful. The guide was knowledgeable and extremely helpful in identifying the best locations and points of view. Thank you

We had a great time with Mick on our (very rainy) night photo walk! Mick was very helpful with camera settings and composition ideas (as I haven't been practicing much lately at night with my z50) so with Mick's help I was able to get some great photographs of our night in Amsterdam! I highly recommend Mick as your photography guide in Amsterdam! I also recommend Aperture Tours; this,was my second time using them on my travels!

Charles was outstanding. He was able to quickly assess my photographic skill level and tailor his tips to my abilities. He provided helpful tips and helped me advance my street photography skills. The most helpful things he did were to provide me with in-the-moment feedback with tips on how to minimally adjust my stance, exposure, etc.to make my compositions better.

Great Amsterdam night photo tour with Renzo! Learned some new techniques which resulted in some nice images on rest of trip.

Excelllent tour guide. Great experience, took time to teach photography, very good at photography. Great teacher with a lot of experience & skill

Great trip! Had a great walk about around Amsterdam. My photographer was very knowledgeable and polite. I got some fantastic photo tips which you cannot find in books. Thanks so much for a wonderful afternoon!! Richard Bryant

Afraid I went to the wrong meeting place but Renzo was easy to reach and promptly connected with us. Renzo was amazing!!! I had no idea about the capabilities of my camera…but Renzo helped me learn how to shoot night photos. I have never been successful with this before tonight! Renzo had me shooting beautiful pictures in short time. I know this was a starter class for me as I will need to grow more in my knowledge and experience but could not have asked for a more polite, pleasant and proficient instructor .. he was wonderful !! Would highly recommend this tour - wish I lived closer to take more of his classes but I was extremely pleased to have invested in this experience! No Regrets!!! Thank you Renzo!

What an amazing session with Renzo. I had never done night photos before and Renzo did a great job taking me through the basis, camera settings, etc. Was extra special that he knew all the rights places to go which made the time spent very effective and seeing some beautiful sights in Amsterdam. For sure will look at other cities to do this tour in again!

We did this tour along with two other aperture tours on our trip through Europe. All of them were fantastic! We got a wonderful tour of Amsterdam with some great views and most importantly local experienced help for more captivating photos. Will definitely book more tours for future travels and would 1000% recommend to any others interested in travel photography.

Great evening of photography! Mik did an outstanding job of taking me to good photo spots so I could get a variety of pictures. He was great at offering artistic suggestions as well as teaching me more about night photography. This was my second experience with Aperture Tours. I know I'll be booking more in the future.

I am so glad I chose Aperture Tours for my photography tours in Amsterdam. William and Mick are excellent guides and I benefited very much from their experiences as professional photographer and local residents. It was great to see the city from different points of view during my three-day stay. William was right to suggest that I do one tour with him the other with Mick. Between them, I was able to cover a lot of ground. On the first day with William, I visited many of the city's "classics" within the canal district which are impressive and always worth another look. The next day, Mick and I explored the artist district in Amsterdam Noord and some residential areas of Oud West. William's friendliness and easygoing demeanor made the tour even more enjoyable. He is a great listener and we talked about photography and many other subjects. There were other positives worth mentioning. When he saw I had a lot of gear, William insisted that he carry the tripod so I would have a lighter load and be more comfortable. The tour finished early, and it was getting late and jet lag was finally setting in. William offered to walk with me back to my hotel. I was very impressed. Speaking of which, Mick deserves many thanks for going ahead with our tour the next day despite the persistent rain and stormy conditions. I only had one umbrella but he was hardly bothered by the weather and carried on as locals do. More so, I was amazed we were even able to photograph anything in those conditions. In the end, both tours were very productive and I came home with a valuable collection of images to remember my time in Amsterdam.

Even though the weather was not ideal (windy and rainy) and my fingers went numb I had a great time on this night photography tour. I leaned a number of new things involving how to operate my camera - one of my purposes for taking tour. Most importantly, I leaned so much more about night photography, and with my instructor William's help, I managed to take some night-time images that I am excited about seeing on my big computer screen when I get home. William was quick to asses my photography ability and tailored the tour to me. He was excited about photography and was a very patient instructor and he built my confidence in a new area of photography for me. I so appreciated his feedback and encouragement to try different settings - to really explore the possibilities. It was a great tour - delivered with humor and patience.

Excellent! Our guide tailored the tour to the type of pictures we wanted to take and showed us some great locations. He gave excellent pointers as far as camera settings and helped get some great shots. Would recommend!

The tour was worth every Euro. We walked all over the center of Amsterdam one evening to the most iconic photography spots. The city lights are incredible and canal boats paint awesome green, red, and white streaks on your camera's sensor. If you are an expert photographer you won't have to search for the best locations the guide knows them all. If you are learning photography the professional will explain how to set up your camera and how to compose the shot. You do need a DSLR or camera that allows the shutter to remain open for 30 seconds and a tripod to keep the camera stable during that time. A 24-70mm lens is what I used. I created wonderful images that I will print and hang in my home. Thanks Mick de Jong!

An absolutely amazing tour. We had William for our tour and his extensive photography knowledge really helped us to capture some amazing photos. I would recommend to anyone who wants to tour and learn more about they can take better photos.

Loved,loved,loved the experience of walking the streets of Amsterdam with William. He was professional and knowledgeable.

I was lucky enough to have spent 6 hours making photos in Amsterdam. William was not only walked the city taking me to wonderful photo locations, but also offered excellent photography advice on a variety of topics. In addition, the time spent walking the city was fascinating and enabled me to discover new areas that I was able to revisit later in the trip

We had a great tour with William. He showed up with all the safety equipment he could have in response to COVID-19 which we appreciated. All of us were novices with our cameras and William was able to help us all get the perfect shots of Amsterdam. We are all residents of AMS and were really happy to have someone show us how to take beautiful photos of our homes. I definitely walked away feeling more knowledgeable about the city and my camera. Highly recommend!

William was a great workshop leader. He has vast knoweldge on photography. He was very patient, taught me several technical details I did not know. We got a LOT of great shots. Highly recommend him!

This May, I took the Night Photography Tour with William as my guide. He did a great job adapting to my prior knowledge and equipment. I especially liked his teaching style and his ability to explain where and how I could improve. Last but not least he is also a very pleasant guy to be around and chat to while you're not busy taking photographs :) The tour was well scheduled to cover all the best light you can get over the course of an evening, and we managed to visit a respectable number of beautiful locations without ever feeling rushed. I came away with increased knowledge and confidence - and of course many great shots, a selection of which are attached to this review. To sum up: If you have any interest at all in photography, I highly recommend adding this tour to your itinerary!

We took the 3 hours day tour. Will our photographer was great, he gave us a lot recommendations and helpful tips how to get the best out of our cameras. We really enjoyed the tour.

Victor is amazing. So knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Enjoyed our time with him. We didn’t have the best sky for photos and he made sure to make the most of it.

Victor met us on time and right from the outset we knew we were in very good hands. There was just the two of us and my wife (a non photographer) had a fantastic time as well. Victor asked us what we wanted from the evening, and we were happy for him to show us his Amsterdam. And we are so glad for that. His knowledge of the city is amazing and knows exactly where to go to get the great shots. Thanks to Victor we connected with the city. Thank you Victor

A friend and I booked a photography tour thru Aperture Tours for two different cities we visited during our European vacation; Lisbon, Portugal, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I am fairly new to digital photography, at least from a "more than point and shoot" perspective. My friend had used different photography tour companies during previous trips, and told me he thought I would not only enjoy the tour, as it shows you a city from a more "camera" perspective than a "tourist" one, and that I would probably also gain experience and improve my photographic skills from a technical level. He could not have been more correct. A day or two prior to our scheduled tour, I received an email from Aperture Tours, asking to confirm the details of the tour, verifying the meeting place for the tour, and providing contact information for our guide. In Amsterdam, we were led by William Lounsbury, who was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the entire tour both entertaining and educational. At the beginning of the tour, we had a brief discussion about our goals for the morning... William listened as I described my photographic experience level, and my interest in gaining his assistance in improving the compositional choices I make in my photography. The time seemed to fly by, and I believe I took some of the best photographs I have ever taken. In short, I would highly recommend Aperture Tours, and will use their services again when I am a city where they operate.

Had a great 3 hrs with William on this trip, he taught me a few new things on my camera and photo taking that will further my experience and enjoyment in photo shooting. This company was very good at contacting me prior and after my trip to see how my experience went. Highly recommend it!

While somewhat humbling to see what a real pro can produce looking at the same thing as myself, I loved this opportunity. Victor asked me a out my strengths and weaknesses as a photographer, watched what I did and made great suggestions as to location, composition and technical decisions. I will use the tips he provided for years. Well worth the money and the time. Thank you for creating a great experience!

Couldn't recommend more. Wouter was fantastic professional, friendly and instantly understood what level I was working at and what I was hoping to achieve. Would suit absolute beginners to professionals. A fun and informative time.

I would definitely advise anyone who wants to experience the beauty of Amsterdam to take a private professional photo tour with Wouter from Aperture Tours. It is such a wonderful way to explore the city and take pieces of that journey back with you. Our photographer, Wouter did an amazing job teaching my family how to take really great photos of the city by seeing it through the eyes of the lens. He also was very patient and taught us some basic techniques to use when using manual mode on our cameras. Wouter was extremely knowledgeable and a lot of fun to talk to. Our 3 hour photo tour seemed to fly by so fast. I was sad when it was over. We made a friend in Amsterdam and now have some lovely photos share with friends and family back home.

We are just getting into Photography, but always take our cameras on holiday. As Photographers we will not give up our day job as tourists. Our experience with Wouter was so enjoyable and we had photos and lessons to take away that have really improved our confidence. This is way better than a red light tour. The night session was amazing. They say a picture can tell a thousand words and we learnt in just 3 hours how to tell a better story and give ourselves better memories at the same time.We went out the next night ourselves and applied our learnings while enjoying the Amsterdam nightlife. When you are looking for things to do in Amsterdam and the top 5 come up; go a little deeper and be creative. You get a private friendly guide, private lessons and great memories to keep fo ever. Fantastic value. Highly recommended. Best wishes Wouter. I have no doubt your photography journey will be a successful one. Rod and Jo