Istanbul Street Photo Tour

I had a great photo walk!! Not only Zerah was a wonderful person, knew the city very well, but also as a bonus, she is an archeologist and studying to get her credentials as an official guide for Instanbul. She was able to take me places off the beaten path and also provided me with the history and historical context of some of them. In addition, Zerah and her husband run a business that organizes small group photography trips around the world. If you plan to go on a street photo walk in Istanbul, I highly recommend booking with Zehra.

Booking this tour was absolutely worth it. Even though it wasn’t my first time in the city, Zehra showed me new corners and perspectives. She can open doors to places that would otherwise remain closed and approaches people with ease—giving you access to photos you simply wouldn’t be able to take otherwise. On top of that, she’s an extremely talented photographer (just search for Zehra Arslan Ceylan to see for yourself). This combination of deep local knowledge, fluency in Turkish, and a strong understanding of photography makes this tour a real highlight for anyone more interested in street photography than in the usual postcard shots.

The photo tour was perfect! Zehra took me to special corners of Istanbul, showed me magical scenes, and refined technical details. Highly recommended!

Amazing experience! Highly recommend! Friendly, easy to talk to, great eye, amazing Tipps and an Ton of secret Spots! I am leaving with so many great photos!

A great experience seeing a side of Istanbul that tourists would typically miss. Lots of opportunities to see Istanbul citizens eorking, relaxing and interacting. The guide was fabulous! Highly recommend!

Great photo tour. Went to a number of places not visited by regular tours and met a number of master craftsmen making their art work.

My photography tour with Zehra was beyond my expectations. It’s the best way to discover a city. Zehra knows all hidden gems. She is extremely helpful for my pictures. I had such a great time. Highly recommended ! :)

Zehra did an outstanding job as a guide and photographer. In addition to helping me get great photos she toured us through some "off the beaten path" locations that we would never have seen on our own. Very friendly and helpful instructor and guide. She definitely knows and can teach street photography. Thank you for a great experience!!!!!!

I changed upon Zehra's photography workshop/ photo walking tour while googling. I was lucky to have encountered Zehra - we spent 4 hours, taking pictures, walking. Zehra is a great teacher, she's patient, kind - but will also share what needs correction or what can be better. Her passion for photography, coupled with her love for Istanbul, people and the hidden magic, makes this a memorable tour. This is one of the best things I did in Istanbul - and will definitely do another tour with Zehra on my next visit. What will you learn and experience: 1. Non touristy streets; 2. Guilds (great for street portraits) 3. Zehra s love for patterns, reflections and making extraordinary moments out of the day to day

Zehra is an excellent photographer who took us away from the tourist spots for fascinating photos. Really enjoyed our time with her.

I had a really excellent tour with Zehra, who is a delightful guide and a gifted photographer. She showed me some really interesting places in Istanbul and made sure to find out what kind of photography I enjoy so that our time was well spent. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who loves photography and travel.

I particularly enjoyed wandering around the atmospheric Ottoman ‘Hans’ and visiting the workshops there. A unique experience! Zehra was very helpful and a mine of information on photography opportunities in Istanbul.

Zehra was super nice and helpful. Attentive to our comments and ready to adapt the trip along the way and according to our requests. On top of that she was very understanding when we were late due to heavy Istanbul traffic.

The tour was beyond my expectations. Zehra is a wonderful and patient teacher and I loved my time with her.

I have started booking photo tours wherever I go (the last one was a night shoot of Vienna) and when I booked this tour for a Saturday afternoon I was not sure what I was in for. After easy communication via WhatsApp, I met Zehra (Arsian) at the appointed place and just the two us set off visiting a variety of sites (and sights) around Istanbul, photographing shadows, angles and people (lots of people). As the others have said, and as the title of this review says, some of the places visited I would never have been able to find on my own, or get into without Zehra's help. She was also fantastically great at asking the locals to act as models for us, in various locations; and it seems the locals do not mind being photographed (I wouldn't dare asking locals in Manchester to pose). Finally Zehra went beyond and was extremely helpful in sorting out a tram travel card for me. Highly Recommended.

Zehra was amazing from the moment of booking. Communication was excellent and she was extremely helpful in every way. We ventured into areas only a local would know and I was able to capture the “real Istanbul” away from the crowds. I throughly enjoy my time, it will be treasured and memorable experience for a very long time. This amazing tour is for anyone, at any level who loves photography.

Great outing with Dan in Istanbul yesterday. Got to a couple places I'd never have managed on my own, including a used camera store where I picked up a new toy. Highly recommended.

Zehra was amazing! She showed us so many interesting nooks and crannies of Istanbul that we otherwise would have never discovered. Her knowledge of the city - and of photography - was outstanding. Plus, she is a gentle kind soul who we are so grateful was part of stay. I would give her 10 stars if possible! If you love photography and love going to out-of-the-way locations, schedule time for Zehra. You will love her.

I enjoyed the tour with Zehra very much. There were many opportunities to capture very different scenes. Zehra has a very pleasant way of explaining and getting the best out of the shots. It is definitely worth it and I would like to emphasize that even on cloudy days totally beautiful results are achievable. Clear recommendation!

Incredible experience! Thank you Zehra for showing us a different view of Istanbul also expanded my street photography skills and knowledge.

Zehra took me to dozens of great locations around her city and showed me locations I never would have found on my own. She’s not only a fantastic guide with loads of knowledge about Istanbul, but she’s also a very talented photographer. You can see her pictures here for yourself, since they do a good job of making my point: @zehraarslanceylan

We toured with Can on our first full day in Istanbul. We felt like locals walking with a friend experiencing the real Istanbul before being jaded by the more touristy sites we will encounter on the rest of our stay in this capitulating city. Can quickly assessed my photographic knowledge and picture making skills and offered suggestions accordingly. The four hour walking tour was well paced and the time passed quickly. This was the third time I booked this tour, the other two times upended by pandemic trip related cancellations. The third time was the charm. So glad we finally made it to Istanbul and this photo walk/tour will be a highlight of our visit.

I was out with Zehra one afternoon and she showed me great photo locations for street photography. For example, we visited some workshops near the grand Bazaar. Through Zehra we were also able to get into some of these workshops and take some great photos, some of them a bit in the direction of documentary photography. I'm a photographer myself, but I don't have much experience in street photography and I can absolutely recommend this tour to anyone who wants to try it out or is just looking for some new spots away from the tourists that you would never find otherwise. Absolutely recommendable!

It has been an incredible experience, which has expanded my photographic knowledge and tought me to view things from a very different perspective. Thank you very much Hakki, looking forward to my next tour with you!

Very enjoyable afternoon in Istanbul with Hakki Ceylan. He is a very talented and knowledgeable street photographer who brought me to some great locations in Istanbul. He was very patient and freely shared his knowledge and expertise. His wife, Zehra Arsen Ceylan (also a great photographer) joined too for a while and added new dimensions with different shot suggestions. I've returned home with some great shots and improved skills. Definitely surpassed my expectation.

Zehra was an excellent guide balancing her knowledge of photography and composition with her knowledge of Istanbul. We went to locations we would never have found in a lifetime of searching. Fantastic experience.

It was a fun and very rewarding experience to be photographed by Umur on our short visit to Istanbul. Me and my best friends treated ourselves to a 4 days visit in Istanbul, which is an amazing city! We wanted to have nice photos of us having a great time all together. When we found the street photography service offered by Umur it sounded like a good idea which turned out to be the best idea ever! Not only did he take great photos of us but he took us to his favourite local places which we never would have been able to find by ourselves. Umur told us that he also does fashion photography, so he was great us giving us directions for the camera. We were treated like celebrities and ended up with genuinely beautiful photos of this wonderful time we had in Istanbul. Thank you for making our experience more memorable with your photos Umur! See you next time we're in town!

Incredible experience. I left my Nikon home but was still able to learn some tips to make my images better even with my iPhone and GoPro. Locations were off the beat and path which I loved, so I got to see hidden gems. Will definitely look for this experience every trip now! ❤️

I am a photography enthusiast, zehra knew how to evaluate my skills and guided accordingly, the spots she toke me to were great, some in plain sight, some deep in the old city markets and workshops, what and how she teaches you to see and observe is very remarkable, she was very patient while I toke a shot and corrected my composition, attention to details, Andy lines. Honestly one of the best things to do in Istanbul for a photography enthusiast.

It was great to do again thank you for everything I had great time I am looking forward to see your next tours .. I will try to come 😊

Zehraa is truly a professional photographer. She showed me around the best places in Istanbul to take exceptional street photos. I learned a lot of techniques too. It was really a lovely experience

Last month I visited Istanbul with my husband. I wanted to show him best part of Istanbul along with opportunities to capture great photos. It was fantastic! Zehra was very friendly and very informative during the trip. Highly recommend.