Rome Photography Masterclass - Private Photography Lesson

Emanuele was fantastic! An experienced photographer and Roman local his whole life, he was a treasure trove of fantastic places and techniques a little out of the standard box. He was able to offer insights about my photography and I am sure he has improved my skills. Highly recommended!

Emanuelle was a wonderful guide with excellent knowledge of photography. I learned a lot about exposure techniques such as bracketing and exposing to the right. We photographed many of Rome's iconic landmarks in the evening light. Highly recommended.

Emmanuele was an excellent Photographer,we clicked right away.Meeting location was spot on, prompt meet up.This was by far the Best experience in my 20 days in Italy.His experience navigating and picking out locations to shoot was second to none.In our conversations he was able to communicate effectively and greatly aided my technique.I would do it again in Rome with Emanuele.If fact my experience was so good I will do another tour in other Cities in the future.

I can't say enough about this photo masterclass. Our instructor was not only extremely knowledgeable about technical photography but was a true artistic genius at composition and street photo techniques. I honestly learned more in this two hour class then in 20 years of photo experience and camera shop classes. I highly recommend this.

My guide, Emanuele, was phenomenal! For nearly six hours we traversed the length of the Centro Storico and Colosseo area, talking and taking great photos along the way. As a local, he knew the perfect locations to get shots that easily rose above the standard tourist photos. He was also a great instructor, helping me every step of the way to improve my shooting skills. This was my second Aperture tour and I can't wait to take my next one.

Emanuel was very detailed in explaining the changing light and its affects on exposure, especially how to preserve highlights from not getting blown out. We hit many popular areas but approached the subjects in unique and uncommon ways to achieve photos that did not look like everyone else's. Techniques such as lines and curves, adding action and motion to tell a story, foreground, mid ground & background, and use of contrasting colors all came in handy the next night in Trestavere and at the Castel Saint Angelo. While I consider myself advance in amateur photography, he showed me how to utilize tools on my camara that I just never had time to learn or practice such as using the histogram, focus zoom, and the auto bracketing function. We did 2 tours and I believe my time with Emanuel has raised my skill set to a much higher level.

I had a really great photography tour with Emanuele. He’s very knowledgeable and a talented photographer, with a beautiful portfolio to match. He shared practical tips and tricks that immediately helped me improve my landscape shots. We walked around some stunning spots near the Spanish Steps and Villa Borghese, and he knew exactly where to go for the best angles and light. He was also very flexible, easygoing, and professional throughout. I’d definitely recommend him if you want to improve your photography while exploring beautiful places.

Emanuele Serraino was awesome! He led me through three hours of engaging instruction that not only improved my technical skill but really enhanced my understanding of composition and how to "see" in a city-scape. Really valuable experience and I will happily recommend Emanuele to others.

Fantastic experience with Emanuele. He showed me fabulous locations to take early morning photos in Rome and gave me lots of good tips and advice to help improve my photography. Highly recommend.

I had a great afternoon and evening with Emmanuele, improving my technique, getting some great shots but also seeing different perspectives on the city. Definitely would recommend to anyone from beginner onwards, he was very responsive to my levels and desires through the whole experience.

Emanuele did not look at his watch and at the end we spent about an hour more. His practical tips were for me excellent and the places we went we could put them in practise. Had a fun morning with a good and friendly guide.

I had the opportunity to take a one-on-one night photography masterclass in Rome with Emanuele, and it was an outstanding experience from start to finish. The session was incredibly informative. While my main goal was to improve my technical skills in night photography—and we definitely covered a lot in that area—we also explored other key aspects of photography, including composition, focal length, white balance, and more. What really stood out was how well Emanuele tailored the session to my interests. He was attentive, knowledgeable, and flexible, making sure our time together focused on the areas that interested me the most. On top of the instruction, he took me to a couple of incredible vantage points that offered truly breathtaking views of Rome at night. By the end of the evening, I had at least a dozen images I’m genuinely proud of—some of the best I’ve ever taken. I highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in photography, whether you’re a beginner or more advanced. It was absolutely worth the investment.

Amazing experience! Emanuele Was so knowledgeable, helped with location, and jumped in with compositional advise when asked. Never too pushy, but very knowledgeable. I would highly recommend if you are looking to get epic pictures.

My son is about to go to university to study film and media and we thought it would be helpful for him to improve his technique. Emanuele is technically brilliant, shares his clear passion in an easy to understand way and knows some great spots to take photos. He is friendly, kind and a great teacher. We will definitely be coming back for another tour.

Emanuele was great!! He was very patient for us amateurs to photography. He provided information that I didn’t even realize I needed. He was communicative and provided knowledge that was easy to grasp for amateurs. Truly appreciated our time and so glad we signed up for this tour!

It was a unique and perfect photo tour with Marco,I learnt a lot and found new wonderful places. I can only recommend this tour#and especially Marc was a great guide and host!

Emanuele was an excellent tour guide! Not only was his photography knowledge extensive but he knew the city like the back of his hand. You can see the passion he has behind photographing his city every time he would frame a still. I would highly recommend this photo tour to anyone who is interested.

My morning tour with Emanuele was excellent. We met at the Colosseum, went over what type of photography I like, and had a short review of my camera. He taught me different ways to compose photos, ways to think about setting up a shot, and gave me confidence to include subjects in my photos. He also gave me ideas for where to go and when on my own time in Rome! I'd highly recommend this tour!

I'm so grateful for my recent photography tour with Emanuele in Rome! As a complete beginner, I’ve learned a lot (not to mention I get to bring home many nice photos). Emanuele taught me that photography is more about perspective and framing than expensive gear. He was also incredibly patient, clearly explaining technical aspects like shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. I went from knowing nothing to understanding these fundamentals. He also expertly guided me to diverse locations, showing me unique angles to capture Rome's beauty. This tour was transformative and eye-opening. I now see and shoot with much more confidence. If you want to improve your photography and experience Rome in a new light, I wholeheartedly recommend this tour. Grazie mille, Emanuele!

Guide provided detailed camera instructions which I really needed. Took me through Rome and showed me some amazing places to take some great photos. Amazing opportunity to better your camera skills and work on your composition.

We had a fantastic time with Emanuele walking around Rome at dawn. He had advice for every situation, whether we were struggling with composition, or finding the right camera setting, or anything at all. He asked what kind of things we were interested in shooting and tailored the tour around that, and told us what other sites would be good that we ran out of time for. He even let me borrow his tripod and one of his lenses! I couldn’t have asked for more

We took the Rome Photography Masterclass and Emanuele was our instructor. The communication about the lesson was very clear from the tour operator including detailed meeting plans. Emanuele was an outstanding teacher. He tailored the session to focus on helping understand composition and showed us many different vantage points around Rome to get the perfect pictures. We never would have discovered many of the spots on our own. Thanks to Emanuele for making our time in Rome so memorable and to the entire Aperture team for such good communication. Would book again with this great company.

Emmanuelle was our guide through this personalized photography tour. He took the time to understand my level of technical expertise and creativity and then built on my skill level, showing me that I had to add more depth to my photos and tell a story through my pictures. We had so much fun exploring spots I wouldn't have found on my own.

Emanuele was great! He really took the time to understand my skill level and what kind of photography I liked and catered his guidance and coaching to my needs and style. He provided great tips and took us to some great spots for unique photos of the Colosseum and Forum. It was a great way to learn more about photography.

Amazing experience. Emanuelle was engaging, knowledgeable and provided great insight and feedback. He was able to show us many great vantage points which we would have never found on our own. The images captured will be treasured memories of an exceptional trip.

My instructor was amazing and took the time to really teach everything from the beginner as I have 0 experience. Lots of information to help guide me to continue to learn. Lots of great sites seen during the time as well.

I have taken multiple Aperature photography tours and all have been very positive experiences. My experience with Emanuele was particularly rewarding. He kept me in perfect communication with our connections. The photography location, along with his gentle and helpful suggestions and educational tips were great. I would recommend Emanuele without reservations. Hal

I have taken photo lessons with Aperture tours all over Europe, and I can easily say that Emanuele was the best teacher I have worked with. He went above and beyond to find the best shots, and worked patiently with me as an iPhone user. He even stayed 30 minutes after the lesson to shoot the Trevi fountain at night. The next day, Emanuele provided me with additional tips to shoot the sunset from the ideal spot. I highly recommend this tour for experts and hobbyists alike.

Emanuele was a delight to shoot with in Rome. I wanted to focus on composition and Emanuele delivered! I am grateful for the experience and was very pleased with my images. Thank you Aperture Tours.

My husband and I had a great day shooting photos with Emanuele. It was awesome learning perspective from a professional urban landscape photographer. He was patient and informative and knew all the scenic gems of the city! We would love to go out with Emanuele again the next time we visit Rome.

Emanuele was excellent. Took time to understand the level I was on then work with me to learn my camera and have me look at photography from a different perspective. He provided some amazing spots to take pictures of sites around the city (including a secret place to get an amazing shot of Trevi fountain!) My non photographer wife tagged along and was really impressed with how much I learned in a short time.

To start with I am a visually impaired photographer. I am not able to see the 'Big Picture" (Pun Intended) when shooting. I did not inform my guide Emanuele from Aperture Tours about my disability, because I did not want it to color his guidance. That being said, my experience was fantastic. I text Emanuele that I did not want to just shoot general 'Tourist" shots and that I wanted to document the street life of Roma. Emanuele was so educated and Roma as well as the exact times of the evening to shoot different areas and take advantage of the sunlight as well as the lit up architectural gems of the city. He took me on streets what I would never have found on my own. He offered patience and visual guidance and it was great to work with a peer. Next time in Rome I will reach out to Emanuele from Aperture Tours another adventure.

What an experience. Meeting Emmanuele for our photo class was a great experience. He showed us some great vantage points to take photos and our group were novice photographers and he was patient and knowledgeable! The pictures we were taking from the beginning of the tour to the end were remarkably improved. Emanuele shared his approach to taking great photos amongst the amazing back drops around Rome. The three hours flew bye and we were wishing we could have done more. Suggest taking this on the front end of your visit to capture better pictures throughout your stay. Our group was applying the techniques we learned the balance of our trip. Well worth taking this tour!

I've been on many professional photo tours around the world and this one was by far the best. My professional (Emanuel) was excellent at finding the perfect locations at the perfect times, and my photos are truly exceptional!! I can't wait to print them. Several are so good I will hang them in my home. Thank you!!!

I recently did two photo excursions with Emanuele in Rome. In the first session we did Rome after dark and in the second we did some pre-dawn/sunrise photography. Both sessions were great, providing not only more interesting lighting conditions but also entirely different perspectives on Rome and its monuments from those in the travel photos you can get taken midday with all the crowds. Emanuele came prepared with specific suggestions on shooting locations for a variety of subjects and overall guidance on framing, lighting and settings on how to make the photos really standout. I was here on a family trip and the shots I got with Emanuele far exceeded anything I could get walking around Rome’s crowded monuments with my family. At the same time, I picked up a lot of helpful tips that will enhance my photography in other locations going forward. As an American, I appreciated Emanuele’s fluent English (as unfortunately my Italian is extremely limited). He was a pleasure to spend a couple of hours with each day and I would highly recommend him to anyone hobbyist seeking to enhance the photos they get while in Rome as well as their travel photo capabilities generally.

Booking a one on one photography walking tour with Emanuele from Aperture Tours was the best! He not only helped me get some great shots, from the best locations; he also gave me some excellent advice on camera settings and street photography composition. As I only had one day in Rome this was simply the best way to see and photograph some of the most spectacular sites in Rome. I was also very grateful that Emanuele helped me get to the Metro (to get back to the station for my return trip to Naples) and he then waited to make sure I got my ticket. Emanuele is an excellent photographer and patient teacher who knows his stuff and knows the city. Highly recommend this photography walking tour with Emanuel.

My family tagged along as Emanuele was conducting the photography session with my husband. He was very patient with my hudband, showing him different functions of the camera and guided him to take the best shots. We enjoyed ourselves. He showed us some very beatiful locations, including hidden gems, within Rome, and even took some excellent picutres of us. We would highly recommend this experience to enjoy Rome.

Emanuelle was an excellent and patient professional photographer. His advice on the correct settings to us on my camera to compose pictures in this beautiful city was excellent. I would strongly recommend this walking tour to anybody who wants to see Rome in a different light.

My evening with Emanuele made my trip to Rome. I’d been to Rome before, but this time, seeing it through the eyes of a native photographer was different. He not only knew his photography, but he knew his history as well. And, as new photographer, I also appreciated his patience. Before my trip I had never heard of Aperture Tours. Now, I’ll be recommending them to all my friends and hoping that my future travels include cities where I can find their photographers.

Our Aperature Photographer and tour guide was Emanuele Serraino. He knew the best places to get fantastic shots and gave expertise on camera settings for the various locations and light conditions. As a novice photographer, I wasn't particularly skilled at night photography. Emanuele is an expert, knowledgeable, patient, encouraging and friendly. A great teacher!! I learned so much on this tour and it was one of the highlights of my time in Rome! My good friend Annamarie joined me on the tour and has been to Rome several times. She was not taking photos, but she was just as delighted as I was to see Rome lit up in all it's glory in the evening. She had not experienced Rome in this special way. I highly recommend the Aperature Private Rome Walking Tour with a Professional Photographer and I would happily join Emanuele on another walking tour in Rome if the opportunity presents itself.

Great informative photography walking tour - Very interesting information not only about Rome, but also technical help and advice on getting the best shots as we walked around. Emanuele was a great guide and mentor - friendly and knowledgable.

Great informative photography walking tour - Very interesting information not only about Rome, but also technical help and advice on getting the best shots as we walked around. Emanuele was a great guide and mentor - friendly and knowledgable.

Emanuele Serraino is very passionate about photography and an excellent instructor. He worked with me on capturing perspective in my photographs. He answered questions (even if they were off topic) demonstrated techniques using his camera. Unfortunately, it had been overcast for the majority of the tour, but the sun did make a brief appearance at sunset. He spent over an extra hour past the scheduled 3 hours. We had walked a great distance from our starting point, and it was quite dark when our session ended. I'm an older person, and he made sure that I got back safely to our starting I would definitely recommend Emanuele both as an instructor and a photo guide.

Great tour with photography pro Emanuele! He knew Rome well, was aware of the light, when and where to take creative shots. Following the tour he shared ideas for more shots, researched times to capture sunset and where. Very personable! I would do this tour again!!

The time and technology that he showed my grandson. He was knowledgeable about photography and patient.

This was my second time using Aperture tours and like last time, I had an amazing time. Emanuele was wonderful and had very unique compositions that I would not have thought about. I did Rome at Dawn and the Rome Extended tour and saw many sites. I can’t wait for my next tour with Aperture Tours in Florence!

I had a great tour! Emanuele showed me interesting and difficult to find viewpoints to get photos of the Forum and surrounding areas. He was patient and gave good framing and composition suggestions based on his extensive experience as a cityscape photographer. Highly recommended.

Dear Emanuele, thank you very much for this extraordinarily beautiful tour of Rome. In just a few hours you presented us with an incredible number of beautiful photo motifs and, above all, taught us technical things and tricks that are extremely valuable to us. We can absolutely recommend the Rome photo tour with Emanuele. Here is a professional who passes on his knowledge in full. Thank you

Emanuele was excellent at identifying extraordinary POVs that I would have never discovered on my own. During my three hours with him, I learned about camera settings and composition framing techniques that will last a lifetime. A million and one thank yous.