Our Private Photography Tour in Venice

Venice is my favorite city in the whole world! With its Grand Canal, winding alleys, beautifully decaying bridges, and romantic gondolas. Venice is a photographer’s paradise!

As a mecca for tourists, Venice can be a very crowded place, with tourists galore. But connecting with a local can really enhance the travel experience.

Private tours in Venice through Withlocals are great options for exploring this bustling, iconic city!

We first discovered Withlocals on our Spring trip to Paris and thoroughly enjoyed our walk with Wan as she regaled us with Parisian history. High on my list when planning our recent trip to Italy was a private tour in Venice through Withlocals.

Withlocals

One of my favorite things about Withlocals is that you truly get a private tour. Forget the tours where you are shuffled past iconic sights with 50 other tourists as you listen to a rehearsed script.

Each Withlocals tour includes an expert, local tour guide and just your family. There is no need for audio headsets as you simply walk next to your guide as he or she shares insights along the route and answers your questions about their beloved city.

Withlocals offers literally hundreds of tour options to choose from in more than 50 major cities. There are tours focused on local cuisine, art history, fashion, architecture, iconic as well as lesser-known museums, family-friendly sights, and hidden gems in popular destinations…just to mention a few.

Finding tours your family will enjoy won’t be difficult, but selecting just one might be!

You can select from 2-hour to full-day tours. Costs range from around $15 per person to upwards of $100 depending on the length and what is included in a given tour.

Whether you are a budget traveler or ready to splurge, you can find a Withlocals tour that is perfect for your travel itinerary.

With my two teenage daughters, who are both budding photographers, on this trip to Italy, I knew the perfect option was the Photo Tour in Mysterious Venice.

Our Guide

One of the great things about Withlocals is the amazing tour guides!

Many of the tours allow you to select from several guides after reading their bios and watching videos of the guides in action. You can easily select a tour guide who speaks your preferred language and has expertise in art, history, food, or many other facets of their city.

Each guide creates the tour to highlight their skills and expertise while personalizing the route and content based on the needs of each private tour group.

Sara was the perfect guide for our private tour in Venice!

As a professional photographer, Sara knew how to capture the beauty of Venice. She was patient as we tested our photography skills using both cameras and iphones. She provided both encouragement and gentle critique in a way that inspired us to improve and enhance our photography skills.

Along the way, she provided helpful tips, hands-on instruction, and suggestions for photo opportunities.

Sara also shared her love for Venice and her knowledge of this historical, one-of-a-kind city.

Photography Tips

We each learned new tips on how to use our cameras and iphones to capture better photographs.

Sara taught us about photo composition and the rule of thirds to create balance. She reviewed the importance of lighting and how to use our modest cameras (and iphones) to adapt to the natural light available.

To capture the best photos, Sara reminded us that the photographer must move to find the ideal angle. We each stretched and squatted and maneuvered to test out our photographer’s eye and snap the perfect images.

Sara also encouraged us to think about the story we wanted to tell with our photos. This helped us creatively enhance what we photographed and how we chose to capture every shot.

Each of us took turns serving as models and photographers so everyone got a chance in front of and behind the camera. We were learning, having fun, and exploring beyond the surface in Venice’s Jewish Ghetto.

The techniques we learned will last well beyond the 2-hour tour. Throughout our time in Venice we continued to experiment with our cameras as we recalled Sara’s advice and took our photography to the next level.

Jewish Ghetto

While photography was the theme of our private tour, Venice’s Jewish Ghetto was the idyllic setting for our walk.

Sara did a wonderful job of sharing the history and current customs of this important neighborhood amidst the photography tips that helped us capture its essence.

Venice’s Jewish Ghetto is located on the north side of the island in the Cannaregio district. Dating back to the 1500’s, this is the original ghetto and where that term was coined.

Nearly 1,000 Jews lived in Venice and were relegated to living in this area of the island. While they could come and go during daytime hours, walls closed at night keeping the Jewish residents confined to this area overnight.

While not a particularly large area, the Jewish Ghetto consists of 2 main squares: Ghetto Nuovo (which ironically is the oldest section) and Ghetto Vecchio. The Jewish Ghetto is connected to the rest of Venice by 2 bridges that formerly were only passable during daytime hours.

In the present day, Jews freely roam throughout Venice as they please and very few Jewish families still reside within the Jewish Ghetto. Yet this area continues to be a gathering place for many Jewish people and houses several Jewish stores, restaurants, and synagogues.

Walking through the Jewish Ghetto you will likely see locals donning traditional Jewish clothing and practicing long-held customs of the Jewish faith.

With Sara’s knowledge and expertise, we left with a newfound appreciation for this section of Venice and several photography skills that will help us document all our future travels.

While our Withlocals tour had to come to an end, the photography tips and pictures we captured will last a lifetime!

If you are planning a trip to Italy (and I highly suggest you do!), schedule your own private tour in Venice through Withlocals. (You can even enjoy an online experience through Withlocals from the comfort of your home!)

Withlocals provides private tours in over 56 major cities, so no need to limit yourself to Venice!

Ciao!

Want more of my tips on Italy? Check out this episode of the Fly with Chris and Di podcast, featuring Traveling Tanya!

Wherever the road takes you, make it a joyous journey,
Traveling Tanya

I’d like to express a HUGE thank you to Withlocals for hosting our family on the Photo Tour in Mysterious Jewish Ghetto area! As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

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