X-Pedition Hanoi
A workshop for traveling photographers, Oct. 24 - Nov. 1, 2026
© Tom Schrider / X-Pedition Hanoi 2024
Beyond the Snapshot: A Photography Workshop on Crafting Stories from Travel
This immersive workshop invites photographers to go deeper than picturesque landscapes and tourist “check-off” frames, and instead to create images that convey what it feels like to be present in a place.
To begin the sign up process for our 2026 workshop, please click the button and fill out the form.
© David Hobby / X-Peditions
Why this workshop matters
Travel photography too often falls into the trap of “I visited, I shot … next.”
Instead of freezing locations, we’ll learn how to photograph experiences — the sensory, emotional, cultural layers of travel.
Drawing on X-Peditions’ long-standing approach of former photojournalists teaching travel photography as visual storytelling, this workshop emphasizes thinking like a reporter on assignment, but as a traveler with heart and curiosity.
What you’ll take away
Skills to move from documenting “where” to exploring who, how, why, and what it felt like.
A refined visual vocabulary: not just light + composition + moment, but atmosphere, context, interaction, and narrative.
The confidence to travel lighter and shoot deeper—fewer lenses, less gear, more engagement. (Aligned with X-Peditions’ “travel light” philosophy.)
A body of work that isn’t just pretty pictures, but a coherent mini-story of a place: its routine, its folks, its rhythms, its surprises.
A richer experience of place—because when you photograph like this, you live the travel, rather than pass through it.
Our team
Ibarionex Perello
Ibarionex is a photographer, writer, and educator with more than 25 years of experience in the photographic industry. He hosts and produces the acclaimed podcast The Candid Frame, where he engages in in-depth conversations with both established and emerging photographers. He has authored six books including Chasing the Light: Improving Your Photography with Available Light, Canon 5D Mark III: From Snapshots to Great Shots, Adobe Master Class: Photoshop, and Making Photographs: Developing a Personal Visual Workflow. More than just a writer, he leads hands-on workshops and online courses—ranging from destination travel sessions like “Tokyo: Embracing the Moment” to online classes such as “Using Your Life to Launch Your Photography”—sharing his workflow around light, line, shape, color and gesture to help photographers shift from taking pictures to making meaningful images.
Thu Lê Hoài
Thu Lê Hoài is a professional photo/video producer and lifelong Hanoi resident. Which means that she, a) understands the needs and priorities of photographers, and b) knows Hanoi and northern Vietnam like the back of her hand. Any seasoned journalist knows that your efficiency when working in a far-flung city is greatly improved by teaming up with a local “fixer,” as such producers are often called. We are very lucky to have Thu serving in that capacity for our program to to Hanoi. If she can’t find it, get it or arrange it, suffice to say she knows someone who can.
© Michael Grigoriev / X-Pedition Hanoi 2019
Itinerary Highlights
Our classes are small, which allows for both individualized instruction and sufficient time to get to know your fellow travelers, both through regular shooting excursions and social outings.
Our program is crafted to give a complete and well-considered photographic experience. In addition to regular classes and editing sessions, we reserve generous amounts of “on your own” time for shooting and exploring the city — especially during the best light of the day.
Hanoi, our home base, is frenetic and vibrant. But your trip also includes an overnight excursion into rural Northern Vietnam. These two days will provide a window into small-village life in Vietnam.
On the way to Long Cốc, we’ll visit a rural village that will be busy making nearly 100% of the incense that will be used in the upcoming Tet holiday. (Imagine a lot of incense. Now imagine way more incense than that.)
We’ll stay overnight in a family-run lodge in Long Cốc, where our time will include a a visit to the famous Long Cốc Tea Hills, known for their unique, rolling hills, especially picturesque in the misty mornings.
On the way back, we’ll visit a traditional wood-fired pottery operation to see and photograph techniques that have been in continuous use for hundreds of years.
After we return to Hanoi, we’ll also take a day trip to a traditional rice paper making village.
You’ll learn to stretch yourself as a traveler, to gain the confidence and experience to travel to a wider variety of destinations in the future.
© Glenn de Souza / X-Pedition Hanoi 2022
Why Hanoi?
This will be our seventh X-Pedition Hanoi workshop. We have absolutely fallen in love with the city as our ongoing base of operations. And we’ve seen that same reaction, again and again, in our travelers, as well.
Both the city and the friends we have made there have become an integral part of our program. So much so that we have created a stand alone page to explain why Hanoi is an ideal environment in which to experience a period of rapid growth as a photographer.
You can read more, here.
Have questions? There’s a good chance you’ll find some answers on our Frequently Asked Questions page, here.
© Bob Plotkin / X-Pedition Hanoi 2022
What People Are Saying
“Bloody awesome. The most unique and interesting cultural and photographic experience ever.”
— Graham Broadbridge, Australia
“I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
— Jim Musumeci, USA
“The value is superb for the experience, friendships, and connections made. The photographs are a treasure but the experience goes way beyond that.”
— Martin Howard, USA
“A world-class experience.”
— Ruud Hoogers, Malaysia
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions? There’s a good chance you’ll find some answers on our Frequently Asked Questions page, here.
*Workshop pricing includes Vietnam entry visa, airport transfer, nightly single-occupancy accommodations in Hanoi, daily breakfast, six group dinners, regular photo walks and group outings, group transportation outside of Hanoi and double occupancy lodging on our rural overnight trip. You’ll receive individual and group editing sessions and a selection of classes as part of your 8 days of hands-on instruction with workshop leader Ibarionex Perello.
Please note that roundtrip airfare from your city of origin to Hanoi is not included.
Payment and Cancellation Policy
The fee for this workshop is $4,099. Participants can reserve their place in the workshop with a $500 deposit. The balance must be paid in full 120 days before the start of the trip. f8photographic reserves the right to cancel workshop reservations that are not paid in full by the due date.
If for any reason you must cancel your trip, you must do so in writing via email to info@f8photographic.com. The following is our refund schedule:
Cancellation before May 1, 2026: Refund, minus $100 admin fee, as well as , any bank or credit card processing fees.
Cancellation between May 2, 2026 and August 8, 2026: Refund, minus deposit, any bank or credit card processing fees and any advance expenses made on your behalf, such as fees for visas, lodging and transportation.
No refunds are available for cancellations after August 8, 2026.