Rocky Mountain National Park Photo Tours
Estes Park Photography Tours
Landscape & Wildlife Photo Tours & Private Photo Workshops
Yellow Wood Guiding offers private Estes Park Photo Tours of Rocky Mountain National Park from Estes Park.
On our Rocky Mountain National Park Photography Tours you can learn the skills of landscape, nature, macro, and wildlife photography on your own private Photo Tour. Yellow Wood Guiding tours are focused on giving our clients amazing experiences. Unlike most other Photo Tours, I will only grab my camera if it is absolutely amazing and I know you will get your shot first. While on tour you have access to our Nikon photo equipment, pro lenses ranging from 14mm to 840mm, filters, and tripods if needed.
During your Estes Park Photo Tour our guide will get you to the right place at the right time, read the weather and the light, and make sure you learn how to set the best settings to get great shots here in Rocky Mountain National Park and around the world. Morning Tours start before sunrise, and evening tours end after sunset.
Improve your photography in Rocky Mountain National Park with a professional photographer and guide by your side. Our Photo Tours are not designed for the casual cell phone shooter, but for folks who want to learn and focus on photography skills. If you just want to sightsee or watch wildlife check our Best of Rocky Tours or Wildlife Tours options.
Beginners, you get a private photography lesson in the beautiful Rocky Mountains from a professional photographer who has focused on teaching for 20 years.
Pros and Experienced Shooters, we can tailor a trip to help get the shots you want and you will learn locations, advanced techniques, and skills along the way.
Check out the seasonal Photo Tours offers below to find the best experience for you and your interests.
Summer Tours
May - Early Sept Fall Photo & Elk Rut
Sept - Early Oct Winter Tours
Mid Oct - April
Summer Estes Park Photo Tours
4 Hr Beginner Photo Tour
Private Photo Tours for Photography Beginners. Learn how to use your camera to the fullest; settings, focus, composition, and technique all to help you take great photos in Rocky and at home. Roadside and short walk locations to make sure you get as much time behind the camera to learn and take great shots. Get off of Auto and take better photos right away. Summer Rocky Mountain National Park Tours offer the best classroom. Rates and details below.
Summer Photo Ops Book Now
4 Hr Landscape Photo Tour
We'll guide you to the best photos Rocky Mountain National Park can offer during your visit. Sunrise / Sunset roadside and hiking destinations. Grow your photography skills like composition and refine setting. We can also shoot some small wildlife or macro photos along the way. You can select from lakes, rivers, or mountain views, or let our guide choose what location will produce the best shot after reviewing the day's weather forecast. Rates and details below.
Summer Photo Ops Book Now
4 Hr Wildlife Photo Tour
Aim for the best Wildlife Photography Rocky Mountain National Park can offer from bull Elk, Moose, Mule Deer, Yellow-bellied Marmots, American Pika, and on the best days Bighorn Sheep, Coyotes, and Birds of Prey. You often have to choose between landscapes and wildlife as they are best at the same time in different locations. This tour is more driving and stopping, animals in Rocky are rarely on the trails. You have access to our 400mm, 500mm, and 600mm lenses if you need that extra reach. Rates and details below.
Summer Photo Ops Book Now
8 Hr Custom Photo Tour
On an 8 hour Photo Tour we will split the day between 4 hour sunrise and sunset sessions to chase the best light. Select from the Summer Photo Options linked below and design a tour that will cover all of your Rocky Mountain photograpy goals. We can focus entirely on landscapes, wildlife, mix the day between subjects, do a hiking sunrise to Dream Lake, and a sunset on Trail Ridge Road or focus on a specific wildlife subject on both sessions to increase your chances that you go home with a few excellent "wall hangers". Rates and details below.
Summer Photo Ops Book NowFall Rocky Mountain National Park Park Photo Tours
4 Hr Beginner Photo Tour
Fall is a fantastic time to learn, visit, and photograph Rocky Mountain National Park. Private Photo Tours for Photography Beginners. Learn how to use your camera to the fullest; settings, focus, compition, and technique all to help you take great photos in Rocky and at home. One on one instruction in the field. Roadside and short walk locations to make sure you get as much time behind the camera to learn and take great shots. Rates and details below.
Fall Photo Ops Book Now
4 Hr Landscape Photo Tour
Sunrise/Sunset roadside and hiking destinations to help you take the best nature photos Rocky Mountain National Park can offer during your visit. Grow your photo skills like composition and refine settings. We can also shot some small wildlife or macro photos along the way. You can select from lakes, rivers, or mountain views, or let our guide choose what location will produce the best shot that day. Rates and details below.
Fall Photo Ops Book Now
4 Hr Wildlife Photo Tour
Fall Estes Park Wildlife Photo tours offer some amazing moments to capture through the season. The Elk Rut is best from early Septmber through early October. Then the Bighorn Sheep Rut kicks off in October. Moose are rare sighting after mid September. We are never alone with the animals but we can guide to the best light, backgrounds, and provide you the long lenses to get amazing wildlife photos. Rates and details below.
Fall Photo Ops Book Now
6 or 8 Hr Custom Photo Tour
Fall offers so many amazing shots that we can easily go 6 hours in the morning in peak color season. Shoot a sunrise, head for a stream lined by leaves, then hike a ridge overlook. On an split day 8 hour trip we can focus on nearly all the best Fall shots Rocky Mountain National Park can offer. Fall color is hard to predict exact dates so we will be scouting all season long to guide you to the best shots. Rates and details below.
Fall Photo Ops Book NowWinter & Spring Estes Park Photo Tours
3.5 Hr Beginner Winter Photo Tour
Winter is a great time to learn photography with lower rates and less crowds. Estes Park Winter Photo Tours for Photography Beginners. Learn how to set your camera settings, focus, compition, and technique to help you take great photos in Rocky and at home. Morning and evening tours all winter long. Electric hand warmers and seat heaters makes for a comfortable classroom. Rates and details below.
Winter Photo Ops Spring Photo Ops Book Now
3.5 Hr Winter Landscape Photo Tour
Estes Park's unpredictable winter weather can produce some amazing winter scenes. Often heavy clouds block the peaks, but snow and evergreen forests make for amazing images. On clear days a sunrise or sunset can be some of the best of the year. Driving and Hiking options available (link below). Bring your gloves, extra layers and a tripod. We'll warm up in the car between photo locations. Rates and details below.
Winter Photo Ops Spring Photo Ops Book Now
3.5 Hr Winter Wildlife Photo Tour
Winter Wildlife Photography can be outstanding. Bull Elk can be in the meadows sparring with luck, Mule Deer start their rut in November and are active and great targets all winter long, and Bighorn Sheep can be targeted all winter long. Turkeys start their mating season during Spring Break. Winter is the best time for American Dipper river shots. Some days bring Coyote sightings. We will travel throughout the Estes Park region as our wildlife migrates out of the deeper snows of the national park. Rates and details below.
Winter Photo Ops Spring Photo Ops Book Now
6 or 8 Hr Custom Photo Tour
On a 6 hour Custom Estes Park Photo Tour we will split the day to 3 hour sunrise and sunset sessions. We can focus on landscapes, wildlife or mix the day. On a 8 hour day we could do a Snowshoeing Dream Lake Sunrise in the morning and head out again for evening light. We can also focus a split day on Winter Wildlife Photos to increase your chances of getting an excellent shot. Electric Hand Warmers and heated seats make a cold day fun while we warm cold fingers. Rates and details below.
Winter Photo Ops Spring Photo Ops Book NowBeginner Photographers | Learn to use your camera
Beginners, learn how to use your camera to its fullest potential and I'll help get you off of automatic mode. Having taught 3,000+ beginners I'm very experienced in teaching you the basics in a simple understandable manner so you start seeing huge improvements within the first hour of the tour. Generally a 4 or 8 hour tour is best for beginners. Most folks burn out at 4 hours, while others can keep going well into 8 hours. The best length for you depends on which one of of those descriptions is most like you.
I'm experienced teaching folks with all makes and models of DSLR and Mirrorless cameras including: Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, and a variety of point and shoot cameras and even phones. I've had clients tell me they learned more on a single tour than on week long photo workshops.
First we will start by making sure your camera is set up to capture the best pictures possible. Then learn aspects of photography such as composition, light metering, reading a histogram, and some secrets that will improve every shot you take. If you want to make the jump from "point and shoot" to the world of "f stops" and "shutter speed," this is the perfect opportunity for you. Generally Aperture Priority Mode with selectable auto-focus is the recommended method that professionals use and we will teach you how to use those exact settings.
Experienced Photographers | Custom Photo Tours
Experienced photographers, we can plan a special trip to try to catch amazing shots, refine and advance your technique, customize your camera settings, and talk about ways to improve your shots. You may want to consider an 8 hour Split day spending 4 hours in the morning and evening to focus on the best light of the day. We can discuss advanced skills like hyper-focal distance, prime apertures for sharpness, live view focusing, focus stacking set up, long lens techniques and more. We can also make a custom trip to hit some really amazing locations that can take years to find.
Estes Park Photo Tour Seasonal Highlight Options
Click the season you are planning your Estes Park Photo Tour to see options of what we can shoot during that time of year.
Pro Nikon Camera Gear Provided
You don't have a camera or a long lens, don't worry, you can use ours! By using our professional Nikon digital cameras with a selection of lenses from the 14mm-24mm f2.8 Ultra-wide angle, you can get shots of the majestic mountain vistas, to the 600mm f4 with a 1.4 teleconverter equaling 840mm (17x) zoom in on a Bull Elk's eye lashes. Keep in mind gear of this level requires a desire to learn how to use it, they have no automatic settings. I also have 5 tripods in the vehicle at all times incase you need to borrow one during the tour. Click below to see the gear available to use included with the price of tour.
Yellow Wood Guiding's Photo Gear
Before your Photo Safari be sure to visit Yellow Wood Guding's Photo Training Videos so you are prepared for a great day of photography in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Even though this is a photographic tour you will still learn tons of interesting facts and gain a new respect for this amazing environment.
Summer Tour Fees May - Early October
(Total Is Shown - NOT Per Person, Rate Is The Same For 1 Or 2 Guests)
| Guests | 1 or 2 | 3 or 4 |
| 4 Hour Tour Total (Most Recommended) | $325 | $425 |
| 6 Hour Tour Total (Hiking Tours Only) | $525 | $675 |
| 8 Hour Tour Total | $700 | $900 |
Winter Tour Fees Mid October - April
(Total Is Shown - NOT Per Person, Rate Is The Same For 1 Or 2 Guests)
| Guests | 1 or 2 | 3 or 4 |
| 3.5 Hour Tour Total (Most Recommended) | $245 | $325 |
| 6 Hour Tour Total | $445 | $525 |
| 8 Hour Tour Total | $575 | $655 |
Rocky Mountain Photo Tour Details
Tour Details: All tours are private so the only guests will be the people you invite. We pick you up from your Estes Park hotel, or if you are staying at a home we would meet up at the Estes Park Visitors Center in our Plug-In Hybrid Electric SUV with a panoramic moonroof and heated seats so you stay warm exploring in comfort.
Tours are limited to only 4 guests so you get personal attention. We only have 4 seats, and 4 sets of excellent gear. Yellow Wood Guiding strives to provide quality experiences for all of our guests.
Tours are designed for adults and have a strict age 12 and up policy. Kids 14 and over enjoy the experience most due to the science being presented at a high school and college level. If your kids are under 16 please read the Safari FAQ to make sure this tour is for your family.
Be sure to bring a coat and gloves temperatures change dramatically as we go up in elevation. Summer months we can expect temps between 30 - 70 degrees, and strong wind on Trail Ridge Road. Warm people are happy people.
Sunscreen, water and snacks are provided for all guests.
*Not included: Park entrance fees are $30 Day pass per car, $35 Week Pass per car or $80 for an annual pass. If you have a Senior, NPS Annual, or US Veterans and Active Duty Pass it is free as long as you have your pass and ID. I do not charge for a pass, as many folks already have one.
Yellow Wood Guiding is Authorized by the National Park Service, Department of Interior to conduct services in Rocky Mountain National Park. Fees for service are strictly for educational nature experiences and photography instruction, not transportation.