Deer Rut Photography Workshop
Join one of our small groups of photographers on a
Deer Rut Photography Workshop
at Bradgate Park in the East Midlands
View more images
Deer Rut Photography Workshop
at Bradgate Park in the East Midlands
View more images
Bradgate Park is a well-known deer park in the East Midlands and home to approximately 600 fallow and red deer. We have had the privilege to provide here photography workshops during the deer rut for more than 7 years.
Our Deer Rut Photography workshops are open to photographers of all experience levels. Through offering all our customers the option to have a 30-minutes online photography tuition session prior to the workshop day and by keeping the groups to a maximum of 4 participants, we will be able to provide support at the required level to everyone on our photography workshops. The online photography tuition session could go for example over what to expect and what equipment to bring or to learn more about photography and how to use your camera more effectively or how to approach wildlife photography and how to deal with different light conditions.
Participants will have access to support in setting up their cameras or any other photography related questions on a one-to-one basis throughout the photography workshop. In addition, your guide will be guiding you through the park to places, where deer is likely to be, and she will keep an eye out for any interesting photo opportunities for our customers.
The Deer Rut Photography workshop at Bradgate Park, involves walking longer distances in a hilly environment when tracking (not stalking) the deer (part of the park is called ‘Little Matlock’ based on the similarities to the Peak District). Saying this, we will stay longer with some red or fallow deer herds for participants to photograph the action, and of course we will take breaks and sit down for a while.
The duration of our Deer Rut Photography workshops is 8 hours; starting at 7am and finishing generally at 3:00pm. However, this depends on available photography opportunities (we definitely won’t urge participants to finish when stags or bucks are rutting, deer crossing the River Lin or anything else interesting happens.)
As the uptake of our Deer Rut Photography workshop at Bradgate Park was relatively low in 2024, we decided to schedule only one date in 2025 for this photography workshop type for now:
10 October 2025 (Friday) - fully booked
Further dates will be added if we get sufficient demand for the Deer Rut Photography workshop
The price for the 8-hour Deer Rut Photography workshops at Bradgate Park will be £143.50 per participant. This includes a contribution to the Bradgate Park Trust, guidance through the park, support with setting up the cameras and questions about any other photography aspect throughout the workshop plus the option to have a 30-minutes online tuition session prior to the photography workshop. Not included in the price is any catering or parking fees. There are two cafés/restaurants, where we can take breaks. However, as these are generally not next to where we will be with the deer in the park, we recommend, bringing a flask with a hot drink and maybe also some small snacks.
Covered by the photography workshop fee is that participants will become members of Big Cat & Nature Photography for one year and through this will have a range of benefits (having access to discounts when booking future events as well as to Hints & Tips articles in our Members’ Zone plus to our Members meeting)
For more details please visit our Membership page (by clicking on the highlighted term)
Feedback from participants on previous Deer Rut Photography workshops:
By Elena Richards
"I had an amazing experience on the Deer Rut Photography Workshop with Barbara. She is incredibly knowledgeable and shared fascinating insights about both photography and deer behaviour. Barbara’s attentiveness truly made a difference, as she tailored the experience to my interests and provided personalised feedback throughout the day. I particularly enjoyed our conversations about wildlife; Barbara’s passion for nature and wildlife conservation made the experience even more rewarding. Overall, it was a fantastic day, and I can’t wait to return for another workshop!“
By Adrian Foster
"Visiting Bradgate Park with Barbara was my third excursion with her and each one has been a joy. She has the right balance of advice and guidance and her photographer's eye was helpful in pointing out potential shots and positioning. Highly enjoyable and highly recommended!"
By Tony Pay
" I had a great day at Bradgate Park taking photos of the Red and Fallow deer. There were plenty of opportunities to get reasonably close to the see safely. Barbara was always aware of the light conditions and where the sun was so our photos came out really well. A lovely day out in a small group."
By Jon Frost
"I recently spent the day in Bradgate Park with Barbara and a small group during the deer rut season and had the most incredible day. As an absolute beginner to photography Barbara talked me through some really useful basics and then helped me to capture images that I could never have dreamt of realising previously. The other 3 people in the group were far more experienced and also helped me and clearly learnt some new things from Barbara along the well. The real stars of the show of course were the deer and especially the stags! Having Barbara to guide us through the park to find the herds and advise how to approach meant we got incredibly close but always in a safe manner. A truly wonderful day and I would recommend anyone who has any interest in photography and wildlife to make the most of Barbaras knowledge."
By Caroline Boardley:
"I had a thoroughly enjoyable day on the Deer Rut Photography workshop. Barbara’s knowledge of the animals, their habitat and behaviour was fantastic. She was very patient and made many welcomed suggestions on how to get the best shots. I came away having had a great experience and lots of knowledge to help in the future."
By Kirsty Chapman:
"I enjoyed a thoroughly great day at Bradgate Park (23.10.20) with Barbara photographing deer rutting. Very early start, arriving in the dark, and left in the evening in the dark too. Wildlife was amazing and Barbara advised on how to get the best photos with my camera and encouraged me to play around with different techniques and settings. She also used her knowledge of deer behaviour to anticipate what would happen next! The autumn colours were superb too and we experienced 4 seasons of weather in one day! Thank you Barbara, a great day all round."
By Stan Darling:
"Really enjoyed the day at Bradgate Park with the deer. Thank you so much for the organisation and photo advice. The weather was pretty good with some nice lighting conditions so I was able to get a lot of good images."
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You can book your space on the Deer Rut Photography workshop by completing the form at the end of this page. Provided it is not indicated above that there are no or only a limited number of spaces available for the photography workshop date of your choice, you can proceed directly to the online shop via the Payment Link (shown in the Green Message Box that will come up once you have submitted the booking form) to pay either the deposit or the full fee from there (depending on when you book / the full fee is required when booking 4 weeks or less prior to the photography workshop date or when buying a gift voucher) For more details about the booking process, please check our Terms and Conditions.
If you are not sure about what date would suit you best, or you would like to get a space on the Deer Rut Photography workshop for a friend or family member, you can also buy a gift voucher and agree the photography workshop date at a later stage.
Please contact us via info@bigcatphotography.co.uk, if you have any questions.