Photography Workshops at the Colchester Zoological Society
Big Cat & Nature Photography has had the privilege to work with Colchester Zoo (from 1 February 2025 Colchester Zoological Society) for more than 14 years. This is one of the best zoos in the UK and across Europe. With more than 150 different wildlife species in naturally set enclosures, there are always great photo opportunities.
We are pleased to announce that the management of the Colchester Zoological Society has agreed to continue our co-operation, and we will be offering our customers at least four out of the five types of photography workshops, we have previously provided at the zoo:
Big Cat Photography workshop – participants will be able to photograph the Amur leopards and tigers, African lion, cheetahs, and any animals we will pass on route
Amur Tiger - Tatana
African Photography Safari workshop – covering Bailey, the lion, fennec foxes, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, and much more
African Elephant - Opal
Primates Photography workshop – participants will be able to photograph a wide variety of primates at the Colchester Zoological Society, including different ape, monkey, macaques and lemur species.
Buffy-headed Capuchin
Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop - our teenaged customers (aged 12 to 15 years) may use the photography workshop to photograph any wildlife species for a GCSE-Photography project or to enhance their portfolio while having support available. Favourite animals include often the carnivore species like tigers, wolves and sea lions or continent specific wildlife species like Asian short-clawed otters, elephants, orangutans and others.
Eurasian Wolf
Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop – This photography experience for our youngest customers (aged 6 to 11 years) is currently under review. Please watch this space as we will announce soon future plans to support the interest into photography and wildlife by younger children.
Red Panda
Our photography workshops during the week, the Big Cat Photography, African Photography Safari and the Primates Photography workshops at the Colchester Zoological Society will remain in the same format and have the same benefits as before (for more details please click on the highlighted photography workshop names above). Due to increasing expenses, the price is £141.50 per participant. In order to ensure our customers will get full benefit out of the photography experiences, we continue to limit the maximum number of participants to 4 photographers per event (minimum of 2 participants).
All three photography workshops will start at 9:30 and finish at 16:30 (16:00 from November to February). As before participants will benefit from
We will continue to provide two separate children’s photography workshops, aimed at two different age groups; a Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop (children aged 12-15 years) and a Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop (children aged 6-11 years).
Our Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop is aimed at children aged 12 – 15 years, who have a keen interest in photography, may have taken up GCSE-Photography and/or considering photography as a professional option. This type of photography workshop for children has a duration of 5 hours (9:30 – 14:30) and cost £167.50 per child participant.
Our Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop is a photography experience for younger children (aged 6-11 years), who would like to learn about focusing on the animals and their surroundings to get interesting portraits and/or action photos of these. This photography workshop type has a duration of 3 hours (9:30 – 12:30) and will have only 2 children (plus one guardian each).
The price for this photography workshop is £110.00 per child.
African Lion - Bailey
The prices for both children photography workshops include
Furthermore, participants on all of our photography workshops at Colchester Zoo become members of Big Cat & Nature Photography for one year (having access to member discounts and online photography articles)
For more information on the photography workshop types please click on the highlighted names above or below.
Orangutan - Tatau
We have scheduled the following photography workshop at the Colchester Zoological Society for 2025:
12 September 2025 (Friday) African Photography Safari workshop - fully booked
20 September 2025 (Saturday) Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop - only 2 spaces left
26 September 2025 (Friday) Big Cat Photography workshop - only 2 spaces left
27 September 2025 (Saturday) Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop - fully booked
..4 October 2025 (Saturday) Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop - fully booked
17 October 2025 (Friday) Big Cat Photography workshop - only 2 spaces left
..7 November 2025 (Friday) Big Cat Photography workshop - only 2 spaces left
..5 December 2025 (Friday) Big Cat Photography workshop - spaces available
For more information on the photography workshop types and to book your space/s please click on the highlighted names above or below.
Alternatively, you can book your space/s by completing the form at the end of this page. Provided it is not indicated above that there are no spaces 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' (in the Green message box that comes up after you submitted the booking form) to pay either the deposit or the full fee from there (the full fee is required when buying a gift voucher or when booking 4 weeks or less prior to the workshop date). For more details about the booking process, please check our Terms and Conditions.
Please read also the Entry Terms & Conditions of Colchester Zoological Society as they apply as well on all of our photography experiences at this zoo.
If you are not sure about what date would suit you best, or you would like to get a space on one of the photography workshops for a friend or family member, you can also buy a gift voucher and agree the workshop date at a later stage.
Please contact us via info@bigcatphotography.co.uk, if you have any questions.
We are pleased to announce that the management of the Colchester Zoological Society has agreed to continue our co-operation, and we will be offering our customers at least four out of the five types of photography workshops, we have previously provided at the zoo:
Big Cat Photography workshop – participants will be able to photograph the Amur leopards and tigers, African lion, cheetahs, and any animals we will pass on route
Amur Tiger - Tatana
African Photography Safari workshop – covering Bailey, the lion, fennec foxes, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, and much more
African Elephant - Opal
Primates Photography workshop – participants will be able to photograph a wide variety of primates at the Colchester Zoological Society, including different ape, monkey, macaques and lemur species.
Buffy-headed Capuchin
Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop - our teenaged customers (aged 12 to 15 years) may use the photography workshop to photograph any wildlife species for a GCSE-Photography project or to enhance their portfolio while having support available. Favourite animals include often the carnivore species like tigers, wolves and sea lions or continent specific wildlife species like Asian short-clawed otters, elephants, orangutans and others.
Eurasian Wolf
Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop – This photography experience for our youngest customers (aged 6 to 11 years) is currently under review. Please watch this space as we will announce soon future plans to support the interest into photography and wildlife by younger children.
Red Panda
Our photography workshops during the week, the Big Cat Photography, African Photography Safari and the Primates Photography workshops at the Colchester Zoological Society will remain in the same format and have the same benefits as before (for more details please click on the highlighted photography workshop names above). Due to increasing expenses, the price is £141.50 per participant. In order to ensure our customers will get full benefit out of the photography experiences, we continue to limit the maximum number of participants to 4 photographers per event (minimum of 2 participants).
All three photography workshops will start at 9:30 and finish at 16:30 (16:00 from November to February). As before participants will benefit from
- A guided tour with support and advice on camera settings and other photographic aspects,
- Information on the animal species and their behaviour, which does help to get better photos of the wildlife,
- The option to have a 30-minutes online photography session prior to the photography workshops, providing tuition tailored to the individual needs of participants
We will continue to provide two separate children’s photography workshops, aimed at two different age groups; a Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop (children aged 12-15 years) and a Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop (children aged 6-11 years).
Our Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop is aimed at children aged 12 – 15 years, who have a keen interest in photography, may have taken up GCSE-Photography and/or considering photography as a professional option. This type of photography workshop for children has a duration of 5 hours (9:30 – 14:30) and cost £167.50 per child participant.
Our Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop is a photography experience for younger children (aged 6-11 years), who would like to learn about focusing on the animals and their surroundings to get interesting portraits and/or action photos of these. This photography workshop type has a duration of 3 hours (9:30 – 12:30) and will have only 2 children (plus one guardian each).
The price for this photography workshop is £110.00 per child.
African Lion - Bailey
The prices for both children photography workshops include
- The entrance fee for one child and one guardian
- The option to have a 30-minutes online photography session prior to the actual photography workshop,
- Having support and advice available on camera settings, how to approach taking photos of wildlife and any other photography aspects.
Furthermore, participants on all of our photography workshops at Colchester Zoo become members of Big Cat & Nature Photography for one year (having access to member discounts and online photography articles)
For more information on the photography workshop types please click on the highlighted names above or below.
Orangutan - Tatau
We have scheduled the following photography workshop at the Colchester Zoological Society for 2025:
12 September 2025 (Friday) African Photography Safari workshop - fully booked
20 September 2025 (Saturday) Wildlife Photography for Teenagers workshop - only 2 spaces left
26 September 2025 (Friday) Big Cat Photography workshop - only 2 spaces left
27 September 2025 (Saturday) Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop - fully booked
..4 October 2025 (Saturday) Zoo Photography for Junior Explorers workshop - fully booked
17 October 2025 (Friday) Big Cat Photography workshop - only 2 spaces left
..7 November 2025 (Friday) Big Cat Photography workshop - only 2 spaces left
..5 December 2025 (Friday) Big Cat Photography workshop - spaces available
For more information on the photography workshop types and to book your space/s please click on the highlighted names above or below.
Alternatively, you can book your space/s by completing the form at the end of this page. Provided it is not indicated above that there are no spaces 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' (in the Green message box that comes up after you submitted the booking form) to pay either the deposit or the full fee from there (the full fee is required when buying a gift voucher or when booking 4 weeks or less prior to the workshop date). For more details about the booking process, please check our Terms and Conditions.
Please read also the Entry Terms & Conditions of Colchester Zoological Society as they apply as well on all of our photography experiences at this zoo.
If you are not sure about what date would suit you best, or you would like to get a space on one of the photography workshops for a friend or family member, you can also buy a gift voucher and agree the workshop date at a later stage.
Please contact us via info@bigcatphotography.co.uk, if you have any questions.