Meet the excellent team of panellists joining National Geographic Traveller (UK)’s The Masterclasses for the photography sessions.

Tuesday 4 October 7:15pm-8:15pm – How to get started as a travel photographer

The three one-hour classes are aimed at beginner and intermediate-level travel photographers, providing expert advice and guidance, from selecting the right kit and getting started to putting together a photo story.

Our expert photographers will tell you how they got into the business, where you can learn, moving from different types of photography to travel, plus practical tips on pitching and publication.

Meet the panel (from left to right): Lauryn Ishak, Annapurna Mellor and moderator Nori Jemil.

Lauryn Ishak is a lifestyle and travel commercial and editorial photographer based in Singapore, though she’s frequently found bouncing around other parts of Asia and beyond. She shoots everything from architecture in China to private islands in the Maldives. Along with contributions to National Geographic Traveller (UK), Lauryn’s regular list of clients include The New York Times, Monocle, various Conde Nast publications and brands such as Apple, Airbnb and Belmond, to name a few.

Annapurna Mellor is a travel and documentary photographer based in Manchester, UK. She has a passion for documenting people, places and cultures, and has a particular interest in India and the Himalayan region. She has shot for a variety of clients including National Geographic Traveller (UK), Lonely Planet, Intrepid Travel, the National Trust and Canon.

Nori Jemil is a travel photographer, writer and videographer. She’s also a regular contributor to National Geographic Traveller (UK). Nori has written, filmed or photographed for numerous publications, including BBC Travel, The Independent, The Times and Lonely Planet. She’s also won photography awards — the British Guild of Travel Writers’ Photographer of the Year in 2017 and Wanderlust’s Photograph of the Year in 2011 — and was nominated for the Photography Award at last year’s Travel Media Awards.

Wednesday 5 October 7:15pm-8:15pm – The perfect travel photography kit

Find out how to select the best basics, what you need (and don’t need) for travel photography, and how to select specialist kit for everything from polar shoots to street photography.

Tanveer Badal is a travel, lifestyle and architectural photographer based in Los Angeles. He has photographed more than 50 countries and his work frequently appears in publications such as The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler and National Geographic Traveller (UK).

Tom Parker is renowned for capturing epic scenes and injecting a structured beauty into everything he sees. He’s a contributing photographer for Condé Nast Traveller and Departures. Tom’s clients include Marks & Spencer, Frankie & Benny’s, Axa, Virgin Trains, One & Only, Taj Hotels, Sainsbury’s, Open Table, TUI, Burberry, Unilever, SAB Miller, Bacardi, G4S, The Arts Club, Vogue, Porter magazine, Travel + Leisure, House & Garden and INK Global.

Giulia Verdinelli is a food and travel photographer, a photography tutor and a travel entrepreneur. As a storyteller, her mission is to inspire the curious traveller to go further, dig deeper and find wonder in the mundane. Her photography has been featured in publications such as Food by National Geographic Traveller (UK), The Sunday Times and Whetstone. She’s also worked with commercial brands, including Pernod Ricard and Tesco.

Greg Funnell is a UK-based photographer and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He shoots a broad range of travel and documentary work, with a particular focus on localised cultural pastimes, as well as disappearing skills and traditions.

Thursday 6 October 7:15pm – 8:15pm – Putting together a photo story

Get practical advice and behind-the-scenes access with our National Geographic Traveller photographers, who will give an insight into the process of putting a photo story together from start to finish: from how to shoot to a brief to deciding what images to submit, and discussing the final product.

Meet the panel (from left to right): Daniel Alford, Francesco Lastrucci, Yulia Denisyuk and moderator Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Daniel Alford is a travel and landscape photographer from Cardiff, Wales. He’s spent the majority of his adult life exploring his passion for natural history and travel through photography, writing and filmmaking. During his career, he’s worked for a variety of editorial and commercial clients, shooting in countries as far afield as China, Greenland, Iceland and Nepal.

Francesco Lastrucci was born in Florence in 1977 — he’s a freelance photographer who mostly focuses on editorial stories. His documentary projects focus on the multi-layered aspects of people’s daily lives, the rich complexity of their culture and the interactions between humans and environment. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including National Geographic Traveller (UK), The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Reader’s Digest, Marie Claire and Lonely Planet. His work has been exhibited in the USA, Italy, the UK, Singapore, Mexico, Colombia and Hong Kong.

Lola Akinmade Åkerström is an award-winning visual storyteller, international bestselling author and travel photographer. She has dispatched from more than 70 countries and her work has been featured in National Geographic, The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, Travel Channel, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet, Forbes and many more. She has collaborated with commercial brands such as Dove, Mercedes-Benz, Intrepid Travel, Electrolux and the National Geographic Channel, to name a few. She is a contributing photographer to National Geographic Traveller (UK).

To buy your ticket to National Geographic Traveller (UK)’s The Masterclasses, click here.