Testimonials
OUR Adventure Safari Network REVIEWS
What our guests say…
Verified We went on the Navy Pier Nighttime tour and the Daytime Millenium Park tour. Great instructor- love Gary! Everyone always comments on how great my photos are when we get back from vacations- totally thanks to my lessons from Gary!Verified I've done two Photo Safaris now and have plans to take several other classes because I enjoyed it so much. I was truly impressed by everyone who works here, including the owner who took the time to personally call and answer questions I had about lenses and dslr cameras. The entire Photo Safaris team is so passionate about what they do and are eager to share their knowledge in a fun, easy-to-understand way. I learned more than I expected about my new dslr and no longer find it intimidating to use as a result of these classes. Jori was my instructor twice now and she's absolutely wonderful - knowledgeable, approachable, thoughtful and passionate when it comes to her classes. I heard about these classes from a friend who highly recommended them and now I've raved about Photo Safaris to everyone I know who is interested in photography!Verified I was thrilled with my class! I am a ptotographic idiot, and this really helped me a lot! The leader, Jessica, was patient and very, very helpful. It was cold at Millennium Park -- but we were able to spend time inside as well, which helped balance the cold (but lovely) weather. I had taken a full day course from anotereh company this summer which did not hold a candle to this. A great combination of hands on and instruction. A super "cheat sheet" at the end that will be so useful. I am sure I will take more of these. It was a great experience.Verified So I love photography and I've always taken pretty decent shots with my cameras. But I thought "Hmmm... I bet my shots would be even better if I could only figure out what all these little symbols, knobs, buttons, and doo-dads were for." I must've said that out loud at some point because a friend gave me a gift certificate for Chicago Photo Safaris. We opted to do the Lincoln Park Zoo Safari and I believe Jori was our instructor. She explained a few of the cameras features and showed us some sample shots. We mainly focused on two features so as not to totally confuse us amateurs. She explained everything very well and didn't get too technical. As we went through the zoo, she would check out our shots and suggest different ways to take them. I deducted one star only because I would have liked to break somewhere in the middle and review the shots we'd taken and discuss a little more so as to correlate what she taught us at the beginning to the shots we had taken. However, I really enjoyed the class and I would definitely take it again.Verified We met at the intercontinental hotel. I had low expectations but I was in for a surprise. My wife and I learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We cant wait to do another. Scott was friendly, patient and willing to work with each of us on our particular needs. The most important outcome is that we are now excited about our photography potential motivated to learn more.Verified I feel like it's rare that my expectations are totally exceeded but I have to say that the Photo Safari I went on last Wednesday totally blew past all my expectations. My friend and I had bought a Groupon that was close to expiring so we figured we better use it. (I think I paid $25 for the Groupon so please keep that in mind. I am not sure if this review would be as enthusiastic if I had paid the full price of $100 of whatever.) The class lasted from 6-10. A mini bus took us around the city to lots of fun places for us to practice our photography skillz. We visited place like the Lincoln Park Zoo, Buckingham Fountain, Millenium Park, etc. The class I was in was very small (3 of us) so I was able to get lots of one one one instruction from our instructor (Jessica). In the first 10 min of class I already felt I had gotten my money worth on the class. I seriously leraned sooo much about my camera! Overall, a great and fun experience!Verified Gary invited me on a redo and I gladly accepted his offer. He is a very nice guy and it was obvious that he is very excited about his business and cares about your experience. I'd recommend contacting him directly if you experience a disappointing safari, because more than likely he will go above and beyond to rectify your viewpoint! We went to a lot of the same places that I went to the first time around, but even so it was a whole 'nutha experience since Scott was very informative at each location, with tips and mini lessons. Gary and Scott went around to see how we were doing with our shots, and offering tips on composition, which is always a wanted thing in any kind of class like this. The safari mini bus was really nice too! Apparently they offer big ticket photo safaris to more exotic locales, such as South Africa. They are also located in D.C. and San Francisco. It was a great experience, and I can highly recommend both him as well as Scott to lead your safari. I look forward to doing more of these as part of my photography education! I'd love to see some kind of punch card available for purchase like maybe 4 safaris for $200 or something for loyal safari-ists of Chicago and beyond, and until then I will hope to see more deals on the grouponish sites which usually offer a nice discount. I will buy those up! If money isn't a big deal to you and you can afford it, then this is definitely worth the full price tag especially for the mobile adventure which will take you to 3-4 different Chicago locations that are goldmines for good shots.Verified Just got back from my 1st safari, and had a great time! I'm a beginner, and the instruction was perfect for me. Erica was super knowledgable and very personable. She not only gave instruction on camera function and settings, but also gave adivce as to composition. It was a perfect way to get started figuring out how to use my camera and get useful feedback.Load more
