Our home base will be Eirð Retreat, a beautiful and peaceful property near Hella on Iceland’s south coast, giving us quick access to all our shooting locations. This part of the country is known for its dramatic contrasts, wide open spaces and ever-changing light. You’ll find black-sand beaches, moss-covered lava fields, waterfalls, glaciers and volcanic landscapes all within easy reach.

The region is famous for its raw natural beauty, including Reynisfjara’s striking coastline, glaciers and waterfalls. We’ll also explore Rauðhólar, a unique red volcanic area that adds incredible colour and texture to your images. It’s the perfect part of Iceland for outdoor adventures, photography and soaking up the raw energy of this remarkable land.

Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Iceland's main airport and offers direct flights from many US cities and major European hubs.

We’ll be running one airport shuttle for all attendees. It will leave from Keflavík Airport mid-afternoon on the day before the event begins, and go via Reykjavík to pick up any students located there.

At the end of the event, we’ll return everyone to Reykjavík or Keflavík Airport in time for onward travel.  If booking flights out of Reykjavík Airport, please make sure they depart no earlier than midday.

If you need transportation to or from the venue outside these times, this will be your responsibility.

If you prefer to hire a car instead, Keflavík Airport has rental companies on-site or nearby. The drive to our accommodation near Hella takes just under 2 hours and is an epic drive through some incredible Iceland landscapes, ideal if you’d like extra time to explore.

We recommend searching for flights on Google Flights.

You don't need your own car for the event – transfers to and from the accommodation from either Keflavík Airport or Reykjavík are included, along with all transport during the event.

However you may choose to hire your own car if you are travelling in the area before or after the event, or if you are bringing a guest, so they can head off and explore while we're off being busy little dog photographers.

There is plenty of parking if you do choose to hire a car for the duration of the event.

If self-driving, plan to arrive at the accommodation no earlier than 5pm on the day before the event officially begins. You'll be able to check in, settle into your room and meet everyone.

Yes! We have plenty of room for guests. The additional cost will be $1,500 USD for Unleashed Workshop, and $1,700 USD for Unleashed Retreat. This covers accommodation and all meals, which are expertly prepared by our in-house chef.

You and your guest must share a bed, as the beds cannot be split into singles.

During workshop activities, your guest may relax at the house, or if they have their own transport they can head off exploring on their own. There is plenty of off-street parking for additional cars at our accommodation.

These events are all-inclusive and the fee includes accommodation, meals and transport during the event.

If you plan to leave Iceland the day after the event ends, you'll just need to check out before 10am that day (we'll organise an airport shuttle to Reykjavík Airport).

If you decide to arrive before the event begins, or stay for longer after it ends, any additional accommodation, transport and meals will be your responsibility.

After your final payment has been made, we'll be in touch with a list of learning resources available in Unleashed Education, that we'd like you to complete before the event.

This ensures everyone has a similar level of knowledge as a starting point, and gives you an introduction to our teaching style if you're not already familiar with us.

All resources are available in our Unleashed Education Premium Membership, which you will be granted complimentary access to in the lead-up to the event, if you're not already a member.

We've both had plenty of experience in running photo shoots at workshops and retreats over the last ten years. We've come up with the perfect formula so they run smoothly, allowing all attendees the time and space to work with the dog models and get their own shots, without feeling rushed or having to shoot over each other's shoulders.

This isn't the sort of workshop where there is only one dog that the instructor sets up, and everyone lines up "gallery style" to capture the same shot!

Each shoot begins with a location scout before the dog models arrive. We'll scout the area with you while sharing our thoughts on potential shooting spots and lighting, allowing you to truly take in the location without the pressure of needing to choose a spot to shoot immediately.

After all our dog models arrive, we begin our instructor demonstration, so you can see how we work with the dogs and use the light and the location.

Then it's over to you!

Every participant will have exclusive time with each dog model, which generally results in everyone ending up with different images that are unique to their own creative vision.

Following our initial demonstration, 100% of our focus shifts to assisting you in the specific areas we’ve identified for improvement. We’re dedicated to providing one-on-one support, ensuring you receive the guidance you need to excel in your pet photography journey.

Our pet photography events have been primarily created to help pet photographers with the art of pet photography, so there will be no business (sales, pricing, marketing) related topics taught. This makes it suitable for a wide range of pet photographers, whether you run a business or never intend to!

September is Autumn in Iceland, and being close to the arctic circle, it can be chilly. Average temperatures range from 5°C (41°F) to 10°C (50°F).

There is a reasonably high chance of cloud cover and rain at this time of year, however the inclement weather can lead to atmospheric shooting conditions.

Sunrise is around 7:30am and sunset around 7:00pm.

At this time of year on a clear night, there is the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights! 

We have no control over what the weather decides to do on the day. We’ll still shoot if it’s cloudy or raining, but if it is raining heavily we will attempt to re-shuffle the shoot times.

We always highly recommend rain-proof protection for your camera gear in case we do end up shooting in light rain.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds based on weather, but we promise to make the best of any weather situations.

As thanks for their time and talent, we will be sending images of our wonderful dog models through to the owners around a month after the event ends.

We'll ask you to supply a couple of final, edited images of each dog that you photographed, to add to their collection.

We'll also get together for a group image review on Zoom, where you can reunite with your fellow attendees and we can ooh and ahh over all your final submitted images!

Please note all prices are in US Dollars.

There is a $100 application fee which will be applied to the total event fee if your application is approved, or refunded in full if your application is unsuccessful.

If your application is approved but you decide not to attend, your application fee will be not be refunded, so please only apply if you are serious about joining us!

If the event is cancelled by us, you will receive a full refund.

If you are unable to attend the event due to personal reasons and the event is still going ahead, we offer a full refund of all monies paid, only if we can fill your place and only more than 60 days before the event. If we are unable to fill your place or you cancel after this date, unfortunately we cannot offer a refund.

The $100 application fee becomes a non-refundable admin fee in all cases.

Please ensure your travel expenses are refundable or transferrable, as we cannot offer any refunds or financial assistance with money lost due to cancelled travel and accommodation bookings. We highly recommend taking out travel insurance.

Please do not book any travel or accommodation until your application has been finalised.

Sure! Just get in touch with us directly here.