Home » Alaska Private Custom Photo Tours with Michael DeYoung

Guided Full-Day and Multi-Day Private Photo Tours in Alaska

Personalized, customized all inclusive* photo adventures focusing on Alaska’s remote and majestic landscapes, wildlife and adventure.

* meals generally not included see full description of what’s included/excluded on private tours below

WHAT CLIENTS SAY

Mile for mile, Alaska has the most photographable, high-quality landscapes right from the highways than anyplace else.

However, Alaska doesn’t have a lot of highways relative to the state’s size and we lack the endless network of secondary roads found in the Western Continental United States. There is a lot of GREAT stuff to see and photograph away from the highway system. Access to such places is by boat, bush plane, or helicopter. Many off-highway photo locations are close enough to cities and towns that they can be done as day trips. Landscape and some wildlife photography in remote areas isn’t necessarily better than what you can photograph from highways, just different and more unique. Most clients who travel this far want to do more than just photograph from the highway, but it does add to the total cost.

Things you can photograph from remote areas that you can’t from highways:

LANDSCAPES

WILDLIFE

Things you can photograph from highways and short hikes:

LANDSCAPES

WILDLIFE

Somewhat reliable and photographable with normal telephoto lenses and ethical practices. Wildlife photography is always unpredictable and are not always present at places we normally go.

Turn dreams into reality with an exclusive, full service, custom private photo adventure tour in Alaska

HOW IT WORKS

• Start by completing the CUSTOM TOUR REQUEST FORM. This helps us tailor your custom tour based upon your preferred dates and your photography goals.
• We verify our availability. If we’re unavailable, we’ll suggest alternative dates to see if they work with your schedule or we’ll provide you a reference to a reputable photography guide we work with if they are available.
• Based on your preferences, we propose itineraries and venues until we get your approval.
• Upon your approval of the itinerary, we’ll invoice you for 25-50% of the tour quote so we can start reserving lodging, third-party vendors, and other expenses related to your trip.
• Once dates and itinerary are secured, all you do is book your round trip to Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau and we take care of the rest.

DETAILS

WHEN:

February – March and June – October

DAILY GUIDE FEE:

• Multi-day (per 24 hours): $1,600 (1-2 clients); $1,700 (3-4 clients); $1,800 (5-6 clients)

INCLUDED IN DAILY GUIDE FEE:

• Michael & Lauri as your guides and drivers
• Personalized, on-location photography instruction
• Ground transportation from your base destination. (Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau)
• Pre-tour logistics including developing the itinerary and making reservations for lodging, additional transportation (such as air-taxi, boat, or helicopter rides), and other guided excursions

ADDITIONAL EXPENSES (NOT INCLUDED IN DAILY GUIDE FEE):

• Your Meals (pay as you go)
• Lodging for your group and Michael & Lauri’s. (No lodging expenses for Michael & Lauri while staying in Anchorage.)
• Fuel
• Rental vehicle for more than 3 participants
• Entrance and locations fees
• Third-party guide and off highway transportation fees such as glacier guides and air and boat taxis
• Gratuities for additional guides such as: aircraft pilots, boat captain, special wildlife guides etc. (this is not mandatory but always appreciated for a job well done). Please bring cash for this option. Typical gratuities are: $40 – $150 depending on service quality, difficulty, time length.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where do you base your private tours from? We mainly operate from Anchorage which is in Southcentral Alaska. There is a lifetime of great things to photograph from Alaska’s largest city. Southcentral Alaska offers the most diversity of landscapes and wildlife in Alaska since it offers both coastal and interior environments. We can also (and have on many occasions) create and lead custom private tours from both Fairbanks (Interior Alaska) and Juneau (Southeast Alaska).

What is the best time of year to visit Alaska for a photo tour? It depends on your interests. This is the abbreviated overview from 30-thousand feet:

• Winter landscapes, aurora and glacier caves and other ice features: March
• Spring landscapes and maximum daylight: June
• Summer landscapes and maximum wildflowers: late-June to early August
• Fall colors and aurora: late August (tundra) to the end of September. Anchorage fall colors peak around the 3rd week of September.

For a more detailed seasonal narrative about when to visit, read more at When Should I Visit Alaska For Photography?

Can I join on another custom tour that is already taking place? No. A custom and private tour is just for you. Anyone else who joins is only by invitation from you.

Can I bring a non-participating spouse/partner? Absolutely. Our daily guide fee stays the same for 1 or 2 people. A second person can also be another participant. In many cases, off highway venues with tour boats and helicopters are at a charter rate, so adding another person doesn’t increase the cost. Rates for bear viewing lodges and transportation to and from are on a per person basis so no cost savings for extra participants.

What is the maximum group size for private tours? Up to 6 total. On several occasions we have done a custom tour for 6 photographer friends who travel together frequently.

If I book a private tour do I make my own accommodations and transportation arrangements? No. We do that for you and it’s part of the tour. We provide all ground transportation from wherever you base your tour from (Anchorage, Fairbanks or Juneau) and secure accommodations usually from the night before your tour begins to the night it ends. We will even help you secure additional nights before or after your tour upon request.

How many days should I book a tour for? Most clients do 3-5 days although 6-7 is better. Putting aside budget considerations, for any place in Alaska that you want good landscape imagery from generally requires at least 6 days. Almost all northern latitude locations (Alaska, Iceland, Norway, Greenland) have predominantly cloudy climates. Working a location for 6 or more days greatly increases your chances of connecting with at least one day of great light for landscapes.

When and where is the best time and place to photograph bears? Safe and reliable bear photography takes place in remote and off highway areas with limited human visitation in Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks. The season is from June into early October. Not all places have bears during that time. Places that have good bear viewing in June or July may be almost void of bears in September and vice versa. There is a distinct difference between bear “viewing” and bear photography. We structure our private tours to maximize potential for capturing great bear images, not just seeing a few and capturing a handful of images on a smartphone. Unfortunately, this drives up the cost, especially with overnight stays. Overnight or multi-day bear photography has limited spaces so best to plan any multi-day bear viewing even a year in advance. Day trips have a little more flexibility.

Where is the best place to photograph aurora? Fairbanks and other interior Alaska locations up into the Brooks Range. These areas, especially the Brooks Range, are more isolated with fewer options for lodging and food. Mountain foregrounds for aurora landscapes are much better in Southcentral Alaska. If aurora is your primary photography goal and you are willing to sacrifice other great landscape and wildlife opportunities during your time, then definitely Fairbanks. If you are interested in other good fall and winter landscapes then we recommend staying around Anchorage – or doing both.

What is the best time to photograph aurora (northern lights)? The best times are late March and late September – around the equinoxes. This doesn’t mean other times can’t see great displays. Good aurora displays can happen during anytime with night sky. March is slightly better than September due to better chances of clear skies. September is better for reflections though. Around Southcentral Alaska, aurora viewing season is from the 3rd week of August until the first week of May. In the far north, it’s just too light to see aurora during summer.

Can I include Denali National Park in a private tour? Denali National Park does not allow commercial photo tours, so no, we can’t legally guide inside the park. There are other ways to photograph Denali, our continent’s highest mountain. We can photograph landscapes of Denali National Park outside the park from several vantage points within Denali State Park. We can also photograph within Denali from aircraft, or by staying at one of the lodges in the Kantishna area which really drives up the cost. A stay at one of the lodges there generally requires making reservations 1-2 years in advance.

Why do you recommend custom boat and helicopter charters? Even in Alaska’s most populated region, there are few highways and roads. While you can see great landscapes from the Southcentral road system, there are epic and unique landscape and wildlife opportunities (mainly coastal brown bears and marine wildlife) that you just can’t get to and see from a road or trail. Aerial landscapes from helicopters with doors off allow unparalleled landscape images.

Do I get a refund if I don’t get the light and weather I wanted? Unfortunately, no. Tours are not cancelled or refunded if you don’t get the conditions you wanted. We make the best of the light and conditions Mother Nature gives us. The exception is safety with third party vendors, such as bush planes, helicopters and small boat charters. If that vendor cancels for weather or other safety concerns, then yes, we will refund to you that portion of the tour the vendor refunds to us.

What do we photograph if it’s cloudy and wet? One of the best skills an accomplished and creative photographer has is the ability to find and create great images in less than ideal light. Alaska offers many opportunities to create impactful images in bad weather. It can be challenging at times but you should rise to that challenge.

Yes, it might be cloudy and wet for your entire tour, but you should embrace the opportunity to create really moody imagery, especially in black and white. And, the silver lining with storms is that dramatic light almost ALWAYS follows clearing storms. With our over 3 decades of Alaska experience, we will have any potential clearing storm light dialed in and get you to the right place at the right time. In the meantime, there are plenty of things to photograph in flat light and wet weather. Wild flowers and forest details, especially in autumn colors, can be quite rich and visually pleasing. Blue glacier ice is best photographed in overcast light. Wildlife such as bears and moose photograph well. In fact, in many cases, flat light on dark and contrasty animals is more favorable than photographing them in hard light.

Consider yourself lucky to have a chance to photograph any wildlife in falling snow. It’s awesome! You should come prepared to keep your equipment dry (we can help with recommendations!) and be willing to enthusiastically seek out landscape and wildlife imagery in wet weather.

How much photography instruction is included with my private custom tour? It is up to you as to how much on-location and post-production instruction you want to spend time on. Some advanced photographers simply want to be taken to the best locations at the best times to craft images on their own without much input from us. Others want guidance on how to best capture particular landscapes or wildlife. Bad weather times are great to conduct constructive critique or work on learning post-production processing. The beauty of a custom tour is YOU get to decide the mix of on-location instruction and post-production time.

POLICIES:

PAYMENT TERMS:

Due to Alaska’s short season as well as the high demand for, and limited number of places on these custom photo tours, the following payment & refund conditions apply.

Unless otherwise agreed, the following payment schedule applies at time of booking: 

If Booking more than 120 days in advance: A non-refundable deposit of $1,600 is required to reserve the dates. This can be paid via Venmo or a credit card via PayPal. This covers our time of researching and creating reservations for the custom tour and is included in the total cost of the tour. Final payment of the remaining balance is due in January of the year the tour takes place.

If Booking less than 120 days in advance: 100% of the quoted price is due at time of booking to be paid as follows: A non-refundable deposit of $1,600 payable via Venmo or a credit card via PayPal, AND the remaining balance paid via check, Venmo, wire transfer, or PayPal due on the same day.

Deposits and Final Balance payments can be made by credit card (via PayPal), Venmo, check, or other wire transfer app. We accept credit card via PayPal for the deposit at no charge to you. If you wish to pay the FINAL BALANCE by PayPal, a 3% transaction fee/surcharge will be added to the quote for the final balance.

A link with payment details will be provided to you at the time of booking for deposit and final payment.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Cancellations made prior to 120 days of tour's start date will receive a refund of all amounts paid to date except for the non-refundable deposit and any non-refundable deposits made to third-party vendors for the additional excursions specific to your itinerary (such as bear excursions, lodging facilities, etc.).

Refunds for cancellations made within 120 days of the tour's start date are not guaranteed. If we can fill the space with another booking, we will refund the amount paid to date minus the initial non-refundable deposit and any non-refundable deposits made to third-party vendors for the additional excursions specific to your itinerary (such as bear excursions, lodging facilities, etc.).

Cancellations made within 120 days of the tour's start date where we CANNOT fill the space will forfeit 100% of our guide fees. We attempt to get a refund from all vendors who have a favorable refund policy and will return these amounts to you once all vendor refunds have been processed.

In the event you are unable to make your initial date, we will work with you to reschedule without forfeiture of your non-refundable deposit and as much of the payments made to secure the additional venues. We understand rescheduling is not always possible due to both parties' schedules. For that reason, we strongly recommend Trip Insurance.

TRIP INSURANCE

Active Photo Tours and DeYoung Photo Workshops, LLC are not responsible for reimbursement of non-refundable airline tickets or lodging arrangements you made in the event of you or anyone in your group had to cancel. You may want to invest in trip insurance to cover these circumstances. We highly suggest TravelGuard® or similar travel insurance policies to assist you in case of last minute plan changes and emergencies.

THE DEYOUNG ACTIVE PHOTO TOURS ADVANTAGE

Michael DeYoung is an award-winning adventure, lifestyle and landscape photographer creating imagery for stock libraries and commercial clients – primarily in the travel/tourism industry.

2026/2027 ALASKA GROUP PHOTO TOURS

DeYoung Active Photo Tours
(A division of DeYoung Photo Workshops, LLC)