The Next Step: San Miguel de Allende
with Sam Abell
October 13 – 17, 2025
Course Description
The high but attainable purpose of this workshop is to understand and hone one’s vision and technique with Sam Abell by your side. This is a documentary photography workshop designed for those individuals serious about taking the next step in their photographic lives.
The workshop proceeds in three stages: the critical review of existing and new work, daily field sessions in and around the colorful city of San Miguel de Allende, and one-on-one sessions with Sam. In addition, Sam presents concise lectures about his technique and style. Our shared goal: to deepen our understanding of how meaningful photographic essays are created.
Growth is essential to both a well-made career and a well-lived life. Are you ready to take the next photographic step, personally and professionally? Participants in this legendary workshop should have enough of an established path in photography that, through their work and words, they can share with one another the road they have traveled so far, their dreams, and their future destinations.
Join Sam in transcendent San Miguel de Allende this fall for a life-altering photographic experience. This is the only workshop Sam is leading for Santa Fe Workshops in 2025, so don’t miss it!
Additional Information
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
What You Should Know:
Participants need to be technically self-sufficient, as this is not a workshop to learn how to use your gear or editing software. Participants must be able to download, select, and transfer images to their own jump drive for class each day.
Portfolio Required:
Please see the Portfolio Section of Registration Information for guidelines on your submission of recent images that represent your current photography.
Special Notes:
Participants should plan to travel to San Miguel no later than Sunday, October 12. Workshop check-in will be on Monday morning, followed by breakfast and a brief orientation. The workshop ends on Friday evening with a final dinner and image presentations.
Visit the San Miguel Campus page on our website for details on accommodations, meals, transportation, and more.
Activity Level:
Policies:
View Payment, Refund, Withdrawal, and Transfer Policies for this International Program.
Accommodations:
We encourage participants to stay on campus at Hotel Posada de la Aldea for ease of proximity to retreat activities and well-priced rooms. Double accommodations (for couples or friends taking workshops together) are $415 per person for 6 nights (approximately $70 per person, per night), Sunday through Friday, or $830 per person, single accommodations for 6 nights (approximately $140 per night), Sunday through Friday. Additional nights at the hotel can be arranged for participants; please discuss needs with the Administration Office in Santa Fe.
Package Price INFO:
$3,295 (USD) includes tuition, breakfast Monday through Saturday, lunch Monday through Friday, final dinner on Friday, and model/location/materials fees if applicable to the class. Hotel accommodations are not included in the package price; see details above.
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about
Sam Abell is a gifted and insightful teacher, an expressive artist, and a sensitive photographer who learned photography from his father, Thad Abell. Sam worked for National Geographic as a contract and staff photographer, and also as a Photographer in Residence. In 1990, Sam’s work was the subject of a one-person exhibition at the International Center of Photography in New York. Since then he has published three collections of his work: Seeing Gardens, Sam Abell: The Photographic Life, and The Life of a Photograph. In addition, Sam maintains a career as a writer, teacher, and lecturer on photography.
Get to know Sam in our Inspiration Series video »
Website: samabell.com
Instagram: @samabellteacher
