Staying Healthy During Your Photography Workshop
- Jakub Bors
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
Nobody wants to travel all the way to a beautiful destination, arrive excited, unpack the camera bag, and then suddenly start coughing, sneezing, or feeling rough.
Of course, sometimes it just happens. Travelling means airports, planes, new places, different food, early mornings, late sunsets, warm weather, air conditioning, and lots of excitement. Your body is doing a lot.
Getting a cold or feeling a little unwell is not always the end of the world, but it can definitely take some of the joy out of the trip.
So, while we cannot promise that you will not get sick, there are a few simple things you can do before and during the workshop to give yourself the best chance of feeling good, staying comfortable, and enjoying every photo opportunity.
What We Will Cover
In this guide, we will look at a few simple ways to help your body before, during, and after the workshop:
Before the Workshop
The best time to look after yourself is not when you already feel tired or unwell. It starts a few days before the trip.
Here are five simple things we recommend before travelling.
1. Stay Hydrated in the Days Before the Trip
This one sounds very simple, but it really helps.
In the days leading up to your trip, make sure you drink enough water. Travelling can be dehydrating, especially when you spend time in airports, planes, air conditioned spaces, warm weather, or busy travel environments.
When your body is dehydrated, you may feel more tired, your throat can feel dry, and your nose and sinuses can feel uncomfortable. That is not the best start to a photography adventure.
Try to drink water regularly in the two or three days before departure. You do not need to overdo it. Just make it part of your normal day.
A good little rule is this:
If you are already thirsty, you are probably a bit late.
2. Give Your Body Some Extra Support
A few days before travelling, it can be helpful to support your body with a good, simple routine.
Many travellers like to take vitamin C drinks, Berocca style tablets, or similar supplements before and during a trip. These are not magic, and they do not guarantee anything, but they can be a useful part of your pre travel routine, especially if you already know they suit you.
You can also support yourself with the basics:
Eat proper meals
Get some fresh air
Keep moving gently
Avoid too much alcohol before travelling
Sleep well
Your body does not need a complicated plan. It just needs you to be kind to it before asking it to run around Provence, the Camargue, or any other beautiful place with a camera bag.
3. Prepare Your Stomach if You Are Sensitive
Some people can eat anything anywhere and feel absolutely fine.
Others only need one airport sandwich, one strange dinner time, or one slightly different breakfast, and the stomach starts making its own travel documentary.
If you know your stomach can be sensitive when travelling, consider taking probiotics for a few days before the trip. Some travellers find this helpful when adjusting to different food, travel rhythm, and eating times.
Also think about packing a few basic things you normally use at home, such as:
Your usual stomach tablets
Rehydration sachets
Any regular medication
Pain relief you already know works for you
We always recommend bringing what you personally trust and normally use. It is much easier than trying to find the right thing in a small village pharmacy when you are tired.
4. Rest Well, But Keep a Healthy Rhythm
This one may sound a little surprising.
Of course, getting a good night’s sleep before the trip is important. But sometimes, when people suddenly switch into full holiday mode, the body relaxes so much that it almost feels like it has permission to switch off completely.
You may have experienced this before. You work hard, stay busy, keep going, and then the moment you stop, the cold arrives.
So yes, rest well, but try to keep a balanced rhythm before the trip.
Get good sleep. Go for a walk. Eat well. Move a little. Keep your body gently active and awake.
The goal is not to arrive exhausted, but also not to arrive after three days of lying on the sofa, eating biscuits, and telling your immune system it can go on holiday too.
Balance is the magic word.
5. Plan Ahead and Avoid Last Minute Stress
Stress before travel can take a lot out of you.
Packing at midnight, rushing to the airport, looking for documents, charging batteries at the last second, or trying to remember where you put your passport is not a relaxing way to begin a trip.
Your body and mind will thank you if you plan ahead.
A few simple things can make a big difference:
Pack early
Use a checklist
Charge your batteries in advance
Format your memory cards
Prepare your travel documents
Leave early for the airport
Give yourself extra time
You do not need to make travel complicated. You just need to remove the unnecessary panic.
A calm start often leads to a much better first day.
During the Workshop
Once the workshop begins, the excitement takes over. There are places to photograph, people to meet, early starts, golden light, long dinners, and plenty of new experiences.
That is wonderful, but it also means your body is working hard.
Here are five simple things to keep in mind during the trip.
1. Continue Your Hydration Mission
Keep drinking water throughout the workshop, especially on warm days or when we spend a lot of time outdoors.
A small bottle of water in your camera bag or backpack is always a good idea.
You may also want to use an electrolyte sachet in the morning, especially if it is warm, if you are walking more than usual, or if you know you easily feel drained when travelling.
Electrolyte drinks do not replace water, but they can help your body manage fluids and minerals more comfortably.
They are usually affordable, easy to pack, and come in different flavours. Just choose one you already know you like, because discovering that your “refreshing tropical flavour” tastes like sweet swimming pool water is not ideal at sunrise.
2. Keep Supporting Your Body
If vitamin C drinks or similar supplements are already part of your travel routine, you may want to continue using them during the workshop.
Travelling exposes your body to lots of new things. Different people, different places, different meals, different sleep rhythm, and plenty of busy moments.
Again, this is not about doing anything extreme. It is just about giving your body a little support while it is doing more than usual.
The most important things are still simple:
Drink enough water
Eat properly
Get fresh air
Wash or sanitise your hands
Rest when you can
Simple usually wins.
3. Rest Whenever Possible
Photography workshops can be demanding, even when they are relaxed and enjoyable.
The best light often happens early in the morning or late in the evening. That means sunrise starts, sunset sessions, travel days, walking, standing, waiting, and concentrating.
It is all part of the adventure, but it can also make you tired.
If we have a break in the afternoon, use it properly. Have a lie down. Close your eyes. Put your feet up. Even twenty or thirty minutes can make a big difference.
You do not have to edit all your photos immediately. You do not have to answer every message. You do not have to post every story straight away.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for your photography is have a nap.
4. Be Sensible With Alcohol
You are travelling, you are enjoying yourself, and in France, a glass of wine with dinner can be a lovely part of the experience.
So yes, enjoy it.
But be careful not to overdo it, especially during a photography workshop.
The combination of warm weather, tiredness, early mornings, late evenings, alcohol, and dehydration can be tricky. It can make the next morning feel much harder than it needs to be.
A glass of wine or beer is absolutely fine if that is something you enjoy.
Three glasses followed by a sunrise shoot at 5am may feel less romantic when the alarm goes off.
5. Keep Your Hands Clean
Photography workshops take us to all kinds of places.
Villages, beaches, fields, markets, viewpoints, petrol stations, cafés, public toilets, farms, nature areas, and sometimes places where there is no bathroom nearby at all.
A small bottle of hand sanitiser or a pack of wipes is one of the easiest things to keep in your bag.
Use it before eating, after touching public surfaces, after using shared facilities, or whenever you feel it is needed.
It is simple, small, light, and very useful.
After the Workshop
Here is something many travellers notice.
They feel fine during the trip, full of energy and excitement, and then they get home, unpack the suitcase, sit down, and suddenly feel tired or unwell.
It is very common to feel the travel catching up with you after the adventure is over.
So when you return home, be kind to yourself for a few more days.
If vitamin C or similar supplements are part of your routine, you may want to continue for another three or four days. Drink water, eat proper meals, and get some proper rest.
And most importantly, do not rush straight into editing thousands of photos the moment you get home.
The photos can wait a few extra days.
They will still be there.
Your body deserves a little thank you after carrying you through the adventure.
Summary
Getting sick while travelling can happen to anyone, and it is not always something we can control.
But we can put the chances on our side.
Drink enough water. Support your body before the trip. Rest well without completely switching off. Plan ahead to avoid stress. Keep hydrated during the workshop. Be sensible with alcohol. Wash or sanitise your hands. And give yourself time to recover when you return home.
None of this needs to be complicated.
It is simply about arriving prepared, looking after yourself during the adventure, and giving your body the best chance to enjoy the journey as much as your camera does.
A photography workshop should be full of beautiful light, great moments, and wonderful memories.
Feeling well helps you enjoy all of it even more.
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