Michigan Lighthouses Photo Workshop
July 13-16, 2026
Michigan
Join Lerro Photography for an unforgettable lighthouse photography workshop across Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, where dramatic shorelines, historic beacons, and dark night skies come together for an incredible shooting experience.
This immersive workshop is designed for photographers of all skill levels and features a diverse mix of daytime and nighttime photography opportunities. Capture stunning sunrises and sunsets at multiple land-based lighthouses, each carefully scheduled for optimal light and composition.
At night, elevate your skills with three dedicated Milky Way photography sessions, where you will learn techniques for capturing the night sky over iconic lighthouse silhouettes. From camera settings to composition and light control, we will guide you every step of the way.
The highlight of this workshop is a sunrise private charter boat experience, heading out onto Lake Huron to photograph three remote lighthouses not visible from land. This exclusive access provides rare angles and perspectives that few photographers ever get the chance to capture.
Whether you are looking to expand your portfolio, improve your night photography skills, or experience these historic lights from unique vantage points, this workshop delivers a one-of-a-kind photographic adventure.
July 13-14: Little Sable Point & Lundington South Breakwater Lighthouses
We’ll begin our Michigan Lighthouse Photo Workshop at the iconic Little Sable Point Lighthouse with a dramatic sunset session along the Lake Michigan shoreline. As the golden light fades, we’ll position ourselves for optimal compositions, capturing the lighthouse against vibrant skies and shifting coastal conditions.
As darkness sets in, we transition into the night photography session under some of Michigan’s darkest skies. With our exclusive special-use permit, we’ll have after-hours access to the park—allowing uninterrupted shooting conditions. You’ll learn how to photograph the Milky Way rising over the lighthouse, including techniques for exposure, focusing in low light, and balancing ambient starlight with subtle foreground illumination.
We’ll continue shooting through the night, capturing a variety of creative nighttime compositions before heading to our final location at Ludington South Breakwater Light. There, we’ll wrap up the overnight session with a sunrise shoot as first light illuminates the lighthouse and pier—offering opportunities for long exposures, silhouettes, and classic Great Lakes imagery.
July 14-15: Big Sable Point Lighthouse
Our second evening features a sunset-to-sunrise photography session at Big Sable Point Lighthouse, with special-use permit access allowing participants to photograph throughout the entire night.
We’ll begin at sunset, focusing on composition, exposure, and lens selection during golden hour to capture warm, directional light on the lighthouse and surrounding dunes. As twilight fades, we’ll transition into blue hour, discussing how to balance ambient light with longer exposures for dramatic evening images.
Once darkness sets in, instruction shifts to long-exposure techniques, low-light focusing methods, and Milky Way photography. We’ll cover recommended camera settings, lens choices, noise control, and how to compose compelling night scenes using both the lighthouse and the night sky.
Throughout the night, we’ll also demonstrate light painting and natural foreground illumination techniques to enhance depth and detail without overpowering the scene. After a short break, we’ll finish with a sunrise session, teaching how to manage rapidly changing light, refine compositions, and capture the lighthouse in soft morning tones.
July 15th: New Presque Isle Lighthouse
Our third evening takes us to the New Presque Isle Lighthouse for a sunset-to-night photography session. We’ll begin at dusk, focusing on composition and exposure during blue hour to create balanced, atmospheric images.
As darkness falls, instruction will shift to night photography techniques, including low-light focusing, long exposures, and capturing the Milky Way.
With our special-use permit, we’ll have exclusive access to the lighthouse grounds, and the park groundskeeper will turn off the exterior building lights to ensure optimal dark-sky conditions. We will have a tiny LED light to help illuminate the lighthouse against the dark skies. This controlled environment allows participants to fully capture the lighthouse under pristine night skies—an experience rarely available to the public.
After midnight, we’ll leave the park and head to Tawas City to rest for a couple of hours before embarking on our boat ride.
July 16: Private Charter Boat on Lake Huron
We’ll charter a private boat out of Tawas City for an exclusive on-the-water photography experience to capture three remote Lake Huron lighthouses—each inaccessible from the mainland.
Departing at dawn, we’ll arrive at Gravelly Shoal Lighthouse in time for sunrise, where participants will work on composition, exposure, and making the most of soft early-morning light over open water. This unique setting offers excellent opportunities to photograph the lighthouse in changing dawn conditions while learning how to adapt to light, reflections, and movement from the boat.
After sunrise, we’ll travel east to Charity Island Lighthouse, perched on a small and remote island. From there, we’ll continue even farther east to photograph Port Austin Reef Lighthouse, located off Michigan’s Thumb and surrounded by open water.
This approximately seven-hour boat-based workshop provides rare close-up access to three architecturally distinct lighthouses, giving participants the chance to create images from perspectives few photographers ever experience. The session concludes upon our return to Tawas City.
Trip Includes:
- In-field photography instruction both during the day and at night, with hands-on guidance in composition, exposure, and creative techniques.
- A special-use permit allowing exclusive overnight access for sunset, Milky Way, and sunrise photography.
- A private charter boat experience to photograph three remote lighthouses in Lake Huron—locations inaccessible from the mainland.
Workshop Does Not Include
Transportation: You will need to drive your own vehicle during the photo workshop.
Michigan State Park “Recreation Pass: You must purchase an annual recreation pass for your vehicle. You can order the pass in advance. If you are driving a rental car, you can purchase the park pass once you arrive to Michigan. Please review the park pass website.
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/buy-and-apply/rec-pp
Lodging: Please make your own hotel reservations. However, due to our photography schedule, there will not be many opportunities for overnight hotel accommodations. After you sign up, I can provide recommendations on the best times and nearby locations to book to get a decent amount of rest between shoots.
Meals are not included.
Reccomended Camera Gear
- DSLR or mirrorless camera (full-frame or cropped sensor)
- Lenses across a wide range of focal lengths, including wide angle (16-35mm), mid-range (24-105mm), and a long telephoto (70-300mm)
- Extra Memory cards and batteries
- Sturdy tripod
- Remote or cable shutter release
- Circular polarizer and ND filters
- Lens cleaning cloths
- Extra batteries
- Cleaning supplies
- Dust blower
- Protection for your camera gear and backpack
- Laptop if you wish to back up your photos
Photos of the lighthouses we will photograph
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$931.00
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$895.00
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Bank checks or money orders made payable to:
Lerro Photography
PO Box 497
Glenolden, PA 19036