Plan to be at the hotel for check-in by 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 24. The conference will end by 1 p.m. on Thursday, August 28.

O’Hare International Airport is the closest airport, a 20 minute drive to our conference center, the Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel.

We recommend that you get a rental car to get to the hotel and to the Garden. We will have a private community where you can coordinate with other attendees to share a rental car. We will also coordinate carpool groups to and from the Garden.

When you register for the conference, you will receive an email with information to book your hotel room using Out of Chicago’s room rate for the Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel.

After registering, you will get an email with details about the conference including key dates, hotel information, and more. Be sure to stay connected via email to receive crucial event communication, including surveys about your preferences and updates as needed.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is north of Chicago in the suburb of Glencoe, IL.

• Membership to the Chicago Botanic Garden is required to enter the Garden. Chicago Botanic does offer reciprocal privileges with other gardens, but does not allow entry until 10am without a Chicago Botanic membership. Membership information can be found here.
• Chicago Botanic Garden Membership also includes tram rides, entrance to the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit, the model train exhibit, and more.

As with visiting any garden, this conference will include walking to access photography locations, carrying your gear, and being on your feet for extended periods of time. Most photography locations are accessible on paved paths.

Temperatures can range from the 70’s to the mid 90’s in August. The biggest challenge in the heat is staying hydrated, so we encourage frequent water breaks, wearing a hat, and making sure you are protecting yourself from the sun (light-colored, lightweight clothing, sunscreen, etc). Chances of rain are usually small in August, but be prepared to go out in light rain and photograph.

All levels of passionate photographers are welcome, from beginners and photography enthusiasts to working professionals. If you’re interested in learning new photography techniques and ways to be creative, this conference is for you. Our landscape photographers love this conference too because it’s a chance to slow down, take more time to try new ideas, look for smaller scenes and to photograph nature in a new way. Eliminating long drive times gives us more time in the field, plus, you don’t need to wake up before sunrise to get great photographs!

You’ll want a DSLR or mirrorless camera, a tripod (optional), and lenses for flower and plant photography. While no specific lenses are required to participate, we encourage a mid-range zoom, a macro lens, a telephoto lens, and specialist lenses like Lensbabies if you use them. If you are an iPhone photographer, you will not be out of place. We’ll share detailed equipment recommendations before the event. We also suggest bringing a laptop so you can work on your images during the post-processing and critique sessions.

We encourage you to travel light while at the Garden so that we are not in the way of other guests, but roller bags are allowed.

Yes! Throughout the week, you will be working together in the garden for extended photography sessions. During the day, there will be opportunities for table talks, classroom sessions, and image reviews with instructors, along with time to enjoy meals together. There will be plenty of time to ask questions and get to know your favorite photographers. Our instructors goal is to help you create photos you love, improve your technical skills, work on composition, and help answer any questions you have.

No, the most important part of this conference is the ample time you will have working with instructors in the field twice a day. Time for presentations, table talks, image reviews and other activities will be at the hotel around lunchtime, with photography time in the morning and afternoon.

We strive to accommodate common dietary restrictions such as vegetarian diets and common allergies. Our meals are prepared with these considerations in mind. However, for more complex dietary needs, we cannot guarantee that all meals will fully satisfy your requirements.

We will send a survey a few weeks before the conference asking for dietary restrictions so we can best prepare to accommodate your needs.

Hotel rooms have a small refrigerator and you can request a microwave.

Your schedule will be available in the weeks leading up to the conference. You will be assigned to a group with interests similar to your own that you will stay with all week for the field excursions, and your group will rotate through each team of instructors, working with each instructor team in the field. This schedule is one of the main benefits of this conference format, since you will have time to work with each instructor in the field, with time for hands-on, personalized attention.

Yes. You will complete a survey before the conference where you can let us know if there are other attendees that you would like in your group.

Both the pre-conference and post-conference online sessions will be recorded. Everyone registered for the conference will receive the recording a few days after each session.

Of course! They are welcome to join us for the group presentations at no charge. The in-the-field teaching excursions are reserved for conference attendees only. A meal pass will be offered at an additional charge so that they can join us for group meals.

We strongly recommend that you purchase travel insurance in case that you need to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances.

You can read the refund policy here.

You can view all of the events you’re registered for by logging into your Out of Chicago account. In the upper right corner of the website, go to My Account and My Conferences. You should see your conference(s) listed there. If your conference is not listed, please email us at support@outofchicago.com.

If you have any other questions, you can email info@outofchicago.com for more information.