Photography Retreat Vol.9
Join us on a special women-only retreat in Kamari Corinthias, Greece
17-23rd September 2025 (NOW SOLD OUT)
7 days 6 nights full board and home-cooked food in our cosy beach house
For intermediate-level photographers who want to dive deeper into portraiture
Full programme of teachings, photo masterclasses & portrait shooting sessions to inspire you to create and build connections with other women
One-on-one shooting sessions with Chanti and Lena
Endless, round the clock flow of shooting to enhance your portfolio and improve your vision
Read on to find out more!
Hosted by Chantal Convertini and Lena Aires
We are excited to finally reveal the location and details of our second Photography Retreat of 2025 and this one is a special one, as for the first time we are hosting a women’s only retreat with a vision to focus more on intimate portraiture and the opportunity to dive deep into our inner divine feminine! For a long time we have felt called to create a workshop just for women. As we are both women and having explored our own femininity, the relationship to our bodies and our depths, these topics fascinate us and are close to our hearts. So the idea to teach, collaborate and share these experiences with other women came very naturally to us.
We are very much looking forward to creating an expansive and kind space where we can allow ourselves to slow down, connect, get in touch with our true inner inspiration and dive deeper into what we seek to create as women in a modern world.
Join us in our private villa on the sea in Kamari Corinthias, Greece from 17th - 23rd September. Our cute beach house is surrounded by a beautiful garden leading straight onto a quiet beach. The house is just over an hour by car from Athens. It is a small piece of paradise and we can’t wait to create some magical connections and photographs with other women in here!
Included in the cost of your ticket:
Full board accommodation in our beach house
All food and drink for the duration of your stay - this includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and some alcoholic drinks.
A full programme of planned activities, teaching sessions and shoot demonstrations / one-on-one sessions
Special gifts from Chantal and Lena
Discounted film development by Southsun Film Lab
What to expect at the Women’s Photography Retreat
Our main aim of this special get-together is to create an extended, beautiful and safe space for creative and motivated women to meet, connect and share their passion of photography.
Over the course of 6 nights and 7 days Chantal and Lena will focus on a different kind of knowledge and experience than what they usually do on their regular workshops. The essence of the women’s only retreat is finding meaning and inspiration in the photos we make, diving deep into ourselves as artists, getting to know our motivation behind creating work and how to improve the quality instead of the quantity of what we create. In this intermediate level retreat we will be following a slightly different programme that will focus less on teaching inputs and more on team bonding and collaborative shoots. We will invite you to co-create with us in situations that will give you the opportunity to express yourself and share your inner talent with the group. That being said we will still be sharing our own expertise and personal portrait and self-portrait processes by sharing our favourite films, techniques and other tools, as well as fun group exercises.
This retreat will be a smaller group with less participants than usual (we aim for a maximum of 8-10 women) and we have also added an extra two nights to allow us to really connect with each and every woman who attends and have extended 1:1 sessions of shooting and bonding.
Aside from these inputs and giving you the opportunity to create relentlessly, there will be plenty of time to rest, relax, swim in the sea, make new connections and share delicious meals together. We want this week of creating to be slow and delicious, so we carry home full blossom and fruit!
For more general information on the vision behind our retreats, check out the ‘retreats’ page at the top of this page or visit Chantal’s website here.
Location
The villa is located near the village of Kamari Corinthias, 1.5 hours by car from Athens airport and one hour and fifteen minutes from Athens city. Once you have booked your ticket we’ll send out the exact location of the house along with directions on how to get there including various transport options.
The Villa
The villa is a cosy space with traditional Greek interiors - a series of shared bedrooms and bathrooms, a lovely living space with a fire place and two cosy kitchens to socialise and share nourishing meals together during our stay. Each bedroom has its own balcony with a spectacular view either of the sea and/or the surrounding garden and reaching to the Parnassos mountains. The house has the benefit of clear starry skies, away from any city lights so the balconies are ideal for star gazing. Moreover the moon rise is particularly spectacular when viewed from the house as well as the sunrise for those who are early risers.
The villa offers plenty of light, airy space to shoot, socialise and relax in as well as the sea on our doorstep :)
Timings
We start our adventure on Wednesday 17th September. We aim to gather together and start the retreat officially at 2pm. If you arrive earlier you can relax in the villa, take a walk to the beach for a swim or explore the house and get shooting! If you arrive later than 2pm then not to worry as this first afternoon is more about getting to know each other, settling into the house and sharing a bit about ourselves. The official end of the retreat is Tuesday 23rd September when we are all required to check out by 10am.
Food
All food and drink is included with your ticket price. We have a lovely lady cooking us a hot main meal at dinner time and for breakfast and lunch we will provide a help-yourself style buffet of local produce which we will all be asked to help prepare and serve as part of our team bonding experience. We will provide mainly vegetarian options to ensure all needs are catered for but there will also be some meat options for those who would like it. We supply a small amount of alcohol for the first night but the rest of the days you are free to bring your own. Usually everyone brings a bottle and we share! For this particular retreat we are hoping for everyone to get stuck in and help with light cooking/food preparation as part of the bonding experience.
Please let us know of any allergies or dietary requirements you may have in advance so we can plan the menu accordingly.
Cost
The cost of the retreat is CHF1750 or £1550 per person and includes shared accommodation in the villa and breakfast, lunch and dinner during your 7 day stay. If you are ready to book you will need to make a deposit of either 550CHF or £550 and then pay the remaining amount six weeks prior to the retreat.
Application Process
This retreat has a special application process. As we are seeking women that are slightly more on an intermediate level, every participant will apply for this trip with a portfolio of their work. We're not only looking for women who are passionate about photography and making photos of others, we're seeking souls who are equally ready and willing to explore being seen and captured by others too. The willingness to be in co-creation with the group is as important as wanting to shoot a lot. If you have been seeking to step out of some of your comfort zones, fall a bit more unapologetically in love with your own self and body, and learn from other women in a safe and open space then this workshop is calling you!
For this retreat we will have fewer participants than usual as Lena and Chantal want to be able to have extra quality time with each woman who is attending, as well as have lots of time for conversations, socialising and relaxation in-between. We are also extending this workshop to 7 days instead of the usual 5 to allow for this (at no extra cost).
To apply for the retreat please send an email to lenachantalphotographyretreats@gmail.com telling us a bit about yourself, your photography journey and why you would like to join us on the retreat. Once you are ready to book your ticket we will send you a private payment link where you will be able to securely pay either in GBP or CHF via bank transfer, PayPal, ApplePay, credit card or bank transfer. Once we have received your deposit, your place is confirmed! This amount will then be deducted from the final fee (please bear in mind that the deposit is non-refundable). You can pay in instalments if you would like, just let us know and we are happy to accommodate your needs.
We hope you can join us in Greece!
Much love,
Chantal and Lena xx
FAQs
What cameras / gear do I need to bring to the retreat?
All we ask if that you bring at least one working camera (it’s important that this camera has been tested and you know 100% works) and possibly a second spare camera if you have one just incase! We welcome all kinds of cameras and gear, it is totally up to you - film cameras, digital cameras, video cameras, super 8s, medium formats, polaroids, point and shoots - whatever you feel comfortable using or even some new gear you want to experiment with.
Will I have to share a room in the house?
We try our best to find houses that have private rooms but usually most of the houses have a selection of shared rooms with some private rooms. Most of the time you will be sharing with one other woman, possibly two. In a shared room you will have your own single bed or occasionally you will have to share a twin bed. We try our best to accommodate everyone and if you don’t feel comfortable sharing we’ll try our best to make sure you have your own bed or your own room. So long as we know in advance, we can organise the rooms etc according to your preference. Usually we never have any problems and sharing a room can also invite closer connections and friendships.
Will I be asked to model for others?
Yes! For this particular retreat we are hoping to create a very free flowing environment of being the photographer and the model. Our retreats in general are very fluid with constant creation and collaboration. Shooting with others, both in front of and behind the lens are fundamental to our vision for the retreats as we believe it is only through this interplay that you can really gain knowledge and experience and also make meaningful connections with others. Our workshops are always a safe, inclusive space with open communication and you will never be asked to do something you’re not comfortable with.
Do I have to be a certain age / gender to join your retreats?
For this special retreat we are welcoming women only (of all ages) and we strive to be inclusive and diverse when creating our group of participants. We have had people from all walks of life join us on previous retreats.
Is there a set programme for the retreat and when will I receive more information on this?
Yes we have a full programme of teachings, demonstrations and activities that we plan for each and every retreat. We also allow time for relaxation and spontaneity so you will have plenty of time to yourself alongside our guided sessions. Once you book and pay your deposit you will receive the full programme, the full address, itinerary, packing list, location and travel instructions as well as an invite to our private what’s app group so you can travel with others to the house.
How do I get to the house from the airport?
Your ticket does not include transfers to the house so you will have to make your own way there, however, for every retreat the participants communicate via our what’s app group and end up travelling to the house together - either by sharing taxis, car rides or buses/trains etc. If you don’t manage to travel with someone because of a late flight or a different route then we will always find a way to get you to the house so no worries about that!