Shoot Like Slim Aarons

Not every novice photographer has access to premiere equipment and a personal instructor on their vacation, but a new program from Leica and Exclusive Resorts offers just that. Inspired by the work of jet set photographer Slim Aarons, “Shoot Like Slim: Destinations in Focus” provides guests with the opportunity to participate in photo shoots and receive expert instruction from Leica specialists. Also on hand is Slim’s daughter Mary Aarons, who worked summers as her father’s assistant and spent a lifetime posing for his lens. The latest Destinations in Focus trip included a weekend at Las Vegas’s Vdara, a poolside photo shoot, a hot air balloon ride, and a photo session at the Neon Museum—all of which travelers faithfully documented on their new Leica D-Lux cameras. Instructors gave presentations on how to use their cameras, frame a shot, and edit photos, while Aarons offered insight on her father’s eye, calling out brightly colored floral arrangements (“Look for the pops of red,” she noted, while showing off her father’s work) and the best angles from which to shoot. Exclusive Resorts, Leica, and Aarons will team up again in October for an Airstream2Go road trip along the California coast, where photographers-in-training will capture Slim’s favorite locales, including Santa Barbara and Malibu.