Surf, Sun & Shooting

Photographic mentoring is one of the oldest traditions in photography. I was mentored by amazing photographers and now I’ve reached a place where I want to share some of my own knowledge and tricks of the trade with up and coming wedding photographers. This is why I am so excited to announce that we will be offering private mentorships to two lucky up & comers in Barbados this March from the 11th to the 24th.

Whether you are just starting out and have never shot a wedding before, or just want to refine your skills we’ve got a mentoring package just for you in beautiful Barbados. We have two amazing mentorship packages to offer: A 10 day intensive workshop, and a 5 day “choose-your-own-adventure” workshop.

What are the workshops like?
Our hands on 10 day intensive workshop covers just about everything.
Here are a few things you can expect to learn:
*How to turn inquiries into clients
*What kind of gear will help you succeed
*A workflow that helps you maximize your time
*Sales & budgeting for the year
*How to make the most of engagement portraits
*How to use off camera small strobes, filters, gels and lighting modifiers
*Difficult lighting situations (like mid-day, outdoors with no shade!)
*Shooting wedding details
*Album & card layouts using Adobe Indesign
*Sunset portraits & dramatic lighting techniques
*One on one reviews & critiques to help you improve your images

Our 5 day “Choose your own adventure” workshop allows you to choose 3 of the day programs from our itinerary to create a customized package that works for you. Day 4 will give you a day off to relax, enjoy the island and work on your images, and day 5 is a review/critique/question answering day.

What are the accommodations like?
We have a cute little 3 bedroom home less than a 5 minute walk to the beach in St. Michael, Barbados.
You will be staying in a bedroom with a double bed. You will have a key to lock your room up when you leave. There is a kitchen & shared bathroom/living room in the house.

Is there internet access?
There is no internet access in the house, however there is a telephone in case you need to reach home. Long distance telephone calls will be billed to your credit card at the end of your stay. There are local internet cafés in Bridgetown, about a 45 minute walk or 15 minute drive.

How will I get around the island?
We will provide transportation to and from all of the on-location shoots. If you want to sight-see in your downtime there are a variety of options available to you.

Public transportation is available for $1.50 BBD (approx .75 USD) per one way trip. They run every 30-60 minutes.

ZR Vans are a privately owned transportation method used by locals. The cost is $1.50BBD per one way trip, though be forewarned, these vans are not for the weak of heart. They drive fast, honk a lot, blare reggae music and drive down the main roads every couple of minutes.

Car Rentals are as cheap as $50USD per day for a Mini-Moke (a small, windowless, doorless, jeep-like vehicle), you must also purchase a driving permit for $5. Sedans & Vans are available for rent as well.

Taxi – Negotiate your rates beforehand and pay up front, there is no set rate for taxis as they are all privately owned.

Ask us! We probably don’t mind dropping you off if it’s not too far – Bridgetown is just a hop, skip & a jump away. Most of the tours depart from Bridgetown and that is where all of the shopping is.

More questions about the island? Don’t worry! We have answers, but if you don’t see the answer you are looking for just email us at info@redivivusphotography.com.

What is the exchange rate?
Roughly half.
$1 Canadian dollar is around $2 Barbados dollars.

Are things expensive there?
Yes and no. North American imported items are expensive, so if you just HAVE to have Lucky Charms every morning or want to have Lipton’s Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner it’s probably best to pack it unless you want to pay $15 for a box of cereal. Local food & shopping is reasonably priced. We recommend buying local fruits, vegetables & meats/fish/dairy if you want to eat on the cheap. Dining out ranges in price from about $10-$20CND per meal, fine dining is around $40-$70CND per meal.
Local rum & beer is cheap, and the local beer (Banks Beer) is comparable to Canadian ales.

Is the water safe to drink?
Yes the water is totally safe to drink in Barbados. Barbados has some of the purest water in the world that can be drunk straight from the tap. Cruise ship employees are often seen stocking up on their water supplies while docked at the island.

Is Barbados safe?
Generally speaking, yes. The majority of Bajans are friendly, helpful, polite & kind. As in all destination cities around the world, tourists are more prone to getting short-changed, ripped off on a taxi ride, overcharged by a beach vendor, or pick pocketed. Shop around before you buy or hire a taxi and negotiate prices with beach vendors. We don’t advise you to frolic about downtown alone at night with a ton of expensive camera gear, but we also wouldn’t advise you to do that here! Keep your eye on your camera equipment at all times and don’t leave your bags/purse unattended. We keep our passports & extra cash at a family member’s home while we stay. You are welcome to keep your important documents there as well. It is about a 5 minute walk from our home.

Do not swim in beaches that are closed or have warning signs for strong currents / rip tides. The South-west coast of the island is calm & ideal for snorkeling/swimming, there are often lifeguards at the beaches. The East coast is reserved for advanced surfers & very strong swimmers, as there are usually no lifeguards on the beaches.

Do I need to get vaccinated before travelling?
No. Accord to the Public Health Agency of Canada. You do not need to get vaccinated to travel to Barbados, as there is no risk of malaria.

What does the actual 10 day schedule look like?

Day 1:
Arrive, get settled.
Intro to wedding photography: Gear must haves, pricing, contract review, prepping for the day, good workflow from start to finish

Day 2:
Engaging the couple, selling the engagement session
+ On location morning engagement shoot in St. Michael
+ Intro to off camera flash & lighting modifiers

Day 3:
Interacting with the bride. Battling the dreaded mid-day sun
+On location beachside bridal portraits, lighting for mid-day; posing the bride

Day 4:
Day off to enjoy the island. There are snorkeling tours, rum tours, surfing & sailing to be done!
Breakfast & Lunch will be provided as usual.

Day 5:
Key shot list, planning, organizing & managing your day. The importance of details.
+Editorial details: On location shoot of Rings, flowers, cake & invitations, wedding dress details.
+One on one review & critique of images from days 2 & 3.

Day 6:
Workshop is weather dependant:

IF IT IS RAINING:
Making the most of rainy days; keeping group portraits & family portraits running smoothly
+Introduction to album design with Adobe Indesign / Photoshop

IF IT IS SUNNY:
Introduction to album design with Adobe Indesign / Photoshop
+Golden hour portraits/stunning sunsets – On location shoot.

Day 7:
Creating drama with filters & gels
+Dramatic lighting & scenery: Combining portraiture & landscapes.
+Dramatic lighting / trash the dress shoot

Day 8:
Day off to enjoy the island. There are snorkeling tours, rum tours, surfing & sailing to be done!
Breakfast & Lunch will be provided as usual.

Day 9:
Workflow continued, basic retouching & prepping your files for the client, outsourcing.
+One on one review & critique of the images from days 4, 5 & 6.
+Sales & basic budgeting for the wedding photographer

Day 10 – Departure day!

For the 5 day option you simply select the 3 workshops you are most interested in.

Well this all sounds lovely, so how much is it going to set me back?

Here’s the best part. Not much.

Total cost of 10 Day intensive workshop: (including accommodations, transportation to and from location shoots, breakfast & lunches, mentorship & materials, 6 bonus downloadable greeting card templates and all taxes.) No other sneaky hidden fees.
$1952 (Prices in Canadian Dollars, Flight is not included)

Total cost of 5 Day “Choose your own adventure” workshop: (including accommodations, transportation to and from location shoots, breakfast & lunches, mentorship, materials, and all taxes.) No other sneaky hidden fees.
$1312 (Prices in Canadian Dollars, Flight is not included)

OR

Bed & breakfast option, come and go as you please, set your own photography tour schedule, with no mentorship from us. We’ll provide daily breakfast & lunch.

$600/week or $100/day

OK, this is amazing! What do I need to bring and where do I sign up?
This workshop is for amateur, hobbyist & professional photographers with a solid baseline understanding of how to operate a DSLR camera. Participants should have a fundamental understanding of aperture, exposure, and focusing and should be feel comfortable shooting on Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority & Manual Modes.

We recommend you bring the following:
A DSLR camera with at least 1 lens (if you shoot Canon, you can borrow ours during the workshops)
You will get more from the workshop if you bring a wide angle lens, a macro lens & a portrait lens (ie; 50mm or 85mm) Please bring your camera manual with you unless you shoot with a Canon 5D Mk II or a 7D, in case you have questions about your camera’s functions.
A speedlite flash (preferably two) (again if you shoot Canon, we can help you out. If you shoot Nikon you’ll need to bring your own).
Extra batteries, a memory card, a memory card reader, an external hard drive to back your files up with a laptop with Photoshop or Lightroom & InDesign.

To sign up send us an email at info@redivivusphotography.com & we’ll help you get organized.
A non-refundable 50% deposit is required to reserve your workshop.