FAQ

Your safety is of the utmost importance to us.

Unless the Covid situation changes dramatically in the spring of 2023, we’ll stick to our 2022 safety requirements. All participants must have completed the EU-approved covid vaccinations at least two weeks before arrival in Europe.

While traveling in our vans and on public transport, for the safety of our group, fellow travelers, and residents, we will require snug-fitting N95, KF95, KN95, or KF94 masks (without exhalation valves or vents), which need to cover both the mouth and nose. The important thing here is that the mask fits snugly to avoid leaks and is comfortable. Cloth masks are not allowed.

A signed Covid-19 Health & Safety Pledge will be required from all participants.

You will have learned a lot of techniques and post-processing skills during your photo  tour with Jim and Magrit but there will be so much information offered that it’ll be difficult for anybody to retain it all.

Feel free to contact Jim about the cost for Skype, phone or in-person training sessions after the tour.

Jim is also available to get you started with basic tutorial sessions before your tour so that you can get the most out your tour experience.

On all our tours so far, we have found options for:

• Vegetarians
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free

• Age is not a concern so long as you are physically fit and a good walker.
• Please let us know if you have special needs due to allergies, weight or physical limitations.
• On some of our tours we will be in and out of the van a lot, especially when we are out photographing in the countryside and will sometimes be walking over uneven ground. Visiting and exploring towns & villages can involve a good deal of walking, up and down.
• If you are prone to motion sickness you may want to consider bringing the appropriate medication for this.
• We encourage you to keep your luggage as light as possible as you will be handling it on your flights as well as in the hotels. Most of the smaller accommodations that we stay at do not have elevators.

Flights are not included. All ground transportation during the tours is included.

Our number one goal in the field is to assist any participants who want our input. Therefore we will only do our own photography if each member of the group is content. Sometimes Jim will photograph for teaching and demonstration purposes.

Breakfast is always included in the tour package and usually consists of a generous breakfast buffet. Lunch and dinner are not unless specified in the tour description.

Magrit and Jim spend a great deal of time researching a tour offering. Much of the time is devoted to lodging research and selection. We make it a point to actually stay in the potential hotels before we make any decisions. Usually we stay in friendly smaller 3-star hotels and have had excellent feedback from our participants.

Ages seem to range from 40 to 80 years. One year, we even had a 19-year-old young woman and her grandfather on two tours.

Approximately 60% of our participants are single and 40% are married couples or friends traveling together. Roughly 60% women, 40% men.

Deposits can be made via Paypal. Final payment options include checks, bank transfers, or wire transfers. Any refunds of deposits due to the client canceling before the deposit refund deadline will be minus any associated Paypal fees.

Deposits are non-refundable 120 days or less before the tour begins.

The trip fee balance is due 120 days before the tour begins.

Trip fee cancellation policy:
– 60 to 89 days before the tour begins: 50% of the fee is non-refundable.
– 59 or fewer days before the tour begins: 100% of the fee is non-refundable.

All refunds, due to participant cancellations, will be minus any PayPal expenses incurred by Photography Travel Tours.

We recommend travel insurance in the event that you need to cancel. Travel Guard and Travelex are two companies that you may want to look at.

Post-processing is one of the greatest benefits of digital photography. On our tours, we spend most of our time in the field, capturing images but we definitely take time for some post-processing sessions if desired. Jim uses Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop, Nik Plugins, and a few various other plugins and stand-alone software tools. It is amazing how a few subtle processing adjustments can really make your images come alive!

Jim also offers one-on-one sessions via Skype Screen Sharing. Contact us for cost and details.

Unlike some other photo tour companies, we do not follow a strict schedule. We have a schedule for each day but it is not set in stone. We prefer to assess the day’s weather conditions and will sometimes change the agenda accordingly.

We have had clients of all levels on our tours. In order for you to get the most out of your trip, we suggest that, at a minimum, you have mastered:

-Your basic camera functions which include:

• Using your camera in manual mode. This means that you know how to meter your photograph.
• How to adjust your f stops.
• How to adjust your shutter speed.
• How to adjust your ISO.
• How to set your camera to jpeg or raw format.

-How to download and backup your photos.

Pre-trip customized one-on-one Skype lessons with Jim are available. Contact us for cost and details.

Yes, you can.

On all our tours we offer a non-photographer spouse or friend option. For a nominal fee ($325 for the Venice Tour, for example) you can include a spouse or friend to share a room. We can advise on ideas for activities for the non-photographers.

Group size is limited to 12 participants. If we require vans for the tours such as Tuscany, we limit the number of people per 9 passenger van to 7 for greatest comfort.