Expected Information Timeline

 

Hello!

We are so excited that you have decided to join us on an upcoming Photography Tour! We wanted to take a minute to give you a timeline and a quick overview of what you can expect from us over the months leading up to your tour.

Communication:

First, please know that we are here for you and are more than happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have. We know that travel can be potentially stressful and nerve-wracking. We hope that we can alleviate any of those stresses.  Please feel free to reach out, and we will do our best to help.

The best way to get in contact with our team is via our hello@mckaylive.com email. As several team members have access, you should expect a response within 1-2 business days. Note: Our response time may be slightly stretched depending on our current travel and tour schedule.

Please direct all McKay Photography Academy questions to the hello@mckaylive.com account. Any messages sent to any other addresses or via alternate forms of communication may see a delay in response due to our abilities to communicate on our travel schedule.

It is our goal to keep you as updated as possible. We will send over several emails leading up to your tour full of photographic and travel information.  Please BE SURE to have our email address hello@mckaylive.com marked as a safe sender to help avoid spam issues where you may miss important details. It is a good idea to check your spam, junk, or promotions folders periodically as well.

Airline Tickets:

One of the items that we see folks stressing about way too soon is their airfare arrangements. Through our extensive travel experience, we have found that international airfare is best purchased around 6-8 months before departure and domestic travel 4-5 months before travel.

Before reaching the optimum time for booking flights, we will send out our recommended flights and arrival/departure information for the tour.

Please also note, that if you book your flights too early, there is always a chance of a schedule change that could be a potential conflict. We ask you to wait on booking any flights until we have given you exact time frames and locations for arrivals and departures.

Participant Agreement:

Before we get to any of the fun stuff, we do need a bit of housekeeping taken care of. Every participant on this tour must complete and sign the MPA Participant Agreement.

You will be receiving an email from SignRequest with a link to e-sign this document. Please sign at your earliest convenience. Unfortunately, we are unable to confirm your space until that document is completed.

Tour Packet:

One of the most important emails we will send out will be our tour packet. This packet will have been custom crafted for your specific tour, complete with additional tour details, photographic information, gear recommendations, packing lists, and more! This packet will contain just about everything you will need to be answered for your tour. PLEASE read through this tour packet when it is sent out. You can expect your tour packet to be sent in a PDF downloadable form via email, typically 2-3 months before the start of the tour.  

Prior to that, the McKay web site has the majority of tour pack information such as packing tips, gear tips and MUCH more located in the Tour Prep section of the site.

Travel Insurance:

We cannot stress enough the importance of trip insurance for this tour. EVERY trip we take there seems to be an issue that arises where someone is unable to participate due to unexpected situations or has an incident on the tour that may need to be handled. We would hate to see you not only miss out on this experience, but also lose the funds paid towards the tour and flights. Trip insurance is a MUST and please, once again, understand that due to the specific nature of our tours and all that goes into them, refunds are not available no matter what the case. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to obtain the necessary trip insurance.

Once the trip is secured with your deposit or payment, and the participant agreement has been singed, trip insurance should be your next step! We recommend speaking with Brandon Hughbanks, whose information is below.  We do not travel without coverage ourselves.

Contact Brandon directly at:

Direct: 402-343-3636

bhughbanks@travelinsurancecenter.com

 

PREPARATION of Knowing Gear:

For us to help you the most during the tour, we ask that before attending, you know how to change your manual settings in your particular camera. Of course, we will be there to help you learn, so do not feel you must know everything perfect. After all, you are on this tour to also learn, and we LOVE to teach! However, by knowing HOW TO CHANGE the settings ahead of time, you will have a far better and easier educational experience. It will also allow us to be more effective in our instruction for you.

With your tripods, PLEASE LEARN ahead of time how to open and close and attach your camera correctly. We have several helpful videos below to watch to help you prepare for cameras and settings as well as tripod use!

Wow, ok that should be all for now! Our team is genuinely looking forward to this adventure and time with you! We will be in touch soon.

– The McKay Photography Academy Team