Freediving Photography Getaway. 

May 5th ~ 10th  2025
Over 5 nights and 6 days,

Investment ~ $3,000
~ Every year this has been a sold out trip ~

Join us for an immersive experience made for Freedivers with an underwater camera who are wanting to expand skillsets in a guided 6 day Underwater Photography retreat.

5 nights in luxury accommodation with all inclusive meals.

This luxury getaway is open for Freedivers who are passionate about their craft and want to take their shooting to the next level in a stunning location.

We invite you to our home and dream destination, Exmouth, the Nyinggulu or Ningaloo Reef. As we share with you our passion for Underwater Photography and Freediving while giving you the tools to create great images. Spending 5 nights completely engulfed in everything UW photography.

Why we recommend certified freedivers?

We want our days together to be filled with photography, so coming to us with already some experience in freediving enables us to streamline your experience with all the added extras we want to share.

If you don’t have a freediving certification and are interested in taking that step, we can recommend places in Perth, with us in Exmouth or elsewhere in Australia, for you to train prior to May.

Alternatively, you can book with Salty Hearts Freediving in Exmouth the day prior to your getaway to complete a freediving foundation course, going over theory and pool techniques.

Very limited spots with like-minded individuals. Our ethos is to combine Freediving and Underwater Photography, so we are here for you, to breathe better, freedive safely and shoot like a pro.

Hosted by Underwater Photographer of the year 2021, Aimee Jan and founder of Salty Hearts Freediving, Kyra Andrijich.

Aimee, or you may know her as @oceanaimee on Instagram, has spent the last 13 years here in Exmouth dedicating her work and spare time to photography. Not only does her portfolio boast winning perhaps the most prestigious award for UW photographers the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2021.. (she humbly hates me telling people that - Kyra) .. She not only shoots for the Whaleshark and Humpback migrations here on the Ningaloo Reef and hosts trips overseas to swim with Sperm and Blue Whales, Aimee also shoots content creation for brands and is hardly seen without her lens in front of her.  Being a voice for the voiceless, Aimee’s passion is to help protect the reef and wildlife through tourism, education and of course photography. Aimee has a wealth of knowledge to pass on to the next lot of photographers who can too, spread awareness through art.

Kyra lives and breathes Freediving. Her passion is to spread the knowledge and safety of anything water related. A woman in business, she established Salty Hearts Freediving in 2019 with Aimee by her side as photographer and since then it has been go go go, in the best of ways. Her ethos is to enrich the wellbeing in people’s lives by connecting back to the breath, nature and the mind/body connection all while freediving safely. Kyra has taught Freediving now for 10 years, is also an Instructor Trainer (meaning she can teach people to become Freedive instructors) Her years of teaching show in how well she communicates and makes everyone feel comfortable along the way. She is a creative who’s passionate in shoots honouring the human body. She has worked as assistant photographer for a well known photographer in Perth (that happens to be her Aunty), and just adores the artistic side of photography.

Learn from the best.

Our time together will be spent in various workshops from the pool at our accomodation to the Ningaloo Reef.

We are there every step of the way with you, from the camera set-up to the editing, to the delicious wholesome plant based meals over dinner.

Workshops include, however not limited to -

Location shoots, access by boat
3 x Boat sessions
Breath hold training specific to Photography
Freediving line session
Underwater Safety workshops
Camera setup
Postproduction
Nailing that Split shot
Shooting Wildlife
Working with UW models
Content shots, working with clients and brands

All to help you build your portfolio or make the best of your hobby.

What you will need -

~An enthusiasm for the ocean
~A camera with an UW housing or underwater camera equivalent (e.g Gopro or UW Phone casing)
~A laptop with editing software.
*lightroom is recommended for best workflow however not a prerequisite
~Spare battery
~SD card
~Hard drive
~Optional
Wide angle lens
35-50mm lens
* if you are quite new to this world, we are happy to chat in the lead up to our time together and help you find the right lens or kit for what you are after *


Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included every day of our trip, the fridge will be loaded with snacks, fruit and delicious things for in-between. You are more than welcome to pop into town to fill the pantry or fridge with anything extra you might like for your time with us.

Our luxury accomodation is one sand dune away from town Beach. It has 7 beds, our own pool and the perfect set up for our workshops and editing area. Even though the rooms are shared accomodation (with your own bed) we have found on these trips you hardly notice as there is so much space around us and we are so occupied with the timetable and workshops we are hardly in the rooms.

We have included a spare day at the end of our trip, from our experience with hosting retreats, it is nice to wind down at the end of our busy yet fulfilling days together. So if you are an avid photographer on land too, you may want to plan a day of land based photography during golden hour or take that long lens on a flight! Perhaps enjoy your last day lounging by the pool at our accomodation by the water. We also have a list of additional options from a Whaleshark tour in Exmouth, Manta-ray tours in Coral Bay to scenic flights options in town.

Some testimonials from our previous Freedive Photography Getaways…

“I came into the course as a complete novice, unfamiliar with my own compact camera, it’s settings and shooting styles. Upon completion, I am now proficient at shooting in manual mode, various settings and how to apply these to different photography scenarios, creative and wildlife UW shoots, workflow, editing, current equipment on the market, drone photography and more.

Thanks to Aimee and Kyra no question was left unanswered and no task was too hard to complete, especially when it came to editing late into the evening. their unparalleled knowledge, care, time and deep interest in my own objectives as a photographer left me with an experience that is not only amazing value for money, but has profoundly shaped my own abilities, ambition and inspiration in UW photography.

This course caters to every level, from beginner to professional photographer. An absolute must for anyone wanting to upskill in this field.”

“When I first did my freediving course with Salty Hearts in 2021 I was doing it to further my skills in underwater photography. So when the retreat came up, there was no question. I was in. I was humbled to discover some photography basics that I didn’t even know existed, and grateful to have the opportunity to have underwater Models to shoot. My focus is wildlife but nature is unpredictable and you can’t ask an animal to “do it again”. You can with a person though. So I did. Several times. And I gained the confidence with adjusting my settings for underwater in full manual mode with the guidance of Aimee. This course not only encouraged me to push the boundaries with my photography, but allowed me the confidence in my freediving breath work. This retreat gave me so much more than I’d ever anticipated, and I hope it does for you too”

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask, or alternatively you can call Kyra on 0490887931

Look forward to hearing back from you and thank you once more for your interest.

Warmest,
Aimee and Kyra.