Wedding photographers in Edinburgh

Wedding photographers in Edinburgh are spoiled for choice with such a plethora of beautiful wedding venues located in and around the city. And with the capital being such a popular choice Edinburgh wedding photographers are kept pretty busy! I’ve had four weddings and over a dozen meetings with future brides and grooms since my last blog entry…which is why I’m a little later than usual. All the weddings were in Edinburgh and all the meetings I had were for Edinburgh venues too. My wedding photography of course isn’t restricted to Edinburgh, in fact I enjoy traveling further a field, but being based in Edinburgh means around sixty percent of my weddings are here.
Most of my wedding meetings were for dates in 2010 with three couples having dates in September, October and December of this year. Just as there is such a diverse choice in wedding venue’s in Edinburgh there is also an equal abundance of wedding photographers. Personally, I’m not the kind of wedding photographer who spends great quantities of time and resources trying to track and work out why couples pick me over other Edinburgh wedding photographer’s. I’m a great believer that discerning and educated clients are very easily able to judge the quality and skill of a photographer from his photographs and therefore I adopt a simple approach of having plenty of images on my website and an ample variety of books and albums for meetings. I’m always happy to show any enquiry the complete set of photographs from my last two or three weddings too.

A common denominator from several meetings this week however was brides giving me a specific reason why they were going to book me and I found some of their reasons quite intriguing…

The first booking I took this week was from a bride who had simply fallen in love with one specific photo on my website. As soon as she saw it she’d made up her mind that I was going to be her wedding photographer (I love these kind of brides! lol) The photograph in question was an image of Maggie who was married at Melville Castle last August. It is the first picture shown here. I’m not sure what exactly makes the image so magical, and the bride in question couldn’t put her finger on it either, but whatever it was it touched her anyway.

Another bride I met this week said how she loved the fact that I make all my brides look like fashion models. I’ve been told this a few times before, too, lol. Again, every bride is individual and different and some personalities I may endeavor to portray and work with in different ways, but as a brides wedding day is going to be the most glamorous day of her life I believe it is important that among her wedding memories are a set of images where she looks absolutely stunning!

I also met back up with a couple who had visited my stand at a wedding show earlier in the year but hadn’t yet set their date. Once again this was a couple who had already set their heart upon booking me so I was glad I still had their wedding date available. The thing that had triggered it for this bride was she remembered one of my Image Books at the wedding show, and in particular one specific page. This was a multi image page spread, containing six photographs across a 12” x 8” page. I had given the page a light purple background which the bride who was browsing through the book was observant enough to spot that this was the colour of the sash the small flower girl was wearing. This is a typical example of the albums and books being designed around your wedding photos, not the other way round. It is also a touch you can only employ if your creating the design from a completely blank canvas. It certainly isn’t possible using generic album templates where the pages have already been created for you and the images are simply being dragged and dropped onto them. Anyway, it was this little detail that stuck in the brides mind.


Amongst the above comments were two other couples who gave the same reason, and this brings me back to the theme of this post. On looking through my photographs they said that one of the things they really liked was that I really made the most of each venue, capturing the character, ambience and charm of each location. This is something that I not only consider important, but also get a lot of pleasure from. Wedding venue’s in Edinburgh, and indeed anywhere, are very costly, probably taking up the highest percentage of a couples budget, so it is therefore essential that I make the most of each venue in the wedding images. But over the years I’ve also received many magazine commissions to photograph some of our most illustrious castles, palaces and stately homes in the country, including their renowned owners. However, although these establishments may very well be enchanting and indomitable they are never more alive than when hosting a wedding. The buzz of having a bride and groom getting married and spending the day within their walls really does breathe life into it!
Edinburgh is famed for its magnificent churches, cathedrals, hotels, castles and palaces which is one reason, as I said at the outset, why Edinburgh wedding photographers are very blessed. Not only does it keep us busy and on our creative toes but also enhances what it is already the best job in the world!


Links related to pictures:
http://www.melvillecastlehotel.com/
www.apexhotels.co.uk/hotels/edinburgh-international
http://www.macdonaldshotels.co.ukroxburghe/
http://www.royalmusselburgh.co.uk/

The Point Hotel for the wedding of Lucie and Ryan

The Point Hotel is acclaimed as one of the most chic and stylish hotels in Edinburgh and has the awards to back this up. It’s also a popular choice of many visiting celebrities too, as Lucie and Ryan’s guests discovered during their wedding breakfast when they spotted a couple of well known television stars booking in at reception, lol. Lying in the shadow of Castle Rock the Point Hotel certainly makes a dramatic wedding venue. I’ve been involved with weddings at The Point right from the get go, exhibiting at their very first wedding show (and all the ones since) and shooting and designing showcase wedding albums for them. I met Lucie and Ryan at the Point Hotel’s wedding fair back in January and after seeing photographs from the previous weddings I’ve shot at The Point Hotel they booked me on the spot. On Saturday their wedding day had finally arrived!

Being the Point Hotel’s main recommended wedding photographer ensures I’m at the venue regularly so I know it extremely well. To get a stunning set of photographs from any wedding at the Point Hotel entails exploiting the spectacular view of Edinburgh Castle from the penthouse suite and then making the most of all the fashionable nooks and crannies that I’ve discovered around the lesser frequented parts of the building.

I was booked from 1pm - 9pm, with the ceremony being at 2pm. I started in Lucie’s room with a few detail shots including the brides, bridesmaids and flower girls dresses. Then a set of relaxed, informal pre-wedding preparation shots of Lucie and the girls. I then whisked down to the hotel lobby for some pre-wedding shots of Ryan and his bestmen and ushers then back up to Lucie’s room for some contemporary bridal portraits. After a couple of quick photographs of Lucie and her father I then kept in the wings as much as possible and simply photographed the ceremony as it unfolded.

Most weddings that I shoot are a mixture of photojournalistic photography and then posed or classic photography. Both styles require their own separate skills. With photojournalism I’m endeavoring to capture all those magic, spontaneous moments and therefore tell the story of the day in pictures. Much of this is dependant upon being in the right place at the right time (which I’ve discussed before in my ‘wedding recce’ post) but coupled with this is anticipating when the magic moments will occur. An example of this is the shot of Lucie and Ryan immediately after being pronounced husband and wife. The couples first kiss is always a key shot, and of course I have to ensure I’m in the right place at the right time to capture it. However, from experience I’ve noticed that in the few seconds following the couples first kiss they often will share a moment of intimacy, which may be some whispered words, a look or an intimate smile. Very often this can be a moment more special and intimate than the kiss itself and I think the shot of Lucie and Ryan shown here illustrates that so well. These are the images that really capture the warmth, feelings and emotions of such a special day.

With classic or posed photography a different set of skills are required. Personally, I don’t like the word ‘posed’ as it’s rather square and conjures up images of the old fashioned ‘stand to attention’ type of photographer. I prefer instead to use the word ‘set’, as in ‘set up’ but most people are more familiar with ‘posed’ so that’s why I’m saying that instead, lol. Classic photography, particularly creating romantic and contemporary images, is all about getting your subject to look good, or au courant. To accomplish this I need to get them feeling relaxed and confident and comfortable in the poses (grrr, that word again) I place them in. Now every person is different so its no good simply running rigidly through a set of pre-planned poses with every bride and/or groom. The skill is tuning in to them and establishing first of all a comfortable rapport, but also a knowledge of styles and shots that will suit them and their personality and show them off to their full potential. With Lucie and Ryan I was able to quickly get them looking relaxed and natural as we ran through a set in the penthouse with Edinburgh Castle as our backdrop and then a few minutes after down in the Point Hotel’s lobby. I was also able to set up a number of shots that I would do on a fashion shoot utilizing the funky lighting in one of the hotel corridors. I knew both Lucie and Ryan would suit this style and the resulting images were striking enough to grace the cover of a glossy magazine.

Between the wedding breakfast and the first dance I was kept busy with requests for different group shots, which is always good fun, and then we quickly grabbed 5 minutes before the dancing for some shots of the newly weds before the castle as the sunset. The first dance got under way about 8.30pm and an hour later I was downloading the photographs onto the computer with a well earned bottle of beer!

The Point Hotel’s website is: http://www.mercure.com/

Harburn House - Kelly and Nick's wedding

Harburn House is an elegant Georgian mansion on its own private estate located a few miles to the west of Edinburgh. It is set within 3000 acres of beautiful gardens and parklands making it an idyllic venue for weddings. Harburn House is another wedding venue where I am the recommended photographer so I’ve photographed many weddings here and know it really well. Our biggest wedding of the week was here on Saturday for the marriage of Kelly and Nick.

We were booked to start just after noon but when we arrived there was no bride and no groom, lol! I was scheduled to start up at Haymains on the east side of the estate with Nick and his ushers getting ready, but apparently his DJ had ran a sound check the night before and blown up the amplifier so Nick had to do an emergency trip into town with him to find a new one. Kelly had gone into Edinburgh to have her hair done and was not yet back. So while waiting I grabbed some photographs of the ceremony and dining rooms and some detail shots of the flowers, bouquets, placements, etc. When Nick arrived back I quickly took some pictures of him with the ushers whilst in their casual clothes. Due to Nick now running late we weren’t going to have time for a full set of the guys getting ready as I had to be across at Harburn House for Kelly, so instead we’d do a before and after and I’d come back just before the ceremony for the guys all dressed up in their kilts.

It’s about a half mile drive back across to Harburn House and when I got there not only was Kelly back but she was ready too and looking a million dollars! We did some bridal portraits in her room first of all, full length, three quarter length, close up, back of the dress, etc. In my pre-wedding consultations with my brides and grooms I run through tips and tricks on posing and relaxing in front of the camera and Kelly had got them all so was an absolute dream to work with. We did a mix of classic and informal portraits and then some more contemporary images. Although all the bridesmaids were running late getting ready I managed to get a shot of them all with Kelly on the steps of Harburn House before heading back across to Haymains.

The Humanist ceremony went off great, nice and relaxed with plenty of stories and anecdotes written by Kelly and Nick to keep everyone interested and create a few laughs. Following the drinks reception I ran through their formal group shots starting with a big group photograph of all the guests followed by their family and bridal party pictures which took around twenty minutes, although ten of those were spent looking for people who had gone AWOL, lol!

Diane and I then took the newly weds for a 20 minute set around the gardens and estate and again shooting a mix of classic, romantic and contemporary images. They were both delighted when we took them down to a picturesque wrought iron bridge that spanned a heavenly little loch on the west edge of the estate that they never even knew existed. We finished up back at Harburn House and then made our way back to Haymains for the wedding breakfast, speeches and cake cutting.

Sumptuous roast beef with all the trimmings was on the menu and was (as the food always is at Harburn House) absolutely delicious! The speeches were good fun, Kelly’s father speaking first, then Nick and then his two bestmen doing a double act. We then went through for the cutting of the cake followed by a couple more group shots Kelly and Nick had wanted before my day ended with the photographing of the first dance. All in all it was a fantastic day and I think I enjoyed it as much as Kelly and Nick! I’m already looking forward to my next wedding at Harburn House!

Harburn House website is: http://www.harburnhouse.com/
Just click on the ‘Philip Hawkins Photography website’ link towards the top right hand corner of the page for mine.

Niagara Falls

Two weeks before I arrived in Niagara Falls the landscape was covered in snow and they were being buffeted by storms so it was a pleasant surprise to have nothing but blue skies and gorgeous sunshine…I even got a suntan, lol!
I started off shooting the rapids on the American side of the Niagara River as it makes its way down and around Goat Island. My original plan was to get across the border first and checked into my hotel and then come back out for photography but I couldn’t resist the view and the low spring sun which was hung over the river. As it turned out it was a good move because checking into my hotel proved longer than I anticipated as it seems the Canadians love the Brits! As soon as I started to speak I was told how much my accent was loved and then bombarded with questions about where I was from, why I was visiting and what could they do to make my stay more enjoyable. It continued like this pretty much everywhere I went and in the end I had to resort to trying not to speak too much or I’d never get any work done!
My hotel was situated right between the Falls and Tim Horton’s, which is Canada’s equivalent of Costa Coffee, and really good coffee it is too! They don’t do my favourite latte’s tho so I had to make do with French vanilla capps. I know, it’s a hard life, eh?
You can walk between both the Bridal Falls and the Horseshoe Falls via the Rainbow Bridge, which is the Border Crossing between America and Canada, and there are plenty of great vantage points that bring you up close and personal with both falls. I managed a couple of early morning sunrises from the Canadian side, and then crossed the bridge for some alternative views from the American side.
I also rode what I was told is the worlds largest Ferris wheel, although I havent had chance to confirm this yet. There are good views from the top but the glass was too smudged for photographs. Anyway, adjacent to the Ferris wheel is a specialty fudge and ice cream parlour where they sell cheesecake ice cream thingys. Okay, that’s not the official name but what they do is put your selected cheesecake on a stick (mine was a toffee cheesecake) rather like a lolly, then dip it into melted chocolate and then allow the chocolate to harden so you end up with a chocolate covered cheesecake ice cream thingy. Hmm…maybe ‘thingy’ is the right name after all ;) Anyway, suffice to say they are yummy!
I knew that the colossal amount of water plunging over the Horseshoe Falls creates an enormous amount of mist and spray making a full image of the falls virtually impossible as it obscures such a large area. So I decided instead to use the spray to diffuse the early morning sun, which would normally be so bright it would burn out other area’s of the image, so getting up as close to the falls as possible I was able to frame the sun on the left handside of the image right above the falls and have it peering through the spray. Frequent lens cleaning w

as needed as both myself and the gear got covered in spray but it was well worth it as I got the image I wanted…and several others too, lol! As I’m back to weddings and wedding shows next week I took a trip out to Lake Ontario and photographed the smallest working chapel in the world just to feel at home.

New York, New York

When I arrived in New York it was raining and overhung with overcast skies and clouds. As you know from previous blog posts the weather is never an excuse for not coming up with good photographs but it does mean you may have to work a little harder.


The pictures I was here to shoot are primarily going to be published as fine art prints so my purpose was to capture the majesty and grandeur of the city and to sum that up in one iconic image.
































I’d already done an internet recce of New York so pretty much knew what I wanted and from what locations I wanted to shoot from. Because of the rain I decided to work primarily late in the afternoon and early evening so I could capitalize on the dusk and night. You have to be very careful to avoid bland skies with any kind of landscape photograph so I knew that even if the rain didn’t stop I would still be able to get pictures after dusk when the skies start to deepen in colour and of course the city lights would come on in all the buildings.




















For the majority of the time I walked everywhere which allowed me to get a feel of the city and its mood which would translate into the images I shot. I also managed to fathom out the traffic light and crossing system in New York. When the pedestrian light turns to a large red hand this means do not cross. And when it turns to a large white man it means, hmmm, well, nothing really because the cars still come for you anyway! It also took me a while to work out that the straw they serve with your coffee or tea is actually an American tea spoon, or stirrer as they call it…so you don’t need to drink through it! Anyway, I had a few good meals and several Classic American Lattes, although I must admit I was glad to get back into a Costa Coffee on my return home lol!

I was constantly cleaning camera’s and lenses due to the rain. I use water proof covers to keep the equipment protected but inevitably on the shots where I was looking up the lens got splattered with rain drops that meant it needed cleaning between every shot. Living in Scotland I’m also aware how many rainy days can end with gorgeous light so I made sure not to quit too early each day and was rewarded with a reasonably nice sunset and early evening light on my last day.


















I haven’t had chance to edit all the photographs yet but I’ve grabbed a few to include in this post for you to view.

Check back next week for photographs of Niagara Falls.

Castle weddings

Castle weddings have become extremely popular in recent years and with literally hundreds of majestic and idyllic fortresses in Scotland we have families coming from all quarters of the globe for their wedding day. Castle weddings have always been popular amongst the Scots but I personally have found a large increase in couples coming up from England, across the sea from Ireland and over the Atlantic from the States and Canada since Madonna got married in a Scottish Castle in the North East Highlands. I think all the media attention surrounding it just showcased to the world what a thoroughly enchanting and magnificent setting a Scottish castle makes for a wedding.

I’ve spent a lot of this week visiting some of the castles that use me as their recommended wedding photographer. The wedding season really gets under way next month so I like to take the opportunity to keep in touch and chat with some of the castle wedding planners and managers before we both get too busy to do so. I love castle weddings, and not just because they make for stunning wedding photographs. Whether you love history or not you cannot fail to acknowledge the fact that our history has played a huge part in shaping the present, both our lifestyle and our culture, and it is nowhere more evident than in some of these huge bastions that adorn and decorate our land. I’ve photographed weddings and done fashion and magazine shoots in some of our oldest and most splendid castles and with a plethora of ancient nooks and crannies and glorious, striking backdrops it really is a delight!

One of the questions I often get asked is, “Which is the grandest castle you’ve worked in?” or “Which was the best?”. I know this isn’t the answer they are looking for but it really is impossible to say. They all have their own individual character and atmosphere that makes each one unique for different reasons. On the one hand you have imposing, prodigious castles like Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Dundas Castle, Carbisdale Castle, etc and then on the other hand there is the quintessential fairytale castles like Fernie Castle, Eilean Donan, Castle Venlaw, to name but a few. There are also a number of castles that kind of sit between these two groups too, such as Glamis Castle, Dalhousie, Melville and offer a warm intimacy as well as a sophisticated elegance. There are also a number of ruined fortresses registered to hold wedding ceremonies too if you were looking for something different and don’t mind not having a roof over your head.

Castle weddings aren’t just about the exterior, although this is probably the first thing to catch your eye and draw you to a particular venue. Often the character of the place lies on the inside and is manifest in the graceful décor, the palatial rooms, the works of art and luxurious fixture and fittings, and the ambience that is generated. Some places are charming, others imposing and others simply awesome!

The first castle I ever photographed was Edinburgh Castle when I was 12 years old. I had an old Zenit E camera which was quite a sophisticated piece of kit for a young boy and I remember shooting the castle from virtually every conceivable vantage point in Princes Street gardens down below and feeling rather aggrieved that I couldn’t afford the entrance fee to shoots pictures inside. Twenty years later I was being paid by magazine Editors to photograph inside the castle and the castles management waived the entrance fee for me in favour of the publicity and promotional value! Weddings in Edinburgh Castle are always good fun too, especially in the tourist season. Every wedding I’ve photographed in Edinburgh Castle has the tourists lining up for shots of the happy couple but last summer at one of the weddings in the castle a Japanese couple came up and asked if they could take a photograph of the bride on their own camera. Tracey said she didn’t mind and was ready to pose for them when we discovered they didn’t actually mean just a photograph of her, they wanted one with each of them beside the bride! So they each took a turn standing proudly with the bride while the other took a photograph and then gave us all a bow and sped off to show their friends the shot on the back of the camera!

I’ve now lost count of the amount of castles I’ve photographed and also the number of castle weddings I’ve shot but I’m pleased to say there’s plenty more still to come. Next week, however, I’m moving from castles to skyscrapers as I have a shoot in New York so check back for a rather different set of pics.

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(Castles featured here are Glamis Castle, Dundas Castle, Fernie Castle and Dalhousie castle)

Back at Melville Castle!

This week I’ve ended up traveling from one end of Scotland almost to the other! I started off the week going down to Dumfriesshire, in the south west corner, then up to Fort William in the north west mid week, and then ended the week back at Melville Castle close to home.

It’s been a mixture of commercial shoots and meetings. Most of the meetings being wedding related, either with future bride and grooms or wedding planners and venues. The drive over to Fort William was particularly enjoyable! I love the north west Highlands, and although my favourite part is Wester Ross, further up than Fort William, a close second is Rannoch Moor.

Rannoch Moor sits on the edge of the Highlands and is encompassed by a rim of mountains that stretch all the way to Glencoe. The A82 is the main road to Fort William and it travels right over the summit plateau which is over a 1000ft above sea level. Robert Louis Stevenson described Rannoch Moor as “a wearier looking desert a man never saw” and down to this day Rannoch Moor is regarded as one of the last genuine wildernesses of Europe. The views as you pass Loch Tulla are spectacular! Loch Ba with the Black Mount arising behind, the majestic Buachaille Etive Mhor, and then the jaws of Glencoe to mention just a few. Over the years I’ve done many magazine shoots in and around this area so I’ve come to know and love it extremely well.

On Sunday we were back at Melville Castle for the second of three spring wedding shows. The show last month was a great success for both the Castle and myself. You’ll know from a previous blog how the day went and how many couples I met and chatted to and I’ve since been out for a follow up meeting with many of them. Bookings for this year are now coming in thick and fast. It does seem as if the financial uncertainty has caused many brides and grooms to leave their bookings much later than the norm for 2009, but now my remaining available dates are getting taken up nicely. Again, as I experienced at last months show 2010 is going to be a very busy year for weddings, and by the looks of things so will 2011. I also met couples who are currently planning their weddings for 2012, too. And, believe it or not, I even received an enquiry through my website this week from a bride who’s date is 2014!

One of the (many) reasons I enjoy wedding fairs is because you get an instant reaction to your work. You know you’ve got it right when you see brides, grooms and parents ’wow-ing’ over your Storybooks and albums. But I also got some additional post wedding feedback this week from a couple who’s wedding I shot a few months ago.

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Liz and Bruce got married at Melville Castle last August. For Christmas they purchased a few Gallery Prints from me as presents for their parents. They wanted some prints in the style of their Image Book pages, where you can have multi image spreads, interlinked photographs, and various other combinations. I designed a seven, a three and a two image montage which I then had printed up as Gallery Prints and which Liz and Bruce used as Christmas gifts. A few days ago they ordered two more for themselves and I delivered these Thursday evening where I got to hear the story of the Prints being unwrapped at Christmas. As you know Gallery Prints are very new and Liz and Bruce’s family had never seen anything like them before and could hardly believe how stunning they were! When Bruce’s mother unwrapped hers and saw it she was so moved by it she started to cry. From the sound of it I think they must have spent nearly all the holidays just looking at them, lol. Anyway, needless to say they now have pride and place on their walls. Here’s a picture of one of the prints Liz and Bruce ordered for themselves that replicates one of their album pages.

Next Wedding Show at Melville is May 3rd and we believe it’s going to be a busy one. Come along if you can.

Melville castle website: http://www.melvillecastlehotel.com/