Glencoe Engagement Photoshoot

Georgios and Anthoula’s Glencoe Engagement Photoshoot.

Originally Georgios and Anthoula, a very sweet Greek couple living here in Scotland, contacted me because they were looking for a photographer to take some iconic Scottish photographs for them to show at their wedding back home on the beautiful island of Rhodes later this year. They had seen some of my photographs from one of my Altskeith weddings and were inspired to get a boat of their own and row around Loch Ard to capture some of the lovely scenery. I don’t remember exactly why (it was a wee while ago now) but that idea was abandoned in favour of an engagement shoot in the mountains. Then we ran out of summer and winter came so the new idea was a snowy Glencoe engagement photoshoot. Sadly, however, there wasn’t really any snow so dates were scheduled and rescheduled without success, or snow. Ultimately we decided that the key factor was the mountains and Scottish scenery so we fixed a date, or two. One week later I flew to India for a photography trip just the very day that Scotland was hit with a week of, you’ve guessed it, snowy weather.

A few days after returning from my trip we had the date sorted and we were all ready to go. The forecast looked good and we were all available. The weather then changed again so we rescheduled for the following day and stuck with it. That morning we awoke to thick fog. Far from ideal for making romantic photographs in the mountains of Glencoe, but we headed north nonetheless and met up over a full Scottish breakfast in the Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum where the sun was shining and all was good with the world. Everything is better after a fried breakfast.

Our plan was simple. We would all jump into my car and drive the last 30 minutes together across Rannoch Moor to the small town of Glencoe, stopping along the way at places that looked nice. I’d already spied a few good spots a couple of days before when I was photographing a wedding at Kilcamb but it was also useful for me to get live feedback from Georgios and Anthoula about what they liked about the scenery. Our first stop was just 20 minutes down the road at Lochan na h-Achlaise and I was just blown away by the perfection of the scenery there. The backdrop of distant snow-capped peaks, a fine band of mist sitting in the valley and an almost mirror-like reflection on the lochan itself – just perfect. Now all I needed were a couple of people to complete the shot and, luckily for me, I had Georgios and Anthoula in the back of my car who were itching to get going.

We captured a few shots in that spot then moved to the other end of the loch to another nice patch where a small tree was reflected perfectly in the still waters before heading down to Etive Mor waterfall. The waterfall was a very quiet and boggy place but with the most amazing view and the most wonderful serenity. We found a less muddy spot, I explained to Anthoula what a bog was and then we made some great photographs in front of Stob Dearg, a mountain so beautiful that it looked like a painting that morning. By now it was lunchtime and we were all a bit cold (it was only 6 degrees centigrade) and, by no coincidence, we were a couple of minutes from the very Scottish Clachaig Inn with its 400 whiskeys and real log fire. Rejuvenated and much warmer we finished our Glencoe engagement photoshoot by grabbing a few last photographs down by the banks of the river Coe itself with the waterfalls of An t-Sron as a backdrop.

The photoshoot was a great success but it did take quite a bit of planning and I am more than happy to help with that when it comes to organising your own. If you are looking for a nice place for an engagement photoshoot then Glencoe is a smashing area. Even if you are thinking of eloping there are so many great spots there for getting married and it is only 2 hours from Glasgow whereas the Isle of Skye, while very nice of course, is a hefty 5 hour drive. Some of the key factors that helped this Scottish engagement session be a success, and something you should consider for your own photoshoot were:

• We got up early in the morning – there is always much better light and far fewer cars / tourists.
• Georgios and Anthoula wore practical shoes. Anthoula had two pairs in fact. Don’t let poor footwear spoil your day.
• Anthoula wore a very nice dress. The red colour was perfect against the wintery hills and it was short enough that it wouldn’t get muddy.
• Georgios and Anthoula have an adventurous spirit. They trusted my judgement and were happy to walk through the heather to get the shots.
• The weather in Scotland is fickle. You might just have to pick a date and see what happens on the day. It’ll be interesting regardless.
• They actually wanted these photographs – it wasn’t simply something they felt that they had to do for an obscure reason. It makes a difference.

Incidentally, it turned out that they didn’t have a photographer for their wedding day in Rhodes. Luckily I was free so guess where I’ll be spending a sunny week in May with these folks…

As always, remember to follow me on Instagram for daily photography inspiration and some of my travel photography from my recent India trip!