Photography Tour

• All photographic abilities are welcome, from absolute beginners to seasoned pros
• As well as taking great shots, learn some of the wonderful and varied history of Edinburgh
• At the end of the experience you'll have a 'portfolio' of pictures to wow your friends and family with!

Our photography tour of Edinburgh started at St Giles Cathedral on the High Street where we met our guide just as daylight was beginning to fade. Before starting, our guide, Will, checked with everyone what type of camera we had come armed with and helped us all to get set up.

Will explained to us the different settings on our cameras, initially focussing on detail and lighting; experimenting with different settings, styles and equipment. Between everyone on the tour there was a range of cameras; SLRs, compact digital cameras and even smartphones.

For the first part of the tour, we stayed on the Royal Mile where we learned about adding light and shadow to our images, as well as looking at composition and movement. We all got some amazingly atmospheric images at Barnes Close, surprising ourselves at how good our shots were already!

Once we had a grip of the basics and we were starting to gain a bit more confidence we headed up to the Castle. Will explained to us about long exposure and light trails, so on the esplanade we practiced these newly acquired skills. He patiently helped us set up our shots – all the while telling us about the history of the area. We left the castle and moved on to Victoria Terrace to perfect our light trail technique before heading on to our final location… Greyfriars Kirk.

It might seem odd but the teams’ favourite location was the graveyard! By this point in the tour, we had a better grasp of our equipment and a greater understanding of the techniques that we had been using all evening. We got some fantastic photos of the Edinburgh skyline, some creepy shots of some of the incredibly decorated tombs and also created ghostly light trails between the headstones.

The team really enjoyed the tour and learned so much about our cameras (and Edinburgh!) and how to compose great shots. Will, our guide, was so knowledgeable and friendly – we never felt silly asking any photography (or history!) related questions.

If you have an interest in photography, no matter your level of skill, and you want to immerse yourself in Edinburgh’s history, then the team at Experience Gift Scotland cannot recommend this experience enough!