highlands Archives - Inverness Photographer

November 6, 2015November 6, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Inverness Engagement Photographer

Becky and Struan got in touch not long after their engagement to ask if would be able to take some photographs with them to celebrate their engagement – I was delighted to be asked!

I travelled down from Inverness to meet them in Aberfeldy, where Struan is originally from, and we spent some time exploring different corners of Aberfeldy and further along Loch Tay on what was a beautiful autumn/winters day.

With it being the 1st of November I was a little nervous about what weather we could have to work with for their photo session, but we had a beautiful day with clear blue skies and bursts of colour from the trees all around. The autumn colours really seem to have lasted much longer this year, something I’m very grateful for!

As well as having some time to take photographs at the Birks of Aberfeldy we headed on to Ardreonaig to spend some time down at Loch Tay, the calm waters of the loch made for beautiful reflected light, great to work with!

If you are recently engaged, or are looking for the perfect Christmas present for a loved one then please do get in touch – I’d be delighted to advise further on options for capturing some beautiful photographs for you.

October 29, 2015October 30, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Wedding Albums – What should we choose?

Wedding albums are much like weddings – rarely are two the same nowadays, and what one couple loves will likely not always be to someone else’s taste!

With that in mind I offer a range of wedding albums, designed to help you get an album that you love and that will best complement your images.

I currently offer a range of 4 albums with my packages, all of which are customisable to some extent. I’m also happy to source a different product should you have seen something elsewhere that you would like instead.

I’ve outlined some of the core information on the albums I offer, and links to where you should be able to find the PDFs with set information on the different albums. You can also send me an e-mail if you need more information.

What’s Included in our package?

I offer an album entitlement with most of my wedding packages, in addition to your USB of images and online galleries. This allows you to pick which album you would like, and which images you would like to have in it. You can also customise your album with extra images, or extra pages. Package prices have changed recently but you should find a guide to your album allowance below.

For packages booked pre October 2015

£1,600 package a 20 page Mini Eros, A 20 page Combi Book or a 30 page Layflat Infinity
£1,800 package a 30 page Mini Eros, A 30 page Combi Book or a 40 page Layflat Infinity
£2,000 package a 40 page Mini Eros, A 40 page Combi Book or a 40 page Layflat Infinity (additionally you also have 2 x parents vouchers with this package)

What is the difference between the different albums?

The Mini Eros – Download the Mini Eros PDF here

The Mini Eros album is handmade in the UK, and features a range of overlays which frame the prints in the album. It comes in a range of 20, 30 or 40 pages. Each page has an overlay with a variety of different apertures, some with space for one image, and some with space for 2, 3 or 4 on a page. The album page size is approx 10 by 8 inches, with a maximum print size of 8 by 6 inches.

The Mini Eros is available in black or white, and comes with a faux leather cover.

The Mini Eros Wedding Album

The Hera

The Hera is the big sister to the Mini Eros, and like the Mini Eros it uses a range of mounts to frame images into the page. The biggest difference with the Hera is the size of the album, with a page size of approximately 14 by 11 inches and a maximum print size of 12 by 8 inches. If your budget will stretch to it, I’d highly recommend it as it’s a beautiful product!

The Hera wedding album

The Combi Book – Download the Combi Book PDF here

The Combi Book is made by the same craftsmen as the Mini Eros and Hera, but rather than utilising mounts to keep the images on the page, prints are applied directly to the album page, making the most of the images.

The Combi Book comes in two sizes, (8 by 6 and 12 by 8 inches) and your choice of a 20, 30 or 40 pages. (The Combi Book option included in package is for a 12 by 8 version of the book.

The Combi Book

The Layflat Infinity Coffee Table Book – Download the Layflat PDF here

The Layflat is a press printed book with a unique spine system that allows for images to be spread across two pages with virtually no loss of image on the centre of the page.

With a 12 by 12 inch page size that folds out to a 24 by 12 inch size, the Layflat is a great product when you want to make the most of your key images.

Layflat Coffee Table Book

The Memento Book – Download the Memento Book PDF here

The Memento is a great additional product to accompany your album, or great as a basic standalone product in its own right. As a digitally press printed book it allows space to have contact sheets of all of your images from the day in addition to a selection of some of your favourite images as larger prints. Due to its size (A4) it’s also a great product to pop into a handbag and take with you to share with friends and family.

The Memento also makes a great gift for family or bridal party members, with costs from £95 or £75 when ordering multiple copies.

The Memento Book

How many images can we have in our album?

Each product contains a different number of images, but most are cutomisable.

With the Mini Eros, Hera and Combi Books you have a set number of images which corresponds with the number of pages in your product, so a 20 page would have 20 images and so on.

Additional images can be added at a cost of £5 per extra image, or 10 extra pages can be added at a cost of £95, with 10 additional images.

You can have an unlimited number of images in a Layflat album, presuming there is enough space for the design to hold it.

Can we add an album or extra albums to our package?

Absolutely! Albums can be ordered as standalone products should you wish to add one into your package, or additional albums can be ordered for yourself, friends and family.

Costs of albums vary depending on up to date info from suppliers, but as a guide – current album costs are as below.

30 page Mini Eros – £295

40 page Mini Eros – £395

20 page 12 by 8 inch Combi Book £250

30 page 12 by 8 inch Combi Book £295

40 page 12 by 8 inch Combi Book £395

40 page 12 by 12 inch Layflat: £295

60 page 12 by 12 inch Layflat: £395

The Hera: POA

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September 5, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Highlands and Islands Portrait Photography – Autumn Diary now open!

So the weather hasn’t been the best over the last few weeks, but we’re hoping that means there will be a delayed burst of warmth and sunshine to come! My diary is now open for the Autumn months and I’ll be shooting portrait sessions throughout the Highlands and Islands.

Autumn is a great time to have some family or kids portraits taken, and even better to have some up to date images ready for the perfect Christmas present for grandparents and relatives.

My diary for Autumn is now open and I’m now taking bookings for family and kids portrait sessions for September and October – including the long weekends and school holidays!

Candid portrait images are a great way to capture some images of you, your family or friends, and with sessions shot through the Autumn you have plenty content for great christmas presents!

I’ll be offering sessions throughout Inverness and the Highlands, and expect also to be in Lewis and Glasgow – get in touch now if you’d like to enquire about booking a session.

I’ll also be offering two packages at a discounted price for the duration of the October holidays – 12th – 26th October, but available session times are limited!

During the October school holidays – (10th – 26th October 2015) I’ll be offering a range of discounts on my portraiture sessions, with two of my most popular packages on offer!

In addition I also offer a £25 referral credit, meaning that when both you and a friend/family member book a session, you’ll both save £25 on the cost!

Offer 1

Regular price: £125
October holiday price: £95

Offer 2

– A 90 minute session on location for 2 adults and 2 kids. (Additional people charged at £25)
– A full edit post session
– Online password protected gallery of images
– A mobile app with a selection of some of the images
5 Digital Files of your choice of your favourite images
A £75 print credit towards print and wall art purchases
20% discount code for any additional purchases

Regular price: £395
October holiday price: £275

Sessions are also an ideal way to celebrate an engagement or anniversary – or perhaps pick up some images you didn’t manage to get the first time around?

Get in touch

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September 5, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

New Drumossie Hotel Wedding – Laura and Neil

Laura and Neil were my first wedding back at the New Drumossie Hotel since they had their recent makeover earlier this year – and it looks beautiful!

Laura and Neil were joined by their family and friends, mostly from across the water in Lewis for their wedding at the end of July and in between dodging the rainshowers we had a great day.

The wedding ceremony was held in St Stephens church in Inverness and was the first of two weddings that I had the privilege to shoot their that weekend.

After the ceremony we stopped off at a few spots I had reccomended that would be good for photographs, mainly because they were covered from the summer rain showers, and then we headed up towards the New Drumossie for the reception to follow.

If you’d like to view the whole collection of images you should be able to find them here.

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May 13, 2015May 13, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Alex and Suzie – An Aultmore House Wedding

Alex and Suzie’s wedding at Aultmore House and Inverallan Church was a cracker – a fantastic wedding to go with a great story.

As well as being clients for the day Alex and Suzie are also good friends and it was a special privilege to both shoot the wedding photographs and also be there to witness them taking their vows and celebrating in style.

My recollection of the story of Alex and Suzie goes back a few years when I collected Suzie from the airport after her study abroad semester in New Zealand. She had shared a flat with my wife, Fiona and had headed off to study in NZ not long after she and her sister Cairine had both been a bridesmaid for Fiona when we were married. Anyway, Sooz came through the doors of the airport overloaded with too many bags, and a smile a mile wide. We heard the stories of life in NZ and meeting Alex, and then progress a few years later, and they’re married!

Alex and Suzie had booked Aultmore House for their wedding, an absolute gem of a venue in Nethy Bridge with beautiful views of the Cairngorm Mountains as a backdrop. They were joined in the run up to the wedding by their friends and family gathered from all over the world including friends from their time in New Zealand and Alex’s family from Minnesota.

After morning preperations at Aultmore House we made our way along to Inverallan Church in Grantown, a beautiful building and somewhere Suzi knew well from taking family holidays in the area when growing up. David Meredith married them and a beautiful and deliberate ceremony marked a real sense of celebration – I’ve never seen a couple smile so much!

We stopped off for a couple of quick photos en route back to Aultmore where we shot the group shots before guests were entertained with dancing into the marquee – a beautiful meal and a fanstastic round of speeches.

I too Suzie and Alex for a quick drive after dinner to get some shots with the two of them before we lost the last of the light and then headed back to the Marquee at Aultmore for a night full of dancing – watching Americans learn to Strip the Willow is great entertainment!

If you’d like to see the full set of images from the day you can send me an e-mail here.

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May 13, 2015May 13, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Niall and Catherine – An Airth Castle Wedding

I was delighted when I first received an e-mail through from Niall and Catherine a while ago which said that they had intended to book me as their wedding photographer before they were even engaged – you can’t get much better than that!

They were married in Glasgow Reformed Presbyterian Church before heading out to Airth Castle for their reception with their family and friends – it may have been early April but there was bright blue skies all day!

Niall and Catherine were joined by a lot of family from the Isle of Lewis which is home for them both, but it wasn’t until they came to Glasgow that they first met – the rest is history!

We made good use of the space at Airth Castle for some group shots with their family and friends (avoiding the bright sunshine where we could!) before the wedding party headed into Airth for their reception. Niall, Catherine and I then headed out for a wander later on in the evening to make some use of the last of the evening light. It really was a beautiful day for a great couple.

If you would like to see the full set of images you can send me an e-mail here.

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April 25, 2015July 10, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Kevin and Laura – An Achnagairn Wedding

I was at Achnagairn Castle today to shoot the wedding of Kevin and Laura, who travelled down from Caithness to host their wedding at Achnagairn.

Kevin and Laura held their entire wedding at Achnagairn, making use of the spectacular Great Hall for both their ceremony and then the party. We also did well to get to spend a lot of the day outside to make use of the beautiful grounds at Achnagairn for their photos. Here’s a sneak peek – if you’d like to know when the full set are ready to view, let me know.

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April 24, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Mark and Diana – A Dunkeld Wedding

Diana and Mark got in touch just a few weeks before their Dunkeld wedding as they had opted to plan their wedding in a relatively short space of time – but they did a great job of it!

I had met them briefly last August when I shot the wedding of Richard and Kelly who are good friends of theirs – I was delighted when Kelly suggested they get in touch to see if I might be able to shoot the wedding for them, it’s always a privilege to be asked, but a special privilege to be back with previous clients!

Diana has family connections to Dunkeld, despite living down south, so the Cathedral was a personal choice of venue to celebrate their wedding vows. Mark was left sweating a little after Diana arrived a little later than planned – but his Best Men and Ushers did a great job of keeping him calm.

We made use of the beautiful grounds in the Cathedral for some quick group shots before the guests made their way back to Eastwood House, further along the river. Afternoon Tea had been set out and the guests had no hesitation in making the most of the beautiful gardens and river views under a clear blue sky.

We opted to spend a little time at the Cathedral for some photos before heading out up to the Bothy to get some sunset shots – another great day for a great couple!

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April 21, 2015April 21, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

A Meldrum House Wedding

Ian and Christine were married at the beginning of March with their wedding held in the beautiful Meldrum House in Aberdeenshire.

I had shot the wedding of Leanne and Rory last year who were friends of Ian and Christine’s so it was a real privilege to be asked to come and photograph their wedding at Meldrum House. It was also great to join the party with them and their guests – some new guests and some by now well known charachters to my cameras!

Being March in Scotland it was fairly windy – but we made good use of the Stables at Meldrum to get a little shelter from the wind for their group shots, before heading in to join the party.

Meldrum is a beautiful venue and has the real benefit of the original hotel building and the adjoining marquee – a great place for a wedding party – and a great party it was!

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April 11, 2015April 15, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Alex and Suzi – An Inverallan Church Wedding

After yesterdays wedding of Niall and Catherine at Airth Castle I was delighted to have another wedding to head to – this time for Alex and Suzie at Inverallan Church followed by their reception at Aultmore House in Nethybridge.

I’m always honoured when asked to be with a couple to shoot their images for them but Alex and Suzie’s was an extra special wedding for me, they are dear friends and their page boy was none other than Ally, our son.

As I watched them take their vows I was reminded of when I picked up Suzie from the airport after she had returned from her study abroad semester in New Zealand – while there she had met a pile of new friends, including a guy from Minnesota called Alex. The rest as they say – is history!

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