scottish photographer Archives - Inverness Photographer

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016 by Roddy Mackay

2015 – A review of the year for Inverness Photographer

Happy New Year!

2015 shaped up to be a rather monumental year on a personal level with the sale of our Glasgow home, purchasing our Inverness home and working on relocating our businesses north to Inverness. The icing on the cake came late on Boxing Day with the arrival of Lucy Kate, a daughter for Fiona and I, and a little sister for Ally.

Work life was also exceptionally busy, and exciting – with weddings all over Scotland and as far afield as London and Colorado! Other projects also took me travelling back into the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore, with an additional first time trip into Laos for the year end.

2016 will hopefully be as exciting a year, as I celebrate the 10 year anniversary of being in business – possibly with an exhibition of previously unseen images.

The calendar still has plenty of free space however, so now is the time to be in touch if you or someone you know has a project in mind.

For now, take a look through some of my favourite photographs from these last 12 months, some from Inverness, and some from a little further afield!

Slainte!

January – My year started with the first of my overseas trips to the Philippines.

February – My first wedding of the year was the elopement of Jordan and Julie who came to Scotland from their native USA to get married in Aboyne. We had a great day travelling through Aberdeenshire capturing a selection of shots, including a trip to the Queen’s highland home at Balmoral!

I was travelling again in March, with Mark and Diana’s wedding in Dunkeld and a commissioned project to shoot an editorial travel feature on Glasgow for Canadian airline Westjet amongst my favourite jobs.

Wedding season got into full swing in April, with Alex and Suzie’s wedding at Aultmore House, Niall and Catherine’s wedding in Glasgow and Airth and Laura and Kevin’s wedding at beautiful Achnagairn.

May was one of the busiest months I’ve ever had, with Alex and Susan’s wedding in Inverary feeling fairly local compared with Phil and Rose’s wedding in London, and Andrew and Jennifer’s wedding in Coloardo! I also managed to fit in a trip to Thailand and Singapore inbetween – just!

I was back in Thailand again later in June, but not before a few more weddings in Lewis, Camusdarach and back at Achnagairn.

I started July in Thailand, but was soon back in the UK for weddings all over Scotland and a week down in London.

I was still shooting weddings well into August, with more trips on the road in Glasgow, Blanefield and Aberdeen including some more local Inverness weddings.

September was America month, as I shot the weddings of 3 american couples inbetween a few Scottish couples, followed by a trip to America for our family holiday.

I managed a little holiday time in October,with a road trip in the USA with Fiona, Ally and Bump. A few days in the Carolina’s was great creative therapy to come back to a busy end of the year. A cabin in the woods was also an ideal editing environment for more weddings, and editing my scottish roadtrip photo diary with Jason and Julia. My first visit to a highland games was a fun job to shoot at the end of the month, with an editorial assignment for Red Bull.

I was delighted to make the most of a late Autumn for Becky and Struan’s engagement photo session on the first day of November. But I was soon back on my travels again, this time to Laos.

And then it was December – I was busy with a variety of editorial jobs through the month, but grateful for a little time to relax and take stock too – it’s been a busy year!

Farr Loch Winter Reflections

2016 marks 10 years since I first became a full time professional photographer, so it will hopefully be another exciting year for projects. I’ve still got plenty space in my diary as things stand, so if you or anyone you know would like to talk to me about a project you have in mind, now is the time to get in touch!

Send me an e-mail!

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.

in Engagement / Scotland / Weddings 0 comments

October 31, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Thailand Travel Photography

I’m working through the last of the edits of wedding season before I head off for the last big travel photography project of the year in Laos, next weekend.

It’s been a busy year, and as I fly out next weekend, it will mark the last of 7 overseas projects this year, and my third trip into Thailand of the year.

Despite having been to Thailand many times, my last trip was the first time I had made it to Chiangmai, and it’s definitely a place I would reccommend if you are considering a trip in the near future. I’d specifically reccommend checking out the Silver Temple, a little off the obvious tourist trail, but definitely worth a visit if you’re keen to capture some good images. Be sure to get their early though – if you’d like to see Monks and avoid the heat!

I’ll be working on catching up on some admin over the next week also, if you have questions regarding any projects or are keen to have your wedding albums ready in time for Christmas, now is the time to be in touch!

I’m expecting to be away from next Saturday (07th) and returning on the 20th November, as I expect to be travelling in more remote areas, I don’t expect to have much e-mail access.

Baby Mackay number 2 is also due to make an appearance shortly after I’m back and Santa makes and appearance, so now is the time to get in touch!

in Travel 0 comments

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

in Wedding Planning / Weddings 0 comments

September 14, 2015October 26, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Alun and Louise – A Cottiers Wedding

I had another double wedding weekend this weekend, with the wedding of Alun and Louise in the West End of Glasgow on Friday before heading up the road for Jess and Mike’s wedding in Inverness on Saturday.

It’s always good to be back in Glasgow, and to have my first time shooting at a wedding that I used to pass almost everyday.

Alun and Louise had a very relaxed day, with no bridal party and a very close group of friends and family joining them as they took their vows and celebrted in style in Cottiers into the small hours.

in Weddings 0 comments

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

in Engagement / Family Portraits / Kids Portraits 0 comments

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.

in Weddings 0 comments

June 17, 2015 by Roddy Mackay

Tom and Bekah – Camusdarach Beach

It’s been a hectic few weeks, hence why I haven’t quite got round to posting some sneak peeks of my latest projects, I’ll hopefully rectify that over the next few days!

After a few weeks in Singapore and Thailand I made a quick trip to Colorado to shoot the wedding of Jennifer and Andrew in Fort Morgan, and then a quick dash back to Scotland for two beach weddings one in Lewis and one in Arisaig, and both on the same weekend!

Tom and Bekah planned their beautiful and relaxed wedding on Camusdarach Beach Campsite with a ceremony planned for the beach, the weather was truly Scottish but Tom, Bekah and their guests were determined to make the most of it, and they did!

We managed a couple of quick sessions down on the beach in between wind and rain and made good use of the beautiful marquee at Camusdarach for the rest of the photos – it really was a very relaxed and enjoyable wedding to shoot.

Next up I’ll be at Achnagairn this weekend before heading back to Thailand on Monday for the next two weeks, it’s all go!

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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.

in Weddings 0 comments