Edinburgh Photography Tour – by James Christie

James Christie is a friend of my husband’s, and when he invited me on his Edinburgh Photography Tour, I couldn’t resist.  Being a people photographer, and never having rated myself much good at landscapes, I was up for the challenge. I saw it as an opportunity to learn from a man who has an impressive photographic background that includes one of my music idol’s Bowie.

I headed up to the top of Calton Hill for the start of the tour. There, I met James and the other delegates, who amongst them had a couple of compact point-and-shoot cameras, and a few entry level digital SLRs. The tour is aimed at anyone from amateur to pro, who has an interest in photography and wants to take better pictures.

For the digital SLR users, James explained the settings, and why after his tour you will never shoot in any mode apart from manual again – I always shoot manual!  Throughout the tour, James provides camera settings dependent upon lighting conditions, so that your images are perfectly exposed, while also explaining how to achieve this in manual mode.

When it comes to composition, James believes that you have to walk the extra distance to get “the shot”.  He proves this by knowing the best vantage points in Edinburgh.  There is no reason why you can’t get that killer image!

To add to all of the above, the 4-hour tour is filled with James’ charm, jokes, and knowledgeable stories of Edinburgh’s history.  He put me to shame – having lived in the city for all of my 30-odd years – he taught me a thing or two about Edinburgh’s murky past!

James knows all the hidden gems in Edinburgh, and I found myself in places I had never been before.  Overall, I had a brilliant day with a group of fantastic people.

If you are interested in photography, and want to improve your camera and composition skills, I would highly recommend the Edinburgh Photography Tour.

Below are some of my images from the day.  James doesn’t believe in much post production, so James just for you I have tried to keep the editing to a minimal!

The back of the Scottish Parliament

Edinburgh Castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a Dog’s Life

Prior to this weekend, I’ve only had one dog visit to be photographed under studio conditions.  She was a Border Terrier called Honey, who was a treat to photograph.

You know how the saying goes: “never work with animals or children,” well I already do work with kids, so why not add dogs?

We would love to have an addition to the family in the form of a four legged friend, but with all our commitments it’s just not practical. So to offer this as a service, I needed to build a portfolio and gain experience. I have now managed to hunt down enough doggie models to build my portfolio.

Yesterday, I had 3 individual sessions with owners of very adorable dogs.  A Tibetan Terrier, Chiwawa, and a Dalmation.  Every dog was different, and some more challenging than others, but I had such a fun day. I cannot wait for my next couple of models to visit me at my studio!

For hygiene reasons, I insist on sweeping and mopping the hardwood flooring with disinfectant after a dog has been in my studio; back-breaking work after rolling about the floor trying to get down to the dogs level.  I was aching all day on Monday!

Meet the pooch models below:

Benji - Tibetan Terrier

Buster - Chiwawa

Gandalf - Dalmation

Wishing you all the best in 2012

Firstly I would like to wish everyone the very best in 2012.  After a poor show on the blog front in the second half of 2011, it is one of my New Year Resolutions to post more regularly.  I thought I would start the year on a high note and share with you some of my achievements in 2011.

Gail GalbraithStudio – I eventually got my signage done on my studio.  It took a while for me to decide exactly what I wanted and due to the property being located in a residential area I knew I would need guidance from Edinburgh Council.  The first time I saw it I stood outside my studio mesmerized, so proud for many reasons which I will share with you in February.

Website – I successfully launched my website www.gailgalbraithphotography.co.uk in its new design.  A website is always a work in progress and although it still needs some development it was certainly a move in the right direction.

Baby/Newborn Photography – This was an area that I really wanted to focus on in 2011 and I managed to build my portfolio to the stage where I can really push this service in 2012.

Boudoir Photography – Having never dabbled in this type of photography before 2011 I had my first boudoir session.  Since I have undertaken the task of many more, with woman of all shapes, sizes and age.  I have totally fallen in love with this type of photography and now have a great portfolio to promote myself with.  Loving it so much I decided in Q2 2011 that I would launch a website specific specifically for this and purchased the domain name www.edinburghboudoirphotography.co.uk which is being developed right now.  My new site will be launched in 2012, something that I really look forward to as the whole thing is great fun. Watch this space ladies!

Training – I undertook some fabulous training sessions with the fantastic John Denton, Yerbury’s and Pete Bristo.

Above is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what I achieved in 2011.  It was business as usual on the wedding and family portraiture front.

Thank you to everyone who made 2011 an enjoyable year in terms of my photography journey and I hope to see you in 2012.

Looking forward to the year ahead, and I promise to blog more x

Edinburgh Weddings – photography opportunities to die for!

I feel so lucky to be a wedding photographer located in Edinburgh. Edinburgh boasts many 5 star hotels, grand houses, and unusual wedding venues for brides to pick from.  Not only are the venues incredible and in abundance, walk out of your chosen venue and you are sure to have an array of great backdrops to have stunning wedding photographs taken against.  The opportunities are endless.

Edinburgh also offers an array of wedding suppliers that are creative and can offer you all the finishing touches custom made to your style that fits in with your theme and personality for your big day.

I do love when I am booked for a wedding a bit further a field as this lets me explore new territory and create something new for my portfolio but my heart will always be in the great city of Edinburgh where I was born and bred.

A great source of information for brides planning their wedding day is The Weddings in Edinburgh website run by Suzanne Morrison.

No matter what you are looking for in a wedding – Edinburgh has it!

Baby Sophie – Edinburgh Home Photography Session

I was so excited when I got the text from one of my best friends.  It delivered the great news that baby Sophie had arrived and all was well with Mum and baby.  I met Sophie when she was a tender 5 days old and had a lovely cuddle, then returned to my friends house when Sophie was one week old to do a home photography shoot.  Having an older brother, Mum wouldn’t have found it easy to make it along to my studio so was pleased when I offered to do it at home.  Getting photos of a baby within the first couple of weeks of being born is so important because they start to change so quickly, so I was happy to capture that fantastic stage for my good friend.

I know you will all agree – baby Sophie is so adorable.  I cannot wait to photograph her again.

Don’t wait until it is too late to have professional pictures taken of your baby!

Although I have to think back 14 years back, I still remember thinking to myself where did 1st year go!  One minute you have this new bundle of joy to adore and before you know it, your baby is turning one and taking their first steps!

I am offering a special half price session for babies, for bookings made before the 31st August 2011.  Don’t delay, book a baby session to ensure that you have professional images to remember this very special time.

Getting married or know someone who is? Wedding Special Offer

Book Gail Galbraith Photography for your wedding before the 31st Aug 2011 and not only will you receive £100 off any of my packages, but you will also receive a pre-wedding shoot at my studio in Leith .   Why is it good to have a pre-wedding shoot find out here on one of my previous posts http://gailgalbraith.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/why-have-a-pre-wedding-shoot/

My packages start from £700 and can viewed here http://www.gailgalbraith.co.uk/weddings/wedding_packages.html

Get in contact with me to make an appointment to meet me at my studio in Leith and view some of my sample albums.

Sexy Boudoir x

On Sunday I had a boudoir shoot with the fabulous, gorgeous and highly talented Gemma who does some modelling on the side for fun.  I really love Gemma’s look and she brought so much to the shoot, recreating 1950′s pin up style boudoir.  I like my boudoir  imagery to be classy and Gemma made it so easy for me.  Lately I have been spending lots of pennies on head pieces – I just wish I looked good in them!  I love featuring them in my boudoir shoots and think they look fab and Gemma left my studio with a new love of headwear!

Studio Shoot – Sat 21st May

Had another boudoir shoot today at my studio. I really enjoy boudoir and Gemma was absolutely fantastic at posing and we got lots of great shots which I still have to edit.

I bought myself a new piece of kit yesterday so asked if I could use Gemma as my guinea pig and she happily obliged.  My new toy is the Orbis and I love the shadowless light that can be achieved with just using my speedlight.  I am out tomorrow on location doing a boudoir/fashion shoot and will definitely be taking my new toy out to play!

Roger Waters The Wall – O2 12th May 2011 feat David Gilmour

There are some aspirations you might have, that no matter how much you want them, at some point you have to accept they will never come true: visiting the moon, photographing Elvis or travelling back in time to see The Beatles form. One of mine never being able to say I saw Pink Floyd perform live on stage.

So when I got the chance to see Roger Waters performing The Wall I jumped at the chance. Last Thursday, 12^th May 2011, I visited the O2 Arena in London for the first time and I was not disappointed.

Rumour had it that David Gilmour would play Floyd’s seminal song, Comfortably Numb, on one night of the tour only with Waters, a promise he made last year at a Hoping Foundation charity event. And the odds were stacked with me last week, when Gilmour appeared on top of a 30-foot wall on stage to performing the lyrics and guitar solos of Comfortably Numb.

It was truly amazing stuff.

Looking through my pictures of that evening takes me back to last week and I feel overwhelmed all over again. The show surpassed my expectations with striking animations, great sound affects, and two of the best guitarists on the planet jamming on stage.

At the end of the show Roger Waters was joined on stage with David Gilmour and Nick Mason, the three remaining members of Pink Floyd on stage together all at once. Roger played his trumpet, David a mandolin and Nick a tambourine.

It was great to see and it was a fitting end to the show. What was a once in a lifetime chance (for me anyway) will stay with me forever more.

Glad to see The Wall built again!