Classic Portrait Shoot in Edinburgh with Denisa Strakova
In November last year I had the great privilege to work with Denisa Strakova to create some portraits inspired by the early Scottish photographic pioneers, David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson. In the video above you can see some of the shots we created together.
This classic portrait shoot in Edinburgh's Royal Mile was inspired by my photographic heroes, David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, who had a studio here in Edinburgh from 1843 to 1847. They were truly pioneering and took some of the earliest portraits in the world. You can still see their old studio ‘Rock House’ at Calton Hill, which is one of the stops on my private Edinburgh Photography & History Tour.
Shooting portraits outside in November in Scotland can be tricky. You never know what to expect from the weather here in Edinburgh, which is always changing at the best of times. However, we were exceptionally lucky and the day was fresh & bright and not too cold. The location we chose to shoot in was a 17th century style garden on Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile, which suited the classical look we were going for. The garden provides a lovely backdrop for portraits and still looked wonderful, despite it being the start of winter.
Denisa wore a variety of outfits and dresses which looked wonderful in the low winter sun. Photographing outside at this time of year can be tricky and I took the unusual approach of using the strong shadows, created by the sun, to create some dramatic, contrasty images which you can only get with shooting in strong sunlight. Normally I’m looking for the softer light of shade, or would use a diffuser, but this worked really well to create some wonderfully, atmospheric shots, which look especially good in classic black and white. Sometimes it’s important to take some risks in photography and break the rules, particularly if you want to get a different kind of look.
One of my favourite shots is of Denisa in a stunningly beautiful black dress, handmade by her mother, which just suited the garden and the atmosphere beautifully. We also used a candle to bring a little more atmosphere to the shots, which Denisa posed really beautifully with. Working with someone as talented as Denisa is an absolute joy and I was incredibly grateful for all her hard work and ideas which were sensational. I had a great time and it reminded me why I love portrait photography so much!
If you’d like your own portrait shoot here in Edinburgh, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. It’ll be great fun, and we can create some magical images in this beautiful city which will last forever.
Thanks for watching. It's just me doing the filming, so a like and a subscription really helps me out to keep filming. If you'd like to hire me as your photographer, guide, or for filming, you can contact me through my website -
https://www.davidwheater.com
Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter & Youtube channel and I’ll be back with another video from around Scotland soon :-)
Best wishes & thanks,
David
David Wheater is a Writer, Guide, Photographer & Filmmaker living and working in Edinburgh, Scotland.
