Photographing Scotland: The Most Beautiful Places to Visit

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For something less strenuous, consider a detour to the Etive river waterfall that’s been gaining popularity in photography circles lately. Finally, the Kilchurn castle on the northern shore of Lake Awe (a fitting name!) is among the most picturesque in Scotland. Knowing locations is an immensely important part of any photography trip. But to take good pictures, we need to come prepared. So the next few sections are all about the gear and resources that will help you when traveling to Scotland. Recommended Camera Gear I thought this was a wonderful spot to capture the majesty of the Scottish wilderness alongside the winding road of the North Coast 500. One of the main aspects of photographing otters is fieldcraft. Once in the right position, photographing them is fairly straightforward. So, to start you off, a few things you need to know about otters: The castle can be toured on the inside (but photography is not permitted inside sadly), and whilst I would recommend taking the tour (and visiting the fascinating old-world style museum on the grounds!), in my opinion, the best shots of the castle are to be had from the grounds.

Sadly, the number of puffins in the Shetlands area has dropped. In Sumburgh Head alone, there were over 30,000 recorded in 2000 and only 570 left in 2017. But, it’s still one of the best places in Scotland to see them after Lunga. Time for another beautiful Scottish waterfall! This one is on the west coast of Scotland, just near the town of Clashnessie and Clashnessie Bay, which is where the water from the falls enters the sea. Known as “Clown Birds” and “Sea Parrots”, due to their large colourful bills, Atlantic Puffins are one of the most adorable, if not the most, adorable birds I have had the luxury of photographing. While puffins spend most of the year at sea, they return to land for a short period of time, between April and August, for nesting. Loch Ness is a long (23 miles, 37 km), deep lake near Inverness. Of course, it is well known as the home of the mythical Loch Ness Monster.

1. Cairngorms National Park

If you have time, explore the entire beach as well as the jetty for foreground interest. Late afternoon into evening can provide some warm light across the scene, and do try out long exposures with ND filters. 8. Sligachan If you was asking yourself Which part of Scotland is the most beautiful? Here you have the answer! Glencoe Next to Nelson’s monument there’s a lookout area which offers excellent views of Arthur’s Seat, the Crags and the Royal Mile. That’s one of my favourite spots for sunset, and for watching Princes Street fall into dusk, at which point long exposure shots of the traffic moving make for a great shot.

From the car park, you can see both migrating whales and also nesting puffins, depending on the time of year. The town of John O’Groats is famous in the UK for being the most northern point in the UK, although that title is actually slightly misleading – the nearby location of Dunnet Head is in fact the most northerly point on the island. Instead, John O’Groats is the town which is the furthest away from another inhabited part of the UK – Lands End in Cornwall.The time to visit the Fairy Pools will depend on the time you will spend photographing. Anyway you can reach the top in less than an hour, where is located of the most famous spots. Neist Point Lighthouse This is made up of a number of interesting features, including three lochs and the extinct volcanic peak known today as Arthur’s Seat. One of my favourite photography locations though are the Salisbury Crags – a series of 150ft high basalt column cliffs, from where you can get an excellent view of the Edinburgh Skyline. This is an excellent spot for photography, especially at sunset and sunrise. One of the main locations of this film was recorded in Scotland. From Glencoe to Loch Craignishe, passing through Glen Etive or Duart Castle. But also Scotland was used in other 007 films as The World is not Enough (1999) using the Eilean Donan Castle as the headquarters of the MI6. Otters have been a huge part of my life since 2012 when I first started studying and photographing them. At the start it was all new to me and I made a few mistakes, but now I have built up a wealth of knowledge surrounding these often hard-to-photograph mammals. Your first glimpse into this wild and amazing place will be Rannoch Moor and its many lochs. On a calm day, they reflect the landscape around them perfectly. This is a fast-main road so do take care, but there are many lay-bys to stop off in and make your way down to the waters’ edge.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park is located north of Glasgow and southwest of Cairngorms National Park. The park features Loch Lomond, surrounding mountains, and the Trossachs (a woodland glen). Definitely, it’s one of the best photography workshops and for sure a worthy Europe photo tour. During a trip to Scotland, you can enjoy great landscapes as on a trip to Iceland. Nearby at Chanonry Point there’s also a popular dolphin watching spot – if you come here when the tide is rushing in, there is a good chance you’ll see dolphins feeding on the salmon as they head upstream. If you are an adventure photographer, you have a few options for hiking and climbing the mountains of this valley. But if you prefer easy locations, besides the previous waterfalls, you also will find famous film locations in this valley. A headl a mp— you don’t want to miss those epic Scottish sunsets and sunrises, do you? If not, expect some hiking in the darkness.

I’d also recommend taking some time to explore the village of Rosemarkie, which has a lovely beach and interesting museum about Pictish standing stones. Every photographer has their own setup and style, so when it comes to gear, there’s really no right or wrong. This here is just a list of what I personally found useful while photographing Scotland. For many of the shots in this post I used my Vanguard tripods, specifically the lightweight travel focused VEO tripod range. Edinburgh is a wonderfully walkable city, but no one wants to walk around weighed down by heavy photography gear. I firmly believe that a tripod is essential for photography (see why here), so something lightweight like the VEO 2 is perfect for my needs! My choice of locations below is by no means a concise list; there’s far too many to choose from for that! This article forms a selection of highlights where I tend to return to time and time again, as they offer so much whatever the weather and season. The time of year doesn’t overly matter. Otters are around all year and can breed at any time, although the peak for new families is in autumn. For me, this is the best time to photograph them as well as in the winter.