Expert tips for taking photographs of Edinburgh buildings and landscapes

Ewan Barry is a professional photographer who runs photographic walking tours of Edinburgh, taking an alternative view of the cit's landmarks and unique features. Here, he shares a selection of his photographs, as well as his tips for photographing the city:

Walking is the most popular visitor activity in Edinburgh and photography goes hand in hand with this. The tour is a great way for short stay visitors to orientate themselves in the city as well as for locals to see something new in the familiar.

Beginning in the heart of the Old Town, we discuss our approach to photography, the techniques we use to capture our images and the history and significance of the locations we visit. These techniques are transferable, so it's something that keen photographers and travellers can use in other places in the future.

A DIFFERENT VIEW

 In street or travel photography it's very tempting to take wide panoramic images that include as much as possible, but often this means that the final image has too many competing elements and nothing is really clear. We encourage people to get closer, to study subjects from different angles and distances.

One approach is to shoot a series of things that are unique to a place – it can be anything or anyone, maybe local markets or cafes, but architecture is a good place to begin as most places are associated with a particular style. It's also static, allowing us time to study the subject, and find a composition that works.

It doesn't have to be the whole building either – look for the shapes that the architectural details make in light and shade – these are the elements that give a building its character. Ultimately, try to take photographs that when viewed, evoke your own memories of being there.

A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING

Technical knowledge isn’t essential on our tour – we explain why we’re taking an image in a particular way and demonstrate our way of doing things, but we aren’t here to tell people what’s right or wrong – we hope our photographs and the techniques we share will act as a starting point for people to discover and make their own photographs.

Our aim is to encourage a slightly different way of looking – to realise the photographic potential in different subjects, to explore and not just go for the obvious. Most of all, it's about discovering and enjoying Edinburgh.

To find out more about Foto Tours Edinburgh, visit the website.

(Images copyright Ewan Barry/ Foto Tours Edinburgh)