Engagement Photos – Why You Should Arrange A Photo Session Before Your Wedding Day!

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“Engagement photos capture the essence of your love story, providing cherished memories before your wedding day. It fosters a connection between you and your photographer, easing any camera shyness. The photos serve as beautiful mementoes and can be used to enhance wedding invitations and save-the-date cards. It’s an opportunity to showcase personalities and create timeless, romantic photos, the perfect precursor to creating the very best relaxed wedding photography“.

Jonathon Fowler at Love Wedding Photos And Film

Award-winning candid wedding photographer. Multiple finalists and winner at the Scottish Wedding Awards and Scottish Confetti Wedding Awards for Photographer Of The YearCreative Photographer Of The Year and Best Videographer.

Are you recently engaged and researching engagement & wedding photography in Edinburgh?

Edinburgh city centre night-time pre-wedding photoshoot Andrew and Nicola: A couple stands on a sidewalk at night with a blurred double-decker bus passing by. In the background, a castle is illuminated in purple light.

What are engagement photos?

Engagement photography is an incredible investment that you can treasure for years to come.

But these engagement photos only tell part of your love story.

A spectacular engagement photoshoot will vividly remind you of the wonderful times that preceded the big day and will serve as an ‘opening chapter’ to the rest of your adventure.

Engagement photos, sometimes called an ‘e-shoot’, ‘lifestyle photos’, ‘pre-wedding photos’, or ‘engagement photography session’, are some of our favourite photo sessions with couples.

Most couples haven’t had their photos taken in a professional studio, which can seem daunting to the uninitiated.

Rather than waiting until your big day, a pre-wedding photoshoot lets us meet for an hour or two for a relaxed, informal photo session as a warm-up for the main event.

As photographers based in Edinburgh, we meet our couples in or around Edinburgh and the Lothians to shoot engagement photos.

Phillip and Rick at Calton Hill: Two men stand side by side on a grassy hill, with a blurred cityscape and historic buildings in the background. One wears a green jacket, and the other wears a black jacket. They both smile at the camera.
Engagement photos session at Arthur's Seat - Jon and Mandy: Two people stand on a rocky outcrop overlooking a vast grassy landscape with a distant city skyline under a cloudy sky.

We’ve covered pre-wedding photo sessions at almost every location you can imagine.

Leafy parks and gardens, castles, woodland trails and beaches.

We’re fortunate in the Edinburgh area to have a wide and varied range of locations and backdrops on our doorstep!

During our engagement photography shoot, we’ll relax and show you how to get the best shots on your wedding day.

This means that on your big day, we’ll spend our limited time together shooting photos that we know will look fantastic.

The engagement photo session is also an excellent opportunity to get to know each other better.

We guarantee you’ll leave our brief time together feeling relaxed about the photo aspect of your big day.

As a bonus, you’ll receive all your pre-wedding photos from our shoot via the same download link as your wedding photos.

An excellent way to look back on the days leading up to the best day of your life!

Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh Pre-wedding photoshoot: Two men, one sitting and the other lying in his lap, pose under a large tree in a park. The scene is surrounded by fallen leaves with trees in the background. The photo is in black and white.
A couple sitting closely by a tree, smiling at each other in a lush green park.

How much are engagement photos?

Why not take advantage of our brilliant engagement photography special offer?

The engagement photo session costs just £350.

The photo session is available to couples getting married anywhere in Scotland (travel expenses may apply for shoots outside of Edinburgh and the Lothians; ask for details).

Ideally, our engagement photoshoot will take place approximately 2 months before your wedding day, so what we learn stays fresh in our memories by the time your big day arrives!

Your engagement photography shoot is fun, and you receive all your gorgeous photos in colour and black-and-white.

A couple embracing in a field with a cloudy sky above and a hill in the background.

The Perfect Stage: Choosing Your Edinburgh Backdrop

An engagement session is as much about the atmosphere as it is about your connection. Edinburgh is a magnificent visual playground, offering a diverse range of settings that serve as storytellers in their own right.

From the weathered, medieval charm of the Old Town’s hidden closes to the panoramic, windswept heights of the city’s volcanic hills, the right environment can transform a simple portrait into a cinematic memory.

To help you find a setting that aligns with your personal style—whether that’s the quiet, fairytale serenity of Dean Village or the vibrant, historic pulse of the Royal Mile—we have curated a comprehensive guide to Edinburgh’s best photo locations.

Matching your session to a location that resonates with your journey ensures a gallery that feels both deeply personal and visually breathtaking.

Engagement Photos Portfolio

The Essential Engagement Shoot Survival Kit

To ensure your session is as relaxed as possible (and that you look your absolute best), we recommend considering bringing these few items to our photoshoot:

  • Comfortable Walking Shoes: Edinburgh’s cobbles and hills are beautiful but brutal. Bring flats or trainers for moving between locations, and swap into your “photo shoes” once we arrive at the spot.
  • A Portable Lint Roller: Especially if you are wearing dark wool coats or blazers. High-resolution cameras pick up every stray thread and pet hair!
  • Touch-up Kit: A small mirror, hairbrush, and translucent powder or lip balm. The Scottish wind is famous for its “wild” hair styling, so a quick tidy-up between shots is often needed.
  • A Stylish Coat or Wrap: Even in summer, a sudden coastal breeze can be chilly. A neutral trench coat or a wool pashmina can actually become a great secondary “look” for your photos while keeping you warm.
  • Water and a Light Snack: Being a “model” for an hour or two is surprisingly thirsty work. Keeping your energy up ensures those smiles stay genuine right until the last frame.
  • Your Four-Legged Friend: If you have a dog, they are always welcome. Just bring some treats!

Engagement Photographer 5-Star Reviews

Choose us to shoot your engagement photos, and we’ll provide outstanding pictures and award-winning service. But don’t just take our word for it:

  • wedding photographer at Dundas Castle: a couple wearing wedding attire gazes into each other's eyes and smiles, standing outdoors with a blurred natural background. The man wears a gray suit and green tie; the woman wears a white fur shoulder wrap.

    We had a great time and felt so comfortable!

    Jonathon and Claire are the loveliest couple… from our very first communication, they made us feel special and were so interested in who we are as people! They tailored everything just for us, and had they not radiated such beauty and kindness, we wouldn’t have even known they were there… and for two people like us who HATE getting photos taken, we had a great time and felt so comfortable!
    We got married on 31st December, and they gave up their own celebrations with their families to help us capture ours…
    We truly hit the jackpot, and wouldn’t ever trust anyone else to capture our special celebrations and moments!
    Please don’t pass up the opportunity on having these two look after your special day! Very trustworthy and fantastic value for money.
    Zoe and Billy
  • A joyful couple in wedding attire sitting on a staircase, the man in a kilt and the woman in a white dress, both laughing.

    We absolutely love our wedding pictures

    Jonathon and Claire – we cannot thank you both enough for being the best – from start to finish, it has been a dream to work with you both! If you are reading this and considering booking – DO IT!!
    Thank you both SO MUCH for everything, we absolutely love our wedding pictures and how beautifully you have captured our day and the memories we’ll have forever – we are still so blown away by how perfectly everything turned out and on an absolute high!
    We also wanted to say how grateful we are to have had you both at our wedding. You were just such a joy to be around and put us both at ease.
    You got us and the vibe of the day so perfectly, and our family and friends have also said how brilliant you both were! Thank you so much!!! Helen & Daniel xxx
    Helen and Daniel

Engagement Photos: Your Most Common Questions Answered

What should we wear for our engagement photos to ensure they look timeless?

We recommend opting for a “coordinated but not matching” aesthetic. Neutral tones, subtle textures, and layers work beautifully against the historic stone and greenery found in Edinburgh’s most Instagrammable locations. Avoid heavy logos or distracting patterns; instead, choose outfits that reflect your personal style while keeping the focus on your natural chemistry. Many of our couples choose one “dressy” outfit and one more relaxed look to get a diverse range of images in their gallery.

How do engagement photos help us feel more comfortable on our wedding day?

Think of an engagement session as a relaxed “dress rehearsal” for your wedding portraits. It’s the perfect opportunity to build a rapport with your creative team and lose any “camera nerves” in a low-pressure environment. By the time you reach your venue—whether it’s a grand estate like Dundas Castle or an intimate spot like Dalhousie Castle—you’ll already know how we work, making your wedding day portraits feel effortless and authentic.

Can we have “behind-the-scenes” content for social media during our engagement shoot?

Absolutely. We know how exciting it is to share your “Save the Date” news with friends and family. To help you document your experience instantly, we offer a specialised wedding content creator in Edinburgh service. Alongside your professional portraits, we can provide high-quality vertical video and raw behind-the-scenes footage delivered within 24 hours, perfect for creating romantic TikToks or Instagram Reels of your session.

When is the best time of day to schedule an engagement session in Scotland?

The “Golden Hour”—the hour just before sunset—is a great time for engagement photography. This period offers a soft, flattering light that adds a romantic, cinematic glow to your photos. Because the Scottish weather can be temperamental, we always stay flexible with our schedule to ensure we catch the best possible conditions. You can see examples of how this light transforms a shoot in our online portfolio.

Can we use our engagement photos for “Save the Date” cards and wedding websites?

Yes, this is one of the most popular uses for these images! We provide your high-resolution gallery with full printing rights, making it easy to design bespoke stationery or update your wedding website. If you’re looking for a package that covers both your pre-wedding shoot and the big day itself, you can view our full list of photography and film prices to find the right fit for your celebration.

Let’s Create Beautiful Photos Together

We are Claire and Jonathon, an engagement photographer couple with over 700 weddings of experience. If you love our natural, joyful style, we would be honoured to hear your plans.

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