The Scottish Photography Experience
The Scottish Photography Experience
The Scottish Photography Experience
5
Sightseeing Tours • Private Tours • Photography Tours
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12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Full view
About
I provide quality photography tours around Scotland: Outlander Photography Tour; Clanlands Photography Tour; Whisky Distillery Tour; Custom / Bespoke Photography Tours of Scotland; Edinburgh Photography Tour and my new "Mary Was Here Tour" I have been a professional photographer for 44 years and published in every major newspaper and magazine in the world. I had the honour to work with the late and great David Bowie on many occasions over a 27-year timeframe. My tours are all original and established. I go the extra mile to ensure that your Scottish Photography Experience is the best!
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The Scottish Photography Experience
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
5.0
1,030 reviews
Excellent
1,003
Very good
20
Average
4
Poor
0
Terrible
3
Steve Nava
4 contributions
May 2023
Booked the Edinburgh Photography tour, wow what a great experience. His knowledge of the city, coupled with his mastery of photography made this both great cultural experience and an outstanding photography experience. He not only showed the landmarks to photograph, he explained the how's and why's of composing a compelling photograph, as well as how to leverage and understand the camera's functionality to a great photo.
Written May 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
elaine b
Key West, FL5 contributions
Nov 2022
Just finished the Outlander Tour, in November 2022.
Mr. Christie's tour showed Myself, and Family, Magical Places. With no photography experience, he was extremely helpful and patient with us all. All expectations were met, as Mr. Christie took us to places of such beauty and History, that we left with expectations of visiting again.
Being Fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Books and the Series, this tour hit ALL the check marks, as well as some special places. (Chapel where Clarie and Jamie were Wed)
I would recommend the James Christie tour, for a truly wonderful experience.
ebuckheit
Mr. Christie's tour showed Myself, and Family, Magical Places. With no photography experience, he was extremely helpful and patient with us all. All expectations were met, as Mr. Christie took us to places of such beauty and History, that we left with expectations of visiting again.
Being Fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Books and the Series, this tour hit ALL the check marks, as well as some special places. (Chapel where Clarie and Jamie were Wed)
I would recommend the James Christie tour, for a truly wonderful experience.
ebuckheit
Written November 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you, Elaine, for your fantastic review of my Outlander Tour. I am extremely pleased that all your expectations were met. It was a privilege to show you and your wonderful family around this very special country that I am lucky enough to call home.
Thank you for your patronage and support.
James
Written November 18, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Alessandro V
1 contribution
May 2022
Very enjoyable tour, although I live in Edinburgh, James has been able to show me something new and told me some interesting facts.
I joined mainly for the photography and its was great. I had the luck of being the only attendant and basically had a one to one lesson with James. He's a great tutor, very knowledgeable, and with the ability of making it simple. Thanks to James, I finally I got the grasp of manual mode and there is no way back!
I joined mainly for the photography and its was great. I had the luck of being the only attendant and basically had a one to one lesson with James. He's a great tutor, very knowledgeable, and with the ability of making it simple. Thanks to James, I finally I got the grasp of manual mode and there is no way back!
Written May 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you, Alessandro, for taking the time to write such a wonderful review! Truly appreciated!
I'm glad you feel more comfortable shooting in manual mode and that you found my instruction easy to follow!
I'm a simple guy and like to break things down to a level where there is no confusion.
Please keep in touch.
James
Written November 9, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Christine H
2 contributions
Jul 2022
The tour was all that was advertised. We saw so many fantastic Outlander sites and were able to explore Scottish history as well. I think we saw most of Scotland during the week we were there. Our hotel in Stirling also gave us the opportunity to explore Stirling Castle on our own.
As far as photography, James was very helpful with suggestions about lighting and composition. Seeing Scotland/Outlander sites was our main focus, and that was fine with James. In fact, he used his iPhone so that he could experience what we were doing.
As far as photography, James was very helpful with suggestions about lighting and composition. Seeing Scotland/Outlander sites was our main focus, and that was fine with James. In fact, he used his iPhone so that he could experience what we were doing.
Written July 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you, Chris, for a fabulous review of my Outlander Tour. I am very happy that you and your daughter, Emma, enjoyed it so much.
It was an absolute pleasure to be in your company and show you not just the Outlander sites, but the overall beauty of Scotland.
I hope you will visit again someday.
James
Written November 9, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Bruno
21 contributions
Jul 2021 • Solo
Brilliant, best tour I ever made. James gives you a short photography course within an incredible tour around Edimburgh. It changed completeley my skills. Amazing. Would go again, for sure.
Written June 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What can I say Bruno?
Thank you for the huge compliment and I truly appreciate you taking the time to write your lovely review.
James
Written November 9, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Julie G
1 contribution
Jun 2022 • Couples
Excellent Outlander Photography tour! James was professional, full of knowledge, and every day full of new and thoughtful experiences revolving around Scotland and Outlander! Can’t wait to book the next tour. James is an excellent photographer who changed the way my husband takes pictures and sees the world around him. Pictures are astounding.
Written June 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you, Julie, for your wonderful review of my Outlander Tour. I am pleased that you appreciated my innovation to each day of the tour. It was win, win for you and your husband Jeff. You got to see all the iconic Outlander locations and Jeff improved his photography significantly and you could see the improvements day by day.
I enjoyed your company immensely and hope that someday you will return to bonnie Scotland.
James
Written November 9, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
642bertha
Edinburgh, UK2 contributions
Sep 2015 • Solo
Very enjoyable photo walk made very interesting by James who knows his history of Edinburgh, he was very Helpful in showing the correct settings on our cameras, but would say it's more geared towards the history of Edinburgh rather than learning how to take good pictures on your camera, would also say a 10-15 min break for lunch would have been welcomed as its a 4 or more hour tour
Written September 25, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RogerOnTour
Province of Barcelona, Spain1 contribution
May 2014 • Solo
I thought long and hard about being the first three star review but i really can't place this any higher than average. For a 5 start photography tour I'd want a comprehensive list of items to bring other than just bring your camera. I happen to have a dslr and on the day of my walk I had a 70-200mm zoom lens. In hindsight that wasn't the best lens to take for photographing buildings that we were fairly close to but a mention or suggestion of an appropriate focal range would have helped. At the end of the day, It was my lens choice but I have done the night time tour (hosted by a rival) and a studio based lesson that regularly appears on Groupon and both of them advised on lens types. For a photography lesson i think that would have helped.
The landmarks for a resident of Edinburgh have been photographed a thousand times. Any of the local Facebook pages will show you these places shot from many a different angle and in the end you make a choice. I was already shooting manual (have been on other lessons) so apart from James telling us his preferred F stop and shutter speed I never really had a whole lot of tuition For me this tour would needed to show me something different from even the most basic of photography courses that are out there to be worthy of a higher rating.
The other thing that lost the tour marks from me was the fact it was mentioned on several occasions throughout the walk that a review on this site was something James was after. As a resident of Edinburgh I would have no real reason to go on Trip advisor to review a local attraction that I hadn't booked via Trip Advisor so I left with the impression that he was fishing for a better review than the day merited.
The landmarks for a resident of Edinburgh have been photographed a thousand times. Any of the local Facebook pages will show you these places shot from many a different angle and in the end you make a choice. I was already shooting manual (have been on other lessons) so apart from James telling us his preferred F stop and shutter speed I never really had a whole lot of tuition For me this tour would needed to show me something different from even the most basic of photography courses that are out there to be worthy of a higher rating.
The other thing that lost the tour marks from me was the fact it was mentioned on several occasions throughout the walk that a review on this site was something James was after. As a resident of Edinburgh I would have no real reason to go on Trip advisor to review a local attraction that I hadn't booked via Trip Advisor so I left with the impression that he was fishing for a better review than the day merited.
Written July 23, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This review was written by a person who was not on our tour. We clearly advise what camera equipment to bring at the time of booking - in writing. As evidenced by all the other genuine reviews for our tour, clearly this person must have been on someone else's tour and not ours.
Written September 10, 2014
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Matt P
Plymouth, UK7 contributions
May 2015 • Couples
Spent the week in Edinburgh and have a keen interest in photography so I booked this tour after a quick search on Google with the expectation to come away with a few nicely composed shots of a truly wonderful city.
The tour massively exceeded my expectations, not only did James provide us with some nice compositions, he actively and enthusiastically encouraged us to take back control of our photography from our cameras!, going fully manual on the camera was a truly enlightening experience for me and has forced me to totally rethink how I'm going to go forward with photography - not something I was expecting from a fairly inexpensive tour!
And watching the way this man just calls out aperture settings based on the light changing is worth the money in itself! ...
I was in a group of 6 with cameras from small compacts to serious DSLRs, abilities varied greatly but I felt everyone came away from this superb tour with nicely composed photographs and definitely a greater understanding of their camera.
I cannot recommend this tour highly enough, if you want some great pictures of a beautiful city, learn about its history and gain a greater understanding of your camera then book this tour - no matter what your level of knowledge, you won't be disappointed.
The tour massively exceeded my expectations, not only did James provide us with some nice compositions, he actively and enthusiastically encouraged us to take back control of our photography from our cameras!, going fully manual on the camera was a truly enlightening experience for me and has forced me to totally rethink how I'm going to go forward with photography - not something I was expecting from a fairly inexpensive tour!
And watching the way this man just calls out aperture settings based on the light changing is worth the money in itself! ...
I was in a group of 6 with cameras from small compacts to serious DSLRs, abilities varied greatly but I felt everyone came away from this superb tour with nicely composed photographs and definitely a greater understanding of their camera.
I cannot recommend this tour highly enough, if you want some great pictures of a beautiful city, learn about its history and gain a greater understanding of your camera then book this tour - no matter what your level of knowledge, you won't be disappointed.
Written May 31, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Volker
Hamburg, Germany1 contribution
May 2015 • Couples
We joined this tour today during our honeymoon in Edinburgh. This was - without a doubt - the best experience we had on our holiday. James was highly professional but you could also feel his passion. He explained every important detail very well and at no point we felt lost. Even as non native speakers we we're able to follow his instructions without problems. The weather was extremely changeable - it went from heavy rain, to sunshine, back again to rain with a lot of wind and so on and so forth. It was still an awesome experience and we had a lot of fun as well because James just made us forgot about the weather. The only point of criticism would be that it was sometimes hard to hear James while walking - mostly due to the wind and rain we had.
Now after I transferred the pictures from the tour to my laptop, I am really impressed. The compositions and settings are just perfect and I am about to follow an advice by James and order some printed versions on canvas or as a poster. Those pictures are definitely to beautiful to just get dusty on the hard drive.
As a beginner I learned a lot about handling my DSLR and I feel confident enough to never leave the manual mode again (I did not expected that at the beginning). We were 6 people on this tour - also with some more experienced participants. I had the feeling that even those more experienced ones learned a lot - especially about compositions. After each shot, James took the time to have a look at every single photo to make sure we got it as good as possible.
At the very end (after 4,5 hours), James took the time to recap everything we've learned and he added a lot of motivational stories. He really motivated me to go out and use what I've learned. Furthermore I now have a good starting point for shooting in manual mode and an idea of how a good photo composition looks like. In addition, James gave us the feeling that we are not just "strangers". He even encouraged us to friend him on Facebook, send him messages with pictures or questions and he offered to help us on any related problem or question - and based on the reviews I read about him, I am sure that he will keep his promises :-).
Over the whole workshop, he added a lot of interesting facts and stories about the sites we visited as well. It is a good feeling if you know the story about the picture :-).
What you should consider if you take the tour:
* There is only one comfort break during the tour.
* Even though time flies, it is a lot of walking involved - wear appropriate shoes.
* Bring a plastic bag to cover your camera and your knees.
* Wear waterproof clothes - weather is random :-).
* For non native speakers: no worries about language barriers - if you know the words aperture, shutter speed and white balance, you will be perfectly fine. And if not, James will took the time to paraphrase terms.
* Use public transport to get to the starting spot - it is quite hard to find a free parking spot where it is allowed to stay for more than 4 hours.
To sum up: the tour is worth every penny. James is an extremely experienced and nice tour guide. My wife did not have any camera for the course, so he just lend her one. He really cares about all participants and due to the fact that there is a maximum of 10 people, it is an very intense experience. We learned everything to get started with manual mode and learned how to compose a good picture. In addition, we got a lot of interesting historical facts and stories during the tour. Of course, we all got some professional, beautiful pictures - and the best thing about them: we took them on our own. As a bonus, we got to know a nice person whom we can ask any photography related questions - or just show him nice pictures to make him proud ;-).
It was nice to meet you James and the penny dropped.
The tour is just great and I got a lot more than expected - don't think about it, just go for it - it will be a highlight of every Edinburgh holiday visit (or even for locals), despite bad weather :-).
Now after I transferred the pictures from the tour to my laptop, I am really impressed. The compositions and settings are just perfect and I am about to follow an advice by James and order some printed versions on canvas or as a poster. Those pictures are definitely to beautiful to just get dusty on the hard drive.
As a beginner I learned a lot about handling my DSLR and I feel confident enough to never leave the manual mode again (I did not expected that at the beginning). We were 6 people on this tour - also with some more experienced participants. I had the feeling that even those more experienced ones learned a lot - especially about compositions. After each shot, James took the time to have a look at every single photo to make sure we got it as good as possible.
At the very end (after 4,5 hours), James took the time to recap everything we've learned and he added a lot of motivational stories. He really motivated me to go out and use what I've learned. Furthermore I now have a good starting point for shooting in manual mode and an idea of how a good photo composition looks like. In addition, James gave us the feeling that we are not just "strangers". He even encouraged us to friend him on Facebook, send him messages with pictures or questions and he offered to help us on any related problem or question - and based on the reviews I read about him, I am sure that he will keep his promises :-).
Over the whole workshop, he added a lot of interesting facts and stories about the sites we visited as well. It is a good feeling if you know the story about the picture :-).
What you should consider if you take the tour:
* There is only one comfort break during the tour.
* Even though time flies, it is a lot of walking involved - wear appropriate shoes.
* Bring a plastic bag to cover your camera and your knees.
* Wear waterproof clothes - weather is random :-).
* For non native speakers: no worries about language barriers - if you know the words aperture, shutter speed and white balance, you will be perfectly fine. And if not, James will took the time to paraphrase terms.
* Use public transport to get to the starting spot - it is quite hard to find a free parking spot where it is allowed to stay for more than 4 hours.
To sum up: the tour is worth every penny. James is an extremely experienced and nice tour guide. My wife did not have any camera for the course, so he just lend her one. He really cares about all participants and due to the fact that there is a maximum of 10 people, it is an very intense experience. We learned everything to get started with manual mode and learned how to compose a good picture. In addition, we got a lot of interesting historical facts and stories during the tour. Of course, we all got some professional, beautiful pictures - and the best thing about them: we took them on our own. As a bonus, we got to know a nice person whom we can ask any photography related questions - or just show him nice pictures to make him proud ;-).
It was nice to meet you James and the penny dropped.
The tour is just great and I got a lot more than expected - don't think about it, just go for it - it will be a highlight of every Edinburgh holiday visit (or even for locals), despite bad weather :-).
Written May 28, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Millie L
Newtonhill, UK7 contributions
Hi, Have you any availability on the 21st of July?
James C
Milton Bridge, UK11 contributions
Hello Millie,
Thank you for your enquiry. We do have availability for Saturday, July 21. Please use Google and search for James Christie Photography and you will see our web site listed and you can make your on-line booking there. Thank you.
lesleymcdonald2016
Glasgow, UK3 contributions
Hi, I have a friend from USA who is looking for someone to take some photographs of them whilst in Edinburgh on holiday. Can you give me a price for around a 2 hour shoot?
James C
Milton Bridge, UK11 contributions
Hello Lesley,
I can do that for £200. Google James Christie Photography and you will get my email address there.
Many thanks!
James
priya_ban
Kolkata (Calcutta), India4 contributions
Would like to visit Edinburgh for 2 nights.... What are the must sees. I will drive down from Birmingham. Thanks PRIYA ( from india)
James C
Milton Bridge, UK11 contributions
Can you please be more specific Priya? Our tours take in everything you should see in Edinburgh. If you are going to be travelling throughout Scotland, I would need to know where you are going? If you have any further questions, please email me (My email address is on our web site) and will assist to the best of my ability.
Sincerely
James Christie
Amanda H
Royal Oak, MI12 contributions
This looks like an amazing tour! My mom, sister and I will only be in Edinburgh for one day and we want to be sure we hit some of the must-sees. Do you have a general list of the sights that you visit?
James C
Milton Bridge, UK11 contributions
Thank you for your question. If you visit our website you can view all the details there, sadly TripAdvisor will not allow me to publish a hyperlink here
Suka W
Edinburgh, UK1 contribution
Hi there, I am going to this tour tomorrow, yet James still haven't responded to my email. I am just wondering where everyone is going to meet up. Thank you!
James C
Milton Bridge, UK11 contributions
Hello Suka,
Your confirmation e-mail has been sent. Check your e-mail in-box.
Look forward to meeting you tomorrow
elianabragam
Fortaleza, CE71 contributions
hi
I am very interested in this tour.
1- where to reserve?
2- how much?
3- can i rent a tripod?
edinburgh at 26 to 26 of april 2015
thanks very much
James C
Milton Bridge, UK11 contributions
Hello elianabragam,
TripAdvisor will not let me answer your questions...due to their technical ineptness. Please go back to our listing and click on the web site link.
Marvin G
Boulder, CO11 contributions
I am interested in your tour. If my wife, not a photographer, joins me, is there a charge for her?
James C
Milton Bridge, UK11 contributions
Hello,
Thank you for your enquiry.
The charge is the same for photographers and non-photographers. We have been accredited by VisitScotland, Scotland's National Tourist Board with a rating of "Excellent" because there is significant historically correct content to the tour as well as the photographic elements. Some of the reviews on TripAdvisor state that the reviewer was not a photographer but thoroughly enjoyed the tour for the historic content.
I hope this answers your question.
Sincerely
James Christie
Managing Director
Edinburgh Photography Tours Limited