Hi, I'm Donna, an Edinburgh family photographer
I could bore you with my whole life story or Donna could talk about herself in the third person, but she won’t do that because it’s not very friendly. She'd rather show you who she is then tell you a bit about how she can help you.
Why I photograph families like yours
WHEN ALL YOU HAVE LEFT IS PHOTOGRAPHS
I know what it's like when a parent is no longer with you and you realise you didn’t photograph her enough when you still had her.
When a sister, an uncle, a grandparent suddenly just isn't there any more, and all you have is a handful of blurry phone snaps to remember them by. I don't want this to happen to you. It's really crap.
I'M A GEEK WITH FAIRY DUST!
I have a pull to create beautiful artwork, an inner tech geek trying to get out (fancy cameras!), and an addiction to perfection (editing wizardry and fairy dust!).
I love to get that connection between you and your family, to show who you are rather than merely what you look like.
WORKING MUMS ALL NEED REMINDERS WE'RE DOING A GREAT JOB
You know those moments you're so frazzled you want to put the kids up for adoption and lie down in a darkened room and slip some vodka into your chai tea?
Looking at the beautiful family portraits hanging on your walls which remind you of the feels and connection between you all and puts a smile on your face is probably a better long term solution.
I'M NOSY!
All photographers seem to say that photography is their “passion” (ugh, kill me now!) but, much more than that, mine is people.
What photography gives me is a glimpse into their lives and a way of recording it for them.
Nosy? Thank you, that's a compliment.
As well as being an Edinburgh family photographer, I'm also:
A highlander transplanted into the Central Belt, I’m from Kingussie, up in Inverness-shire, which always has been and always will be “home”. I collect profanities in Gaelic and have often been glad that most folk around me in Edinburgh don't understand them.
The way I work
I don’t want to be treated just as a “service” by you, and I sure as heck will never treat you just as an invoice number.
I want to get to know who you are. You’re not just a "photo package" to me, and I’ll never be just about filling up my calendar with “shoots”.
Doing it my way, I get to create art, meet fascinating people, and have a rare old time doing it! And you? Well … I suspect you're looking for something special and not just ordinary, aren't you?
The important stuff!
Guns n' Roses: Appetite for Destruction - this filthy, nasty, and utterly foul 1987 piece of dynamite is my favourite album in the entire universe. They're my favourite band in the entire universe.
I LOVE GnR and I'm so glad I got to see them way back in '93. Best. Concert. Ever. Nothing can top it for me. Nothing.
Still waiting for Axl's book, though ... Obviously I've read all the others! (Perhaps more than once ...)
I grew up a bookworm, a complete fictionaholic.
We didn’t have a TV for a few years, and by the time I left school I felt like I’d travelled the world, lived in many different eras, and was convinced that had I been Cathy, I could have made Heathcliff into Perfect Husband Material.
I played the pipes in competing pipe bands for a long time and even joined the Army Reserves as a piper. (Yep, that's me in the middle row.)
I’d tell you more, but what happens in the beer tent stays in the beer tent.
My favourite TV show EVER was “The Thick of It”.
If you’ve never heard of Malcolm Tucker, for pity’s sake don’t Google him if you’re at all faint-hearted.
I don't like chocolate very much. Some people are deeply suspicious of this.
However, I'd be quite happy to murder and pillage for Mackies honeycomb.
My favourite drink is 18 year old Glenmorangie.
I keep trying other types of whisky in the hope they'll match up, but sadly they don't.
The quest continues.
* If you really, truly, know what I mean by "where's Izzy?" when we look at that GnR picture, then ... you are my new best friend.
Also me ...
(I promise, my head does tilt the other way too!)
Even if you love my "important stuff" above too, I may still not be the right photographer for you!
You have to book the right photographer for your needs. Are you and I a good fit?
Let's talk if ...
Actually, let's not if ...
Get in touch
Whether you'd love to see a large framed signature piece on your wall or a multi-print storyboard or a beautifully presented collection of prints, please get in touch and we can talk through the ideas of what you'd like.