If you’re worried about feeling awkward during your wedding portraits, I promise you’re not alone. Almost every couple tells me that at some point. And honestly? This couple could have said the exact same thing before this session. Because standing at Dunnottar Castle on a rugged cliff above the North Sea, with waves crashing far below and sea winds constantly shifting, is not exactly a normal situation.
But that’s the thing. The best wedding portraits don’t come from knowing exactly what to do. They come from letting yourself be in the moment, trusting the connection you have with each other, and letting the environment around you tell part of your story.
Forget “What Do I Do With My Hands?”
We didn’t focus on posing during this session. There was no freezing still, no staring at the camera, and no trying to make every frame look perfect. Instead, we kept things moving. We walked up the ancient stone steps toward the castle, wandered along the cliff paths with the sea and sky stretching out around us, made silly comments about the wind, and laughed when the waves sounded too dramatic.
And those in-between moments? That’s where everything clicked. Because when you stop thinking about the camera, your photos start to feel like you.
When Everything Feels a Little Wild In the Best Way
Dunnottar Castle is perched on a high rocky headland overlooking the North Sea, and let me tell you, the environment itself becomes part of the story. The wind moved everything that day, hair, veils, even energy, and instead of trying to tame it, we leaned into it. That movement added emotion and life to every photo. The cliffs, the stone steps, the sea air, and even the rough stone paths became part of the frame in the most cinematic way.
It wasn’t staged. It was real. And that’s what gives these photos that dreamy, story-like feel rather than something stiff and posed.
The Moments You Don’t Even See Happening
Some of my favorite images from this session weren’t what I expected. They weren’t the wide shots of the two of them by the castle ruins or even the close-ups in front of the sea. They were the quiet ones in-between, like the way they leaned into each other for warmth, the small laugh when the wind tossed hair into their faces, the way they walked hand in hand along the coastal path at Stonehaven.
These are the moments that feel like memories when you look back at them. They don’t feel posed or rehearsed. They feel authentic.
You Don’t Have to Be Photogenic
This is something I want every couple to know. You don’t need to know how to pose or have some secret photogenic gene to have photos that feel natural and beautiful. You just need to trust the process and allow yourself to be present with your partner.
I’ll guide you when needed, but I’m not there to make you perform. I’m there to create space for real moments to happen, whether that’s walking up the castle steps, laughing together as the wind kicks in, or taking a few family photos with your son as the session winds down and the light softens even further.
A Family Moment to Close the Adventure
After exploring the cliffs and the castle headland, we took a few more relaxed, joyful images on the way back to Elsick House with their son. Those photos, the ones where the day feels complete because it’s about your family, not just the formal parts, are some of my favorites. That kind of closure to a portrait session feels intentional and meaningful.
Candid wedding photography isn’t about perfection. It’s about presence, being in your day, experiencing it, and letting your photos become the genuine memory of it all.
Whether we’re on a cliffside in Scotland or in an open field somewhere in Manitoba, the goal is always the same: photos that feel like your story and photos that feel like something. That’s the type of documentary wedding photography I do best.
If you want a Winnipeg wedding photographer who focuses on capturing your day naturally, emotionally, and beautifully, that is exactly what this kind of experience looks like.
