Edinburgh Through the Lens: Photography Workshop

A decorative sign for New College mounted on a brick building wall, featuring a tree with leaves and an open book emblem, and the year 1846 at the bottom.
A red and black informational sign with golden text. The top part shows a decorative wheel symbol with the year 1981 on either side. The main text reads 'Water of Leith Walkway' and 'Deanhaugh Path'. Additional text mentions the sign being opened on 18th February 1981 by Rt Hon Tom Morgan, Lord Provost, and indicates the pathway leads to Stockbridge with an arrow.
Close-up of a black and yellow street sign reading "Royal Mile" mounted on a textured, dark stone wall.

Most people photograph Edinburgh from the same three spots, in the middle of the day, and go home with the same pictures as everyone else. This workshop exists to fix that. It begins seated, indoors, with a short briefing: you'll see Jonathan's own photographs of the exact locations you're about to shoot, and learn what makes each one work, where to stand, how to read the light, and what to do when it isn't cooperating.

Then you take what you've learned onto the street. The locations are chosen for what they give a camera rather than what a guidebook says: the curve of Victoria Street from above, the castle framed through the Vennel, the painted mews cottages of Circus Lane, and viewpoints most visitors walk straight past.

At every stop, you get individual, hands-on coaching on a phone, a mirrorless, a DSLR; it genuinely doesn't matter, so you leave each location with a photograph you couldn't have taken an hour earlier, and the understanding of why it works.

Experience Details

Workshop Duration

3 hours inc briefing

Pricing

£130.00

Monday, Wednesday and Saturday the start time will vary depending on the time of year to maximise the best light.

Avaiability

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Contact Us

    • Starting location: The Melting Pot, Calton Street Edinburgh

      Victoria Street — Photo stop (20 minutes)

      The Vennel viewpoint — Photo stop (15 minutes)

      Grassmarket — Photo stop, pass by (15 minutes)

      Greyfriars Kirkyard — Photo stop (15 minutes)

      The Mound & New Town vistas — Photo stop, walk (20 minutes)

      Circus Lane, Stockbridge — Photo stop (20 minutes)

      Finish at: Circus Lane / St Stephen Street, Stockbridge

  • The tour meeting point is:

    The Melting Pot,

    15 Calton Rd, Edinburgh EH8 8DL

    The tour ends at Circus Lane / St Stephen Street, Stockbridge. There are some fantastic local pubs and bars to reward you following your efforts and see each other’s work.

  • Souvenir photo:

    Taken at a fixed point on the route with Edinburgh Castle in the background, and sent to you by email within 24 hours of your tour.

    Comfort stop:

    The optional refreshment break has toilet facilities available. Most places on the route accept card only — worth carrying a little cash as backup, but not essential.

    Running late?

    We can hold a departure for up to 10 minutes. After that, the tour goes ahead without you, so please allow plenty of time to reach the meeting point.

    Group photos:

    Happy to take a photo of your group at any point on the tour — just ask.

    Hearing your guide:

    No microphones or headsets are used. With a maximum of six guests, everyone stays close enough to hear comfortably throughout.

    Booking times:

    All times shown are UK local time.

    Language:

    The tour is conducted in English.

The Royal British Hotel building, a distinctive modern structure with curved, layered metal architecture, illuminated against a deep blue evening sky.

Capture the images & stories that helped build the city…

Includes

  • 30-minute seated briefing with on-screen examples

  • 2.5-hour guided photography walk

  • Individual coaching at every location

  • A digital location guide sent after the tour, with times, positions and settings for every stop

  • Local recommendations

Food & Drink

Food and drink aren't included in the tour price, though we'd always recommend bringing water with you. There's an optional refreshment and comfort break along the way, anything you buy there is at your own cost.

Sightseeing & Culture

The walk takes you from a seated briefing through some of Edinburgh's most photogenic corners: the sweeping curve of Victoria Street, the Vennel viewpoint with the castle framed above the rooftops, the Grassmarket, Greyfriars Kirkyard, the sightlines from the Mound across to the New Town, and finishing among the painted mews cottages of Circus Lane in Stockbridge. Every stop is chosen for what it gives a photograph, not just what it says in a guidebook, and the order can shift on the day to follow the best available light.

Who is this for?

This is built for beginners. If you're already confident with your camera and really just want a list of great locations and the best time to shoot them, you probably don't need a workshop; you need a map, and you can find most of what you need in our Storyled Photography Guide instead.

This walk is for people who want to actually get better at taking photographs, whatever they're shooting on, and who'd rather learn something than just be pointed at a view.

A man with gray hair and a beard is taking a photograph on a cobblestone street lined with old stone buildings, using a Canon camera with a large telephoto lens.
A group of five adults gathered outdoors on a cobblestone street, looking at a Canon camera with one man in the center showing them something on the camera.

Your Guide

■

Jonathan Ellenor

Jonathan leads every StoryLed tour personally. He's lived in Edinburgh for twelve years, in Stockbridge, and still adds new stops to his routes on a fairly regular basis — if he finds something worth showing you, it goes in.

His background is in marketing rather than academic history, which shapes how he guides more than you'd expect. He's less interested in reciting dates than in finding the shape of a good story — a hook, a build, a payoff — and he'll spend the first part of any tour working out what you're actually curious about before deciding where to take you. Ask him about the Reformation or ask him about Harry Potter; he's equally happy either way.

A few things worth knowing about Jonathan:

  • His favourite spot in the city is Inverleith Park, just up the road from home the view back across to the castle and skyline from there is one he never quite gets used to.

  • His go-to restaurant is Little Capo in the New Town, and he's fairly evangelical about it if you ask.

  • Experienced music and urban photographer, with work exhibited in Canada and the UK

  • Extensive background coaching photography, from complete beginners to more confident shooters

  • Shoots on both Canon and mobile, so the advice is genuinely suited to whatever you bring

  • Local knowledge built over years of shooting Edinburgh specifically, not just visiting it

  • Favourite spot in the city: the view from the W Hotel and the Calton Hill viewpoints, two of the best vantage points Edinburgh has to offer

  • Jonathan is fully insured, first aid trained, and currently working toward formal tourist guide accreditation.

Every photograph on this site was taken by Jonathan…..

The images throughout this website, and the examples below, are all his own work — so what you see here is a genuine sample of what you'll come away with, not stock photography standing in for the real thing.

A man with dark hair and a beard, dressed in a suit, playing a guitar on stage with a microphone in front of him, black background.
Performer wearing bold makeup and a large headpiece, holding a microphone and pointing, on stage with blue lighting.
Black and white photo of a male musician singing into a microphone, with wet hair and wearing a dark jacket.
Black and white photo of a man singing into a microphone on stage, with stage lights in the background.
A man with short hair, a beard, and wearing dark sunglasses, smiling, in black and white. He is looking at the camera with outstretched arm holding a phone, and a background of trees.
A man in a gray jacket and backpack standing on a hill, gesturing towards the Edinburgh skyline at sunset, with the Dugald Stewart Monument and Big Ben visible in the background. 
[ FAQ ]

Have a question?

  • No equipment provided or required. Phones, compact cameras, mirrorless and DSLR all work equally well; your guide adapts coaching to whatever you're shooting on.

  • Before any walking starts, the group sits down together for a short, seated briefing where your guide talks through real photographs he's taken at the exact locations you're about to visit. It's there so you know what you're aiming for before you take a single shot, rather than working it out stop by stop. Expect it to cover where to stand, what to look for, and how the light behaves differently at each spot.

  • Yes! That's a proper visit, not just a pass-by, so there's time to look around.

  • The tour runs regardless of weather. This is Edinburgh! Layer up and we'll get on with it!

  • Departure times shift with the seasons so the walk lines up with the best available light rather than a fixed slot that's convenient regardless of what the sky is doing. That means times in midsummer look quite different from times in November, and it's worth checking the specific date you're booking rather than assuming a set time applies year round.

  • No, but there's an optional refreshment and comfort break along the way if you'd like one. Food and drink aren't included in the tour price, though we'd recommend bringing water.

  • Six guests. It's a genuine cap, not a "maximum" that flexes upward on a busy day.

  • Radisson Blu Hotel, Edinburgh City Centre:

    The Royal Mile, 80 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1TH

  • Yes! Free cancellation up to 72 hours before the tour for a full refund.

  • The tour runs in English. If you need another language, let us know before booking and we'll see what we can arrange.

  • No, tipping isn't included and isn't expected, but it's always appreciated if you've enjoyed the tour.

  • A digital guide is sent to you by email once the tour ends, summarising every location on the route with the best position and settings for each one. It's built so you can go back on your own later in the trip and shoot the same spots again, now that you know exactly what you're looking for.