ISLE OF SKYE - LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE
Just wow! The Isle of Skye has so many iconic locations to photograph, it was impossible to get around them all in the few days that we were there.
None the less, we did our best to get to some of the more popular photo spots and take some photos.
I definately need to go back in order to explore some of the more remote locations, and try and find some more unique shots.
Where to stay?
We decided to bunk up in a hostel for a few nights. as we had taken the car up we had the freedom to explore when and where we wanted to.
We stayed at The Old Inn & Waterfront Bunkhouse in Carbost. It wasn’t difficult to get to, not far from the main road that runs around the Isle of Skye. The bunkhouse was basic and cheap, plenty enough just to rest your head between photo shoots. The adjacent pub was excellent, great beer food and live music with an awesome view across Loch Harport.
Also, being relatively central, it made a great base to explore the rest of the island from.
Best places to photograph on the Isle Of Skye?
Neist Point
The Old Man of Storr
The Quiraing
Trotternish Ridge
Fairy Pools
Elgol
Cuiling Mountains
Sligachan
NEIST POINT
One of the BEST sunset locations on the whole of the British Isles (in my opinion of course!!). The spit of land, with the lighthouse and wild sea (if it was windy it could have been wild…) is the perfect place to watch the sun go down below the horizon and the sky light up in hues of magenta and orange.
ANCIENT LANDSLIDE - Old Man Of Storr, Trotternish Ridge and The Quiraing
A lot of the incredible and unique landscape formations on the Isle of Skye have been made by ancient landslides. The above photo you can just about see the needle at the Quiraing poking through the low cloud. The landslide would have happened from left to right as you look at the photo and accounts for the great scenery from the Quiaring at the most northenly point, down the Trotternish Ridge to the to Old Man of Storr at the southern point just above Portree.
For all these locations, sunrise is the best time of day as the ridge faces east and will catch the morning sun, like this photo at dawnbreak taken at the Old Man of Storr.
BEST SEASCAPE AT ELGOL
One of the best seascape locations on the Isle Of Skye resides in the sleepy fishing village of Elgol. From the village, head to the beach and follow the cliffline north until you find yourself presented with the Cuillin Hills on the far shore across the water. Being on the west coast, I would recommend going here for sunset.
Also, Get your ND filters out, I only had a 10 stop at the time, which proved a little too much when the light dropped off, so maybe a 6 or 3 stop filter would have been better. Wide angle’s will help you bring in some foreground from the beach into your shot.
FAIRY POOLS
Be careful with this location, it’s very popular not just with photographers but a lot of tourists as well with the large car park adjacent to it. You may need to battle through some wild swimmers and dogs taking a dip to cool off as you make your way up the valley to the photo location. It’s about a 20-30 minute walk up hill to get there, but once there you will find a section of the river that has low waterfalls across it with the pyramid shaped mountain in the background, this is the famous location to photograph.
Clearly there hadn’t been much rain in recent days and the waterflow was quite low :( none the less it wasn’t bone dry but if you have the time, try and go after a coupld of days of good rain for the best waterfalls.
SLIGACHAN
Morning or Evening here’s good. The most famous shot here is of the old bridge in Sligachan. However there is a great opportunity for a lone house shot if you have a drone which is located just up the road. Check out the video here to see a bit more about this location.
What gear should I take?
You can do with probably every focal length available to you for a trip to the Isle of Skye. For the waterfalls and seascapes I would recommend a wide lens, 14/20mm on a full frame. For most of the other landcapes a 24-70mm should suffice. However, there are some I would also take my 100-400.
Drone’s here can take some EPIC b-roll for your videos, or instagram reels/tiktoks if you’re that way inclined. The changable weather on the island can make for some moody or warm shots but beware of coastal winds!
