YouTube videos for an award-winning photographer
in remote Scotland
Capturing the Tranquility and Adventure of Margaret Soraya’s Photography and Wild Swimming Experiences
The Brief
Capturing the Tranquility and Adventure of Margaret Soraya’s Photography and Wild Swimming Experiences
Before her recent shift to art and writing retreats, Margaret Soraya offered unique photography and wild swimming retreats in the remote Scottish Highlands. The goal of this project was to capture the essence of these retreats, highlighting the blend of creative exploration and natural beauty.
Quiet Landscapes, led by award-winning photographer Margaret Soraya, needed a professional videographer to capture the essence of her mindful photography retreats in the Scottish highlands and islands. The aim was to produce YouTube and social media videos that highlighted both the serene environment and the meditative, creative experiences of her guests.
Margaret’s retreats often sold out months in advance, and she sought visuals that conveyed her philosophy of mindfulness and creativity, as well as the breathtaking beauty of the wild Scottish coastline.
YouTube videos for full retreats
Short clips for Instagram and Facebook
Stunning landscape shots that reflected the peaceful and untamed surroundings
Behind-the-scenes footage of Margaret teaching
The Approach
To meet the unique needs of Quiet Landscapes, flexibility was key, given the unpredictable weather and ever-changing coastal conditions. Margaret often selected locations on the day, based on the tides and light quality, which required a spontaneous, fly-on-the-wall style of filming.
01.
CONSULTATION
Before the retreats, we discussed a rough shot list and the types of content she wanted to share, including talking-head videos and footage of guests interacting with nature. Our goal was to keep the content authentic, so I adopted a low-interference approach, allowing Margaret and her clients to remain immersed in their creative process.
02.
PRE-PRODUCTION
Planning was critical, but we kept gear light for rugged terrain, packing sturdy tripods and waterproof clothing for harsh conditions. Capturing audio in windy, coastal settings was challenging, so we used lav mics and recorders to ensure high-quality sound.
03.
PRODUCTION
We shot footage both before and during the retreats, capturing Margaret’s teaching style and the guests’ experiences as they connected with the landscape. Highlights included dramatic time-lapse sequences of waves, wild swimming, and photographers braving Scotland’s striking weather for the perfect shot.
04.
POST-PRODUCTION
After capturing hours of footage, I edited the material into longer YouTube videos and short clips for social media, carefully syncing audio and incorporating Margaret’s branding throughout. Idelivered polished, visually engaging videos that Margaret could share across platforms, helping her grow her online presence.
The Outcome
The video content successfully showcased the unique blend of creative learning and outdoor adventure that Margaret’s retreats are known for.
The tranquil visuals of the Scottish Highlands paired with the energetic wild swimming clips created an engaging narrative that attracted outdoor enthusiasts and photographers alike.
The videos were widely shared across Margaret’s digital channels, helping her to grow interest in her retreats. These materials can also continue to be repurposed to promote future events, highlighting the benefits of reconnecting with nature through creative and physical exploration
Featured videos
Shorts for Social Media: Orkney
After producing the main video for Margaret Soraya, I then reviewed all the remaining footage, in order to pull out as many spin-offs and shorts as possible, as well as changing the music, resizing them and adding branding covers, title pages and end pages as required. The footage was edited from both camera and iPhone footage, and also included photographs taken by some of the participants on the retreats.
I followed the workshop participants as they took their shots, for short ‘behind-the-scenes’ social media videos, which I then combined with their final photos. I created a customised cover for these videos so they would look consistent with Margaret’s content across her website.
Sunrise over Stromness
A collaborative short with photographer Colin Smith for Instagram
Peaceful water ripples in Stromness
A collaborative short with photographer Jannette Beveridge
Spin-off meditation video for Joey Hulin, Orkney
‘Finding our centre’, written and read by Joey Hulin.
Birsay Cliffs
A collaborative short with photographer Jeremy Lintott
Murmuration over Stromness
Sometimes you just have to seize the moment for social media videos, there was a gorgeous pink sunset sky and out of nowhere a murmuration of starlings appeared. As they say, the best phone is the one you’ve got with you, so I shot this handheld using my iPhone. I love it… I’m mesmerised each time I watch it…
Dawn sailing from Stromness: the Northlink ferry
This took some preparation, waiting for the right lighting conditions, setting up the night before, and getting up in the pitch dark before the ferry set off at dawn to ensure the exposure and focus was correctly set up to capture the ferry passing by this hotel window.