Book a Couples Photoshoot
in the Westman Islands

Most couples book 1-2 hours, which covers one location properly — Reykjavik's old town, or a single waterfall or beach. Iceland's distances are real, though: the south coast highlights are 2-3 hours from Reykjavik, so many couples book a half-day session that pairs the drive with two or three stops. Your photographer builds the timing around light and weather, not the clock — in winter that may mean a midday shoot in hours-long golden light, in summer an evening session that ends near midnight.

Layers that photograph well: wool or knit textures, long coats that move in the wind, boots you can walk on wet basalt in. Earth tones, deep greens, rust and cream look stunning against black sand and moss. A flowing dress works — bring a warm layer for between shots and thermal leggings underneath; nobody sees them. Avoid thin heels, big logos and neon. The wind is part of the picture in Iceland: hair will move, coats will billow, and honestly, those are usually the best frames.

Yes — from roughly September to April, on clear nights with aurora activity. Be honest with yourselves about the odds: the lights are a natural phenomenon and no photographer can guarantee them on a given evening. The approach that works is flexibility — book a session with a weather window of two or three nights, and your photographer watches the forecast and calls the moment. When it comes together, the result is unlike anything else: the two of you under a green sky, lit softly against the dark. Many couples pair an aurora attempt with a daytime session so the trip's photos are guaranteed either way.

Each photographer sets their own price for a photoshoot in the Westman Islands: every package on their profile shows an all-inclusive price, and nothing is added at checkout. Packages vary by duration and the number of edited photos — a short session covers the harbour and the cliffs above it, a longer one loops the island for Eldfell's red slopes, Herjólfsdalur and the puffin cliffs. Ferry or flight tickets, yours and the photographer's, are booked separately.

The Herjólfur ferry sails from Landeyjahöfn on the south coast and takes about thirty-five minutes. When weather or drifting sand closes that harbour — which happens, especially in winter — sailings are rerouted to Þorlákshöfn and the crossing becomes two and a half to three hours. Check the sailing on the day, book vehicle space well ahead in summer, and leave slack in the schedule. There is also a short flight from Reykjavík, and most photographers will meet you at the harbour or the airfield.

Roughly from May to mid-August, and the colony here is the largest in the world — the cliffs at Stórhöfði and along the southern coast fill with birds, and evenings are the busiest hours. Keep to the marked viewpoints, stay back from the burrows and the cliff edges, and use a long lens rather than closing in: the nesting ground is fragile and the drops are sheer. By late August the birds are gone and the island turns to storm light and empty roads.