Duke Studios was founded by photographer Dominic Ibbotson in 2004, originally opening on Duke Street in Leith. With a background in print journalism, Dom brought an editorial sensibility to wedding photography at a time when the industry was still largely traditional. From the outset, the focus was on narrative — creating wedding albums that read as complete stories rather than collections of moments.
The studio quickly became established, photographing up to 100 weddings a year at its peak and gaining a reputation for a fashion-documentary approach that combined observation with considered composition. Early adoption of storybook-style albums, alongside the use of film and direct flash, helped define Duke’s visual language during this period.
Dom studied Photography, Film and Television at Napier University before completing a Master’s degree at Edinburgh College of Art. His practice has always sat between documentary and editorial photography, with a strong interest in social and observational work.
During his graduation year, Dom was awarded a year-long commission by Yorkshire Arts, documenting artists at work. This project was exhibited at the Impressions Gallery in York and led to further collaborations, including work with Wilson Wilson Company on large-scale, site-specific theatre productions, and with Without Walls, taking projects as far afield as Chengdu, China.
Further commissions followed internationally, including work in India for the TATA Group and Taj Hotels, documenting street dogs in Delhi and Mumbai, as well as workers in the tea gardens of Kerala. This work was published in The Guardian Weekend and The Financial Times. Back in the UK, Yorkshire Forward commissioned Dom to produce Provenance, a book and exhibition documenting independent food producers and farmers.
Alongside weddings, Dom has worked on commissions for a wide range of cultural and commercial clients, including the British Memorial Garden in New York, Royal Bank of Scotland, Volvo, VisitScotland, McKinsey & Co, the National Museum of Scotland, the National Theatre of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh.
Dom is based in Pittenweem, near St Andrews, and works across Scotland, the UK and internationally. Duke Studios remains intentionally small, with Dom photographing weddings personally from first contact through to delivery.
From 2011 to 2024, Dom worked closely with photographer Robbie, an Edinburgh College of Art graduate, who now runs his own practice while continuing to collaborate with Duke on selected projects.
Dom is a preferred supplier for many of Scotland’s leading venues and takes on a limited number of destination weddings each year. His work continues to sit at the intersection of documentary observation and editorial photography.
