Inside the Steam Chamber: Archerfield’s Rasul Spa
Archerfield is one of those clients that keeps life interesting. Over the years I’ve photographed the golf courses, the accommodation, the restaurant, the retail spaces, and the grounds from the air. When they asked me to shoot their Rasul Mud experience at Fletcher’s Cottage Spa, I said yes, of course — and then started thinking about the practicalities.
A Rasul is a private steam chamber where couples apply mineral-rich mud to each other before the steam rises, the mud dries, and everything is rinsed away. It’s intimate, atmospheric, and absolutely not designed with a photographer, a tripod, lighting kit and a tethered laptop in mind.
The Brief
The brief was atmospheric and moody. Think candlelight and shadow rather than bright clinical spa photography. Archerfield wanted images that captured the senses without feeling staged. Given how personal the whole experience is, I shot tethered throughout so the client could approve each frame live. Laura and Gordon were brilliant — not professional models, just two people willing to give up an evening to be covered in mud while I dodged around them, rearranged lighting and props in a room filling with steam.
The Technical Challenge
Steam is unforgiving. Condensation forms on every surface including the lens. Lighting has to wrapped in plastic. Reflections off wet tiles and mirror surfaces need constant management. Getting the mud to read well on skin — showing texture and colour before it dries and cracks — requires speed and precise light placement in a space that doesn’t give you much room to move.
We worked through the full ritual sequence: arrival in robes, the mud application, the steam, the rinse, the sauna and finally the wind-down with a glass of fizz on the sofas. Each stage had its own lighting challenge and its own mood.
The final shot was in the sauna. I’d managed the steam room reasonably well — adapted the kit, worked around the humidity. What I hadn’t anticipated was that the sauna was fully fired up. I walked in with a tripod, lights, and a tethered laptop, wearing jeans. The heat hit me like a train. We got the shots in record time.
Lifestyle Photography Scotland – The Result
The finished images give Archerfield a full narrative of the experience. From anticipation to immersion to relaxation. Lifestyle photography in Scotland that works across website, social media, and print materials.
If you’re looking for lifestyle or hospitality photography in Scotland that goes beyond the standard brochure aesthetic, I’d love to talk.
See more of my Lifestyle photography and Archerfield work.
