Irina Bottlang

Who Irina is

Irina Bottlang is a wedding photographer based in Schaffhausen who covers intimate weddings, elopements and relaxed, unconventional celebrations. Her home page names Schaffhausen, Winterthur, Thurgau and Zurich, the whole of Switzerland, and destination weddings abroad. What sets her apart on paper is the choice of media: "Digitale Bilder, analoge Fotos und Super 8 Filme" (digital pictures, analog photos and Super 8 films), so a couple can have part of their day on film as well as digital files.

Her about page is warm and personal. She is married, the mother of three children, and lives in the heart of Schaffhausen's old town. Photography, she writes, has been her passion for almost her whole life, and she sees it as a mix of craft, technique, art and human connection. She lists herself as a volunteer photographer for the association Herzensbilder and a winner of international photography awards, and in a short self-portrait calls herself a 90s kid and millennial born in 1992, an extroverted introvert, a series fan, vegetarian and in love with aesthetics. Her taste in pictures: "authentisch, ungestellt, modern, untraditionell, cinematic, nostalgisch und gerne auch ein wenig edgy" (authentic, unposed, modern, untraditional, cinematic, nostalgic and happily a bit edgy).

How she approaches a wedding

She writes that couples can be completely themselves with her, and that without fuss or frills she listens to their story and tells it in authentic pictures. She does not want to be an interchangeable supplier at a wedding but the couple's point of contact, their rock and a friend who looks after them and their concerns. She adds that this connection is entirely independent of culture, religion, skin color or sexual orientation, a line that will matter to many international and mixed couples.

Bookings for 2026 and 2027 are open, and she says she still has free dates but takes only a limited number of weddings so that each one gets the commitment it deserves.

Packages and prices

The services page opens by saying the exact package prices are listed because transparency matters to her, and that there are no hidden costs.

Hochzeitsreportage (wedding reportage), from CHF 2800: bookable for 6 to 12 hours, with a getting-to-know-you meeting, the option to add an engagement shoot at a reduced price, all successful pictures (about 50 to 100 per hour) in high resolution in an online gallery, a preview after a few days, private usage rights, a quality wooden box with a USB stick and 10 fine art prints, and travel anywhere in Switzerland included. She makes a tailored, non-binding offer for each wedding.

Ziviltrauungen, Intimate Weddings, Elopements, from CHF 650: bookable from 1.5 hours, all successful pictures at about 50 to 100 per hour in an online gallery, preview after a few days, private usage rights, and travel up to 25 km from Schaffhausen included, then CHF 0.90 per kilometer. The page mentions both a civil ceremony at the registry office and an elopement in the mountains.

Verlobungsshooting, Paarshooting, After Wedding, CHF 400: 1 hour at an outdoor location of the couple's choice, at least 40 pictures, preview, private usage rights, and the same 25 km travel rule.

Familyshooting, Motherhood, CHF 440: about 1 hour, up to 6 people included with a surcharge for each additional person, at least 40 pictures, same travel rule.

Homestory, Newborn, CHF 480: about 1.5 to 2.5 hours at the family's home, at least 70 pictures, travel up to 50 km from Schaffhausen included, then CHF 0.90 per kilometer.

For lifestyle reportage or personal branding she asks for an email or the contact form. Vouchers are available.

What this means for couples from abroad

The most useful detail is the travel rule. The full wedding reportage includes travel anywhere in Switzerland, so a couple marrying in the Alps or in Ticino pays no extra for her journey. The shorter civil and elopement package does charge per kilometer beyond 25 km from Schaffhausen, which is worth factoring in for a mountain elopement far from the city.

The photo count is also stated plainly: about 50 to 100 pictures per hour of coverage, so a long day produces a large gallery.

Lovestories and a review

The home page features three wedding stories: Elena and Hans, a Swiss-Danish wedding in St. Gallen; Florence and Tobias, a summer wedding in the Schupfen in Diessenhofen; and Cristina and Pascal, a civil wedding at the Stadthaus in Zurich. They show both a bicultural wedding and a city registry-office ceremony, the two situations many international couples are planning. A review from Angelina K. calls her very gifted, warm and sensitive to the moment, and says she conveyed the character of their celebration in pictures that are authentic, approachable and moving.

Booking

The contact form is designed to produce a quote in the first reply. It asks for name, email and postal address, whether the request is for a shoot, a wedding or another question, the date and location if known, whether the couple are interested in analog photos or Super 8 film, their Instagram handle and how they found her. She replies as soon as possible and asks couples to check their spam folder if they hear nothing after a few days. She can also be followed on Instagram and TikTok.

What the site leaves open

The site is in German and does not state whether she works in English, although it uses a few English taglines and offers destination weddings abroad; a couple should simply ask. The services page gives a preview after a few days but not the delivery time for the full gallery. The cost and delivery format of analog and Super 8 coverage are not on the services page; the site has a separate Film+ Super 8 page, and the contact form asks about interest in them. The discount on an engagement shoot booked with a wedding is not quantified, and there is no mention of a second photographer.

Who it suits

Irina Bottlang suits couples who want unposed, modern and slightly nostalgic pictures, with the option of analog film or Super 8, and who value a photographer who puts personal connection first. The Switzerland-wide travel in the wedding package makes her a practical choice well beyond Schaffhausen. The caveats are the German-only site, the missing delivery time for full galleries, and the need to ask separately about film costs.