Morocco Photography Tips

Intricate zellige tilework, carved cedar ceilings, and stucco arabesques fill every surface of this 19th-century palace. The central courtyard with its marble fountain reflects morning light across polychrome mosaics. Side rooms with stained glass windows cast colored light patterns across tiled floors that shift throughout the morning.

Pro Tip: Arrive at opening to shoot the courtyards without crowds. A macro lens reveals individual tile patterns that make compelling abstract compositions.

The cobalt blue pavilion designed by Jacques Majorelle in 1923, later restored by Yves Saint Laurent, pops against vivid green cacti and tropical foliage. The signature Majorelle Blue is a specially mixed shade that photographs with remarkable saturation in direct sunlight. Bougainvillea and water features add layers of color.

Pro Tip: Use a polarizing filter to deepen the blue. Weekday mornings have the smallest crowds. The YSL memorial garden offers softer, reflected light.

The legendary square transforms hourly. Afternoon brings snake charmers, henna artists, and storytellers. As the sun sets, smoke from dozens of food stalls creates atmospheric layers of light. Lanterns and fluorescent tubes produce a chaotic, cinematic glow. The rooftop cafes ringing the square provide elevated vantage points over the organized chaos.

Pro Tip: Secure a rooftop table at Cafe de France or Cafe Glacier 30 minutes before sunset. Shoot with a fast aperture after dark for the atmospheric food stall smoke.

Medieval stone vats filled with red, yellow, white, saffron, and brown natural dyes create a vivid mosaic viewed from surrounding terraces. Workers dye and treat leather using techniques unchanged since the 11th century. The circular vats form geometric patterns best captured from the leather shops on upper floors.

Pro Tip: Spring produces the most vibrant dye colors. Leather shop owners offer free terrace access and will hand you a mint sprig for the smell. A telephoto lens compresses the circular vat patterns beautifully.

The ornate blue-tiled gate is the main entrance to the Fes el-Bali medina. Its horseshoe arch frames the minaret of the Bou Inania madrasa behind it, creating a natural layered composition. The exterior is clad in blue ceramic (representing Fes) while the interior uses green (representing Islam), offering two distinct color palettes.

Pro Tip: The best framing shot positions the Bou Inania minaret centered through the archway. Morning light illuminates the blue exterior while afternoon light catches the green interior.

The world largest car-free urban area is a labyrinth of nine thousand alleys where shafts of light cut through gaps between buildings. Donkeys carry goods past woodworkers, metalworkers, and dyers. Overhead lattice screens create patterned shadows on whitewashed walls. Every turn reveals a doorway, a fountain, or a courtyard worth photographing.

Pro Tip: The dye souk and coppersmiths quarter are the most visually rich areas. Early morning provides dramatic shafts of directional light through the narrow alley openings.

An entire medina painted in every shade of blue, from powder to cobalt to cerulean. Narrow alleys with potted plants against blue walls, cats lounging on blue steps, and weathered wooden doors create endless compositions. The paint is refreshed every spring, and each neighborhood has its own characteristic blue shade.

Pro Tip: The side streets off Place Outa el-Hammam have the most saturated blues. Arrive at dawn before day-trippers from Fes fill the alleys. A slightly cool white balance around 5000K enhances the blue tones without making them look artificial.

Orange dunes reaching 150 meters catch the first light while the valleys between them remain in deep blue shadow. The interplay creates abstract compositions of warm and cool tones. Sand ripples in the foreground provide leading lines toward distant dune ridges. Camel caravans silhouetted on ridge lines are the iconic Sahara shot.

Pro Tip: Climb the dunes facing east the night before to identify your sunrise composition. The eastern faces catch light first, creating a sharp light-shadow boundary that moves across the dunes over twenty minutes.

Zero light pollution in the deep Sahara makes Erg Chebbi one of the best astrophotography locations in North Africa. The Milky Way arcs clearly overhead from April through October. Desert camps and lone trees make compelling foreground subjects against star-filled skies. Shooting star trails with a single dune silhouette produces striking images.

Pro Tip: Use a fast wide-angle lens at f/2.8, ISO 3200-6400, and 20-25 second exposures. Cold desert nights drain batteries rapidly so keep spares in a warm pocket close to your body.

The 18th-century Portuguese ramparts line the Atlantic coast with a row of bronze cannons pointing seaward. Waves crash against the fortifications below while seagulls wheel overhead. The elevated walkway provides sweeping views over the medina rooftops in one direction and the endless Atlantic in the other.

Pro Tip: The rampart walkway faces west, making it ideal for sunset shots. The cannons provide strong foreground elements against dramatic cloud formations over the ocean.

Vivid blue wooden boats fill the harbor while fishermen mend nets, sort the catch, and auction fish in the early morning light. The boats are painted a specific shade of blue unique to Essaouira. Seagulls create dynamic elements against the soft morning sky. The fish auction hall is a sensory overload of activity and color.

Pro Tip: The blue boats photograph best in warm morning sidelight. Use a telephoto to compress the rows of boats into a dense, colorful pattern. The fishermen are accustomed to photographers and generally do not mind being photographed during their work.

This UNESCO World Heritage kasbah has appeared in Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and dozens of other films. Ochre mud-brick towers rise in tiers against the Atlas Mountains backdrop. The Ounila River in the foreground provides reflections during wetter months. The entire structure glows amber-gold in the last hour of daylight.

Pro Tip: Cross the river to the base for the classic low-angle shot that shows the full terraced structure. The hilltop granary offers a 360-degree panorama of the surrounding valley and palmery.

Three-hundred-meter limestone canyon walls narrow to just ten meters apart, creating a natural cathedral. The brief window when direct sunlight penetrates the gorge floor illuminates the rock faces in warm orange tones against deep blue shadows. Rock climbers on the walls add a sense of scale to the immense vertical surfaces.

Pro Tip: Include a person or vehicle for scale since the walls are so tall they can appear flat without a reference point. A wide-angle lens is essential to capture both walls within the narrow gap.

The serpentine road winding through the Dades Gorge is one of the most photographed roads in Morocco. Hairpin bends carved into red and orange rock formations zigzag up the canyon wall. Kasbahs and Berber villages dot the valley floor below. In spring, the valley fills with rose blooms used to produce rose water.

Pro Tip: The classic elevated viewpoint showing the road switchbacks is about two kilometers past the Tisdrine curve. Late afternoon light makes the red rock formations glow.

The third-largest mosque in the world sits on the Atlantic coastline with its 210-meter minaret (the tallest in the world) visible across the city. Marble courtyards feature intricate zellige tilework and carved plaster. It is one of the few mosques in Morocco that permits non-Muslim visitors and interior photography during guided tours.

Pro Tip: The western sea-facing terrace at sunset produces striking silhouette shots of the minaret against ocean sky. Interior photography is permitted during tours but flash is not allowed.