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Photography in Marrakech offers one of the best travel photography experiences you could wish for. The city is chaotic, colourful and friendly, all at once, and provides an almost unparalleled experience for travel photography.
After reading some articles before arriving in Marrakech and scanning the internet for visual inspiration, once I arrived, I quickly came to understand why I didn’t see much of the imagery online that I had expected to see and wanted to capture. This is because the people of Marrakech are fiercely private and not typically fond of being photographed.
1 | Respect Privacy
The custom isn’t to snap away at your heart’s content, but to respect the identity of those you are photographing. When you understand why a riad is designed the way it is, you will start to understand the level of privacy they like.
One couple walked past me and said they didn’t want their picture taken. They assumed I was photographing them, since the camera was pointed roughly in their direction. As they got a little closer, they realised I was interested in the cat, not them, and happily walked on by.
The people of Marrakech are fiercely private. This is reflected in the design of their wonderful riads, with their inner-facing buildings and lack of external windows. This privacy is something you should respect; however, there are ways around it.
The easiest way to get around this issue is to avoid photographing people’s faces. There are plenty of opportunities around the Medina to take this opportunity; it simply requires some patience.
The Medina is busy in certain places and at specific times of day, so if you want shots of solo subjects walking through archways or down alleys, look for quieter areas towards the edges of the Medina, or consider getting out early when the city is coming to life.
2 | Find a Guide
If you want to capture people’s faces, there are a couple of options. Firstly, you could use a guide. They are a golden ticket for you to capture the local people. They can help grease the wheels and may know precisely where to take you to get the imagery you need.
3 | Prepare to Pay
Secondly, you could pay for the privilege. Although you aren’t getting a service from them and paying may seem a little unusual, remember that ultimately, you want something from them. They might not be offering you a service, as such, but you want something from them.
I paid several people to photograph them, ranging from 5 to 8 Dirhams. Not a single person said no. In each case, there was no haggling, just an exchange of a coin and a nod. The people of Marrakech are very friendly and approachable, so take advantage of this by saying hello, asking if you can take their picture, and holding out a small offering of money.
4 | Where to Shoot
The Medina is the place to be. We wandered outside a few times, but the atmosphere and opportunities quickly dropped off, so we’d recommend
5 | What to Shoot
Your riad is likely to provide the safest place to shoot, with the most opportunities, where you’ll be left alone. They are, by and large, very photogenic places due to their Zellige tiles, unique architecture and colour schemes.
Beyond riads, the Madrasa Ben Youssef is a great place to photograph, as are the gorgeous alleys outside with their ochre walls. Beyond the main hotspots, keep an eye out for the arches, which provide lovely frames in frames, doorways, donkeys, and, of course, cats, of which you will find countless numbers around the city.
6 | Kit & Equipment
As ever, I travelled light, packing my Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm 23mm f/2, Fujifilm 33mm f/1.4, and Sigma 56mm f/1.4 in lens wraps inside my Patagonia backpack. Almost everything I shot was taken with the 33mm lens. It’s a very versatile and nifty 50 equivalent, after all, and it can handle most of what I aim to shoot.
Beyond Fujifilm’s ability to capture fantastic imagery, it serves well in this kind of environment when privacy is an issue. It’s best to stand out as little as possible, so a large camera with a large lens is probably best avoided, so you don’t look like a professional on the hunt for your next front cover.
Gallery
During our five nights in Marrakech, I processed 208 photographs. Plenty of them are in our Marrakech picture gallery, a few are below, and some are in our post about Riad Oriental Glory.
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