Marrakech photoshoot: where to shoot, at what hour, and how to book a photographer

We live and shoot here, so this is the version we give clients on the first call: what each kind of location is good for, when it works, and what it takes to use it.

Riads: the reason most brands come

A riad is a house built around a courtyard, and it is a ready-made set: tiled floors, a fountain or a pool, carved doors, a rooftop. Three things to know before you book one for a shoot:

• A room booking is not a shoot booking. Riads are small hotels with other guests. A commercial shoot is arranged with the owner, for a fee, often as exclusive hire for a morning or a day.
• The courtyard has a light window. Tall walls mean soft, even light early and late, and a hard square of sun in the middle of the day.
• Styles differ more than photos suggest. Some riads are traditional and ornate, others are pared back and pale. Choose the one that suits the product, not the most famous.

Medina streets and souks

The lanes are narrow, shaded and full of colour, and from mid-morning they are also full of people, scooters and handcarts. Shoot between sunrise and about 8.30 am, when shutters are still closed and the walls glow. Keep the team small: two or three people and one bag move through the medina; a crew with stands does not.

Shopkeepers and craftsmen are not background. Ask, and expect to buy something or pay a small fee if you shoot inside a stall.

Rooftops

Rooftop terraces give you the skyline, the minarets and, on a clear winter day, the snow line of the Atlas. They work at sunrise and for the last hour before sunset. In summer the tiles are too hot to stand on barefoot by late morning, which matters if your model is supposed to look relaxed.

Gardens, palaces and museums

These are the places on every mood board, and the ones with the strictest rules. Most charge an entry fee for visitors and treat a professional shoot as a separate matter that needs prior agreement, when they allow it at all. Never plan a campaign around a monument until the permission is confirmed in writing.

The Palmeraie and villas

North of the city, the palm grove hides large private villas with gardens and long pools. They are the practical choice for fashion and lifestyle shoots that need space, privacy, parking and somewhere for hair and make-up. Villas are hired by the day.

Agafay: the desert without the journey

About 45 minutes from the city, Agafay is a desert of pale stone hills rather than sand. Camps there provide tents, lounges, camels and a horizon with the Atlas behind it. Sunset is the hour; arrive two hours before to set up, and plan the drive back in the dark.

A realistic day

Two exterior locations and one interior is a full day. Four locations is a day of driving with a camera.

Booking a photographer in Marrakech: what to ask

1. Have you shot this kind of subject? Interiors, fashion, food and product are different crafts. Ask for a full series, not ten best-of frames.
2. Who arranges the locations? A local photographer or studio should handle the riad, the camp and the permissions, and say what each costs.
3. What is delivered, and when? Number of retouched images, formats, delivery date.
4. What are the usage rights? Website and social media only, or advertising too, and for how long.
5. Can video be shot the same day? Vertical clips for reels cost far less when they are planned into the photo day than as a second shoot.
6. Is there an invoice and a contract? For a business, there should be both.

What changes the price

Time on location, the number of final images and the amount of retouching, location fees, crew (assistant, stylist, hair and make-up, models), video, and usage rights. A quote that lists those six lines can be compared with another. A single figure cannot.

For the wider picture, including permits, the drone rule and the other regions, read our Morocco photoshoot guide. To plan yours, see photo and video production or tell us what you need to shoot.