Photographing Morocco: Where, When and How to Shoot

The reliable windows are the first two hours after sunrise and the last two before sunset. In winter that is roughly 7:30 to 9:30 and 16:30 to 18:30; in summer, roughly 6:30 to 8:30 and 18:30 to 20:30. Outside those windows the sun is overhead and the light is hard and flat.

Midday is not lost time. It is the time to shoot inside: riads, courtyards, medina alleys where buildings block the sun, and interiors lit through a single window or a screen of carved plaster.

Check sunrise and sunset times for the exact date before you travel. Morocco sits on its own time zone, on permanent UTC+1, which shifts against European clocks in spring and autumn and catches people out when they plan a shoot.

Photographing in public space is generally fine. Photographing individual people is a different matter, and asking first is the norm here. A gesture at the camera and a questioning look is usually enough; if the answer is no, move on.

In tourist areas some people will ask for money after being photographed. The way to avoid trouble is to agree the price before you raise the camera, or to decline and walk away. Both are normal and neither causes offence.

Some people, particularly in rural areas and among older women, prefer not to be photographed at all. Respect that. Do not shoot from a distance to hide what you are doing; it is usually noticed and it sours the exchange.

Mosque interiors are generally closed to non-Muslim visitors. The notable exception is the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, which non-Muslims may visit on guided tours at set times; check the current tour schedule when you arrive in the city. Exteriors can be photographed freely.

In the souks, vendors may object to having their wares or stall photographed without a purchase. Asking is normal and often fine. A short conversation, sometimes a small purchase, usually settles it, and many traders are happy to be photographed once the question has been asked.

Tanneries in Marrakech and Fes are viewed from surrounding terraces, usually reached through a leather shop. You will be offered mint leaves for the smell. Afternoon light across the dye pits is better than midday, when the pits read flat.

Marrakech gives you the medina, the souks, the tanneries seen from terraces, and Jemaa el-Fna at dusk and after dark. The square is at its most photographable in the last hour of light, when the food stalls go up and the smoke starts, and again well after dark under the stall lights.

Fes is the densest of the medinas, and the Chouara tannery is seen from surrounding terraces. The lanes are narrow and genuinely dark, so a fast lens or a higher ISO helps more here than anywhere else on the trip. Push ISO to 3200 if you have to; a sharp frame with noise beats a blurred one.

Essaouira is the Atlantic port, with seafront ramparts and a working fishing harbour. Late afternoon is the best window, when the light rakes across the walls. The wind picks up through the afternoon, which matters for longer exposures; brace against a wall or use a tripod with weight on it.

Bring more memory and more batteries than you think you need. Charging points are not always where you expect them, and long days out mean one battery is rarely enough. Two spares per camera is a sensible minimum.

Dust is constant: in the desert it is fine and airborne, in the medina it is thicker and mixed with everything the streets carry. Changing lenses outdoors is how sensors get dirty. Change inside, or carry one body and one zoom and accept the compromise.

The rules that matter are simple. Ask before photographing people. Accept a no. Do not fly a drone without a permit. Do not shoot into mosque interiors where you are not welcome. Do not hide the camera behind a long lens to take what you were refused up close.

The honest verdict: Morocco rewards patience and punishes a checklist. If you shoot only at midday you will come home with hard, flat frames of crowded squares. If you get up for sunrise, ask before you shoot, and spend the middle of the day indoors with your kit, the country gives you more in a week than most trips do in a month.

Give it a week if you can, but a well-planned four days in Marrakech and Essaouira, or Fes and Chefchaouen, will produce a stronger set than a rushed loop trying to cover the desert too. The desert deserves its own trip.