A guide to photographing Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. It attracts millions of tourists every year, all coming to photograph its’ beauty. Therefor the internet is flooded with photos of the Taj Mahal. Everyone wants the perfect photo. People are fighting to catch that perfect reflection in the pond. But there is so much more to this beautiful complex. This is the ultimate guide to photographing the Taj Mahal.
Taj Mahal
Once you are actually inside of the complex, get the reflection shot of the pond and the Taj Mahal, and then move on. There are many more beautiful locations to photograph. Over the course of three visits, I have developed a habit of doing the same route. I always walk along the pond, and then head left, to the mosque. From inside the mosque you have the perfect frame of the Taj Mahal. This is another very popular spot, but once you have a photo without anyone in it, simply stick around, and try to capture something unique. This is the time to be creative. Experiment with different angles, get down low, high, whatever. Try to capture something different. I love simply sitting by, and wait for someone in a beautiful sari to walk by. Including people in your photo not only adds interest in scale, it will also add a lot of contrast in color. There are some really interesting photos to be taken, by just having a little patience.
Next to the mosque is the wall, which you can use to create a leading line to Taj Mahal. It makes for a great perspective, and is often not a photo that people actually take. If you can get someone in the photo as well, it will create scale which gives the viewer a sense of how big the monument actually is.
Another cool photo is a reflection, not of the pond that everyone takes, but from one of the “natural” ponds created by the water sprinklers. It makes for something different, but really nice. A place that I also tend to photograph from is the small garden inside the complex. All the greens create both a beautiful frame, but also contrast. You can capture some stunning photos from here.
Watch tower
Another beautiful location which has to be included in my guide to photographing Taj Mahal is a small tower at the right of the Taj Mahal. I dont know the name of the location but if you turn right at the East gate of the Taj Mahal you will turn right again down a dirt road. Here you will enter a small village, where the locals will happily guide you to the tower. You can most likely also ask one of the Taj Mahal guides if they can take you there. If you use maps.me you can find it on the map. You will have to pay a small fee to be let through the gate but it is worth it.
It is beautiful for sunset, and if you stay a little afterwards, you might be able to capture some stars in the sky, if it is a clear day.
Yamuna river
To get to the Yamuna river, go towards the east gate of the Taj Mahal, and then turn right. From there you just follow the path, along the walls surrounding Taj Mahal, until you eventually make it to the river. There will be a boat man, that can take you on to the river for payment. There doesn’t seem to be any specific time schedule for him to appear there however if you make it onto the river, you can get some spectacular photos. On each of my visits the water has been like a mirror, and it has been possible to get some stunning photos of the Taj Mahal. Sunsets here are beautiful, as is the time just around sunrise, if you are lucky enough for him to appear. It is definitely wort a try. Try to get some photos of the Taj alone, the tip of the boat, and with the boat man - or your significant other within the frame. There are lots of opportunities, that make for some great photos!
Photographing Taj Mahal
Mehtab Bagh
The park on the other side of the river of Taj Mahal, you can get some beautiful photos here. It is stunning for both sunrise and sunset, and there are lots of different compositions to have here. Lots of opportunities for framing, as well as capturing some interesting foregrounds. On my last visit a group of local shepherds came by with their herd of sheep, which made for some really interesting photos. I also managed to capture a really cool photo of some of the people working within the compound, making for a colorful contrast and adding human interest.
Photographing Taj Mahal
Here you have it. My guide to photographing Taj Mahal. There are definitely other places to photograph from, namely some of the many rooftops, the area on the opposite side of the river, or even further down the shore of the Yamuna river.