Want to bring great photos from Dubai? @maximdenisenko, a photographer working in Dubai spends all his free time looking for photography locations. In this guide Maxim Denisenko shows the most picturesque beaches and secret spots with a great view and gives some tips for avoiding crowds and getting the best shots. Сlick on the photos to see the whole picture!
Few people know that from the food court of Dubai Marina Mall one can get to a balcony with a great view of skyscrapers, JBR and Dubai canal with yachts.
Want to get off the beaten tourist path? Take a taxi to this shiny new embankment in a residential district. There are a lot of playgrounds and cool installations — and probably the best view of the Dubai skyline: faraway skyscrapers in a haze. If you have rented a car, you can leave it in a free underground parking lot.
"The biggest picture frame on the planet", a 150 metres tall frame stands on the edge of Zabeel Park. The upper part is an observation deck (entrance fee: 20–50 AED). This is a cheaper — and actually a better — alternative to the Burj Khalifa observation decks if you want a cool selfie with the city.
The modern Dubai can be seen on one side of the frame, and the older city — on the other side.
The Pointe Beach at the Palm is an outdoor retail and leisure complex with a waterfront promenade and a small stretch of sand with the best view at one of the most iconic Dubai buildings — Atlantis The Palm Hotel (and a futuristic monorail).
Here you can take great photos anytime, but I recommend the golden hour. The golden hour or the magical hour is an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset when the light is soft and warm.
A perfect location for photos with a beach vibe. Here you can pose in a sunbed with the impressive giant arch of Five Hotel itself or the distant Dubai Marina skyscrapers as a background.
If you come up to the rooftop hotel bar The Penthouse the view will be even better especially at night. By the way, some tourists enter bars and restaurants just to take some pictures and leave. Have some respect and order something!
SkyDive Dubai parking lot is the perfect spot for getting all the Dubai Marina skyscrapers in one shot while being as close to them as possible.
As usual, the perfect time for a perfect photo is sunset when the skyscrapers are illuminated with soft golden light.
This bridge right in the middle of Dubai Marina is one of my favorite locations: skyscrapers are all around you and numerous yachts sail under your feet. The light and the yacht traffic look especially great at sunset.
One of the most popular beaches among Russian tourists. The only problem is that the place is always packed, but with a little effort you will always find a spot.
Come here at sunrise for great photos in front of Dubai Ain and at sunset for a mix of urban and beach vibe: sun loungers, sand, skyscrapers.
A pedestrian bridge with a view at Dubai Marina skyscrapers, Palm Jumeirah, JBR and Dubai Ain. There are half-transparent balconies — a great spot for cool photos!
JLT is very comparable to Dubai Marina but less touristy. There are about a hundred skyscrapers and a few man-made lakes. This green spot is a grand lawn surrounded by skyscrapers.
Another spot extremely popular among Instagram influencers. The horse sculpture by a Colombian artist Fernando Botero might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the scene around the statue is definitely everyone’s idea of Dubai glory: pools and mix of traditional and modern architecture. Come at sunrise to avoid crowds.
A luxurious resort, often called “Dubai Venice”: waterways, villas, gardens, terraces. It is a good old location for romantic photos. You can take some exotic photos at Madinat souk or rent a boat and photograph your model sitting on the stern while you are sailing under the bridges.
The Last Exits are food truck parks situated right before the last exit when travelling by car to other emirates. If you go to Abu Dhabi there will be two Last Exits on both sides of the road. The south Last Exit is designed in the theme of 1950s America and the north one — in the theme of Mad Max and other post-apocalyptic movies. There is a big parking lot, a fuel station, a great choice of food trucks (from burgers to Thai food), and a chance to avoid direct sunlight under a roof.
La Mer is a popular area with two beaches, a water park and a lot of cafes and wall murals. Tip: you won’t see most of the murals if you are walking along the beach — to find them walk between the cafes and behind them.
In the middle of La Mer there is an imitation of an old town with narrow streets — great location!
You will get the best view at skyscrapers from the terrace of Osh Dubai, a restaurant of Central Asian and contemporary Uzbek cuisine.
Perfect time for a photo? You can’t go wrong with the golden hour.
Dubai’s Ferris Wheel Ain Dubai, the highest of its kind in the world, makes a great photo subject or a great photo background. Check the spot marked by a pin on the map: this place is usually quite deserted and provides a fancy view at Ain Dubai rising above buildings. Especially at sunset.
If you are a creative type and an art lover, take a taxi and get to this gentrified block in an industrial zone. One can spend about 5 hours hanging around: there are art galleries, conceptual fashion stores, vegan cafes and so on. And you will get a lot of cool photos with an urban industrial mood since the place is a labyrinth of gray concrete former warehouses decorated with street art.
Come here during the day if you are looking for a deserted location and at sunset if you are looking for a buzz (and a better light).
One of the cleanest and well-kept public beaches with a lot of cafes and food trucks. Kite surfers and the faraway sail-shaped building of the Burj Al Arab hotel make a great background for your photos. To avoid crowds, walk awhile toward the left.
In a 10 minute walk from the Dubai Mall lies the Burj Park. It is far enough from Burj Khalifa to be a perfect spot to photograph the highest tower in the world. There is also a new building with a roofgarden — get up for great photos with a view at the fountains. Actually Burj Park offers a variety of great photo locations. At sunrise, the place is completely deserted.
Keep in mind that in Burj Park — and actually almost everywhere in Dubai — a security guard may tell you that using a “professional” camera is not allowed. If such incidents easily put you down, use your smartphone.
City Walk is an outdoor mall with air-conditioned streets in European style where various performances often take place. Locals love this place so here you can see a crowd dressed in traditional outfits.
Come after dark for neon urban mood photos: billboards and illumination provide interesting light.
This beach has the best view at the famous building of the Burj al Arab hotel in the shape of a sail. Officially only residents of Jumeirah Al Naseem hotel can get here. But there is a trick to enter: Make a reservation in Rock Fish bar. As usual, for the perfect light wait for sunset.
A stylish restaurant at the 54th floor offers one of the best views of the Burj Khalifa, Downtown Dubai and beyond.
A relatively new twisted pedestrian bridge looks equally cool on the inside and on the outside. A geometric paradise for a photographer.
A cool spot along the Dubai Water Canal: a building made to look like a giant piece of cheese with holes.
Something smart to talk about while taking photos: actually a 40-centimeter thick concrete shell perforated by over 1,300 openings is not only a decoration. It also works as a sunscreen and a space between the shell and main enclosure helps to cool the building naturally, thus reducing energy consumption.
A great location for photos in traditional Arab style. Al Seef is a newly built district stylized to look like an old Arab town. The streets are usually quite empty.
Al Seef neighbours with Al Fahidi (also known as Al Bastakiya), an old neighbourhood with restored traditional Persian houses with wind towers. Al Fahidi’s traditional houses are occupied mostly by shops, art galleries, and cafes.
One of the most instagrammable spots of Al Fahidi is Arabian Tea House, a cafe situated in an old wind tower house with a courtyard protected from the sun by greenery. Like most of Al Fahidi, this house built in the early 1920s probably belonged to a pearl trader. White stone floor, turquoise furniture and white canopies, flowers and a big tree in the courtyard — the place offers not only authentic Arabian cuisine but also great opportunities for photos.
An extremely instagrammable spot: a desert road divided by two trees.
Desert photos are a must-have for capturing your Dubai experience. If you have rented a car you can head to a man-made desert oasis Al Qudra — the most beautiful desert place of those close to Dubai (just a 30–40 minutes drive). There are artificial lakes with birds and fishes including two-hearts-shaped Love Lake.
About one hour and a half drive from Dubai, located east of the town of Al Madam, there is an abandoned village. Jazirat Al Hamre also known as Ghost Town consists of a mosque and two rows of houses, half swallowed by dunes which also settle in living rooms and bedrooms.
You will need a 4x4 to get there.