Barcelona Morning Photography Tour

Photo Tours of Barcelona with a Professional Photographer

Barcelona Morning Photography Tour with a professional photographer. Experience street photography, architecture and environmental portraits in the city’s most photogenic sites and hidden gems. This unique photo walk is an ideal way to explore some of the most authentic neighbourhoods of the city while photographing the locals as they prepare for their day.

Our morning photo tour through the myriad of narrow streets and alleyways ensures that your camera will be put to good use. Street photography in particular is ideal to capture at this time of day as the city begins to wake. Wandering the streets as the early morning light filters through the city, while capturing candid images of strangers casting long shadows create a sense of atmosphere and depth. Likewise, the stunning architecture of Barcelona draws photographers from all corners of the world. This tour is of benefit to beginners and advanced amateurs as well as semi-professional photographers.

Photography enthusiasts with preferences in a variety of different subjects will absolutely love Barcelona. There really is something for everyone here. Even professional photographers that tour with us have the benefit of our knowledge in location scouting and knowing where the best light can be found according to a specific time of day. All our photography experiences are private tours designed for individuals, couples and small groups, as we believe this makes for a more productive and enjoyable experience.

Our aim is to help you create a work of art, rather than just taking snapshots on the “program” mode of your camera. These tours are an excellent way of combining a visit through the wonders of Barcelona, while a memorable learning experience awaits you with the help of a professional photographer. Apart from learning how to navigate quickly around modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras, we will show you how to use your inner eye to create images to be proud of. We will go over various techniques to capture images using light, composition, perspective, selective focus, shadows & highlights, colour, texture, reflections and a dozen other methods in making your images stand out from the crowd!

Barcelona Street Photography

To become successful at street photography in Barcelona, it is important to become familiar with the best photo spots for interesting backgrounds, where and when pockets of light emerge, and the best time of day for crowds of people to converge. Due to the narrow streets and tall apartment blocks within the Old Town, in particular in the Borne and Gothic Quarter, there are often sites that only get lit by sunlight when the sun is high. In this respect it is useful to plan your day accordingly.

In contrast to the Old Town, the wide boulevards and large plazas of the Eixample district, means planning for street photography in the morning or at afternoon Golden Hour, when the low sun creates long shadows and enables you to layer images of foreground, middle ground and background. These are ideal to separate your subject from their surroundings, while adding context. Shooting during these hours will also result in more saturated and contrasty images, ideal for street photography.

Regarding which equipment to use, our recommendation is to bring a single camera and lens, though you could bring a second lens if you can fit one in a jacket pocket. The aim is to shoot with the most inconspicuous camera and lens combination in order to become invisible to your subjects. Large lenses and camera bags will bring unwanted attention, which may detract from creating candid images of the locals as they go about their routines. Ideally, you will leave your camera bag at home, and replace it with one or two spare batteries.

We recommend using lenses of focal lengths ranging from 18mm to 50mm. Street photography requires the photographer to get fairly close to their subjects. Thankfully, these focal lengths generally result in physically smaller lenses. You can you get more tips on how to increase your success rate by checking our previous blog post on Street Photography Techniques in Barcelona.

On our tour, we will go over the semi-automatic metering modes, ISO settings, focus options, drive modes and more to take control of your camera. Candid scenes means working fast to capture the decisive moment, while portraits on the street allow for more time to perfect a composition. Working in a faced-paced environment, sometimes in crowds, with continuously changing scenes, means being prepared to freeze the moment with little notice to prepare.

Barcelona Architectural Photography

One of Europe’s premier city’s for the magnificent styles and variety in its architecture, Barcelona is hard to beat. We offer various itineraries for architectural photography in Barcelona, from incorporating this photo genre into our 3.5 hour photography tours, to more intense full day tours and multi-day workshops. The city boasts the most World Heritage Sites in Europe. No less than seven of the nine sites were created by Antoni Gaudi, with the remaining two sites created by Lluis Domenech i Muntaner in the Catalan Modernist style.

Photographing the Gothic Quarter is a highlight for many photographers. Surrounded by the ancient Roman Walls, there are remnants of structures dating back 2000 years. Medieval Gothic buildings and infrastructure were reformed and integrated into Neo-Gothic architecture during the 19th Century. Quiet streets of stone with wrought iron and ceramic details, make this charming district ideal for architectural photographers, especially during blue hour, golden hour and especially photogenic to capture at night.

Another popular street to photograph Catalan Modernism is on the wide boulevard of Paseo de Gracia. Notable is the Block of Discord, housing the work of four of Barcelona’s most prominent Catalan architects. Admire the stunning wrought iron street lamps that merge into mosaic ceramic benches, again created by Gaudi. Further up the street arrives to La Pedrera [Casa Mila], another Gaudi building of facades created to emanate a stone quarry, with wonderfully photogenic chimneys and ventilation ducts on the rooftop.

Some of the most futuristic and cutting-edge architecture can be found outside of the centre. The district of Diagonal Mar houses some excellent examples. As you step off the tram, you are greeted by the sharp angles of the Telefonica Building, and adjacent Forum. Exploring below the canopy of the Forum, you will see open patios of mirrored glass, ideal for abstract photography. As people wander through pockets of light set against contextual backgrounds, the scale of the buildings and minimal distractions, are ideal for creating minimalist type images.

Equipment for photographing architecture generally demands wide angle and telephoto lenses. Even fisheye and rectilinear wide angle lenses can be used to dramatic effect when composing images with interesting foregrounds, balanced with structures in their entirety. Telephoto lenses are needed to compress perspectives, remove distractions and zoom in on details. While the interiors of most heritage sites do not allow the use of tripods, tripods are recommended when shooting during low light levels and for night photography. Our instruction on the technical settings include manual focus, minimum ISO, aperture settings and manual metering. Architectural photography is slow paced, precise and methodical.

Best Photo Spots in Barcelona

• Gothic Quarter: Surrounding the Cathedral, this Medieval district is a labyrinth of alleys and plazas. Pedestrian streets of beautiful Gothic details found in the Placa Reial, Pont del Bisbe, and Placa del Rei. The Jewish Quarter [El Call] is the oldest in Europe, and stunning to photograph at night.
• The Borne: Bohemian and hip, the Borne district offers endless photo opportunities, heritage and culinary options. Notable sites include the Santa Maria del Mar Gothic church, and the stunning Modernist details of the Palau de la Musica.
• La Boqueria Market: Excellent for environmental portraits and food photography, the busy Boqueria Market has been trading since 1836. Expect authentic local traders conversing with renowned chefs, vivid colors, textures, repeating patterns and organized chaos.
• Raval: The multicultural, arty and gritty Raval is Barcelona’s oldest neighborhood. Narrow tall streets of hanging laundry, skateboarders and street art. The Raval is the best district for street photography. The streets around the MACBA offer excellent photo opportunities of the locals.
• Block of Discord: One of the city’s most visited sites, this block has stunning examples of architecture in the Catalan Modernist style. The most significant building is Casa Batllo, with the facade balconies representing facial bones, and a roof in the shape of a dragon’s back.
• Encants Flea Market: The mirrored canopy gives excellent photo opportunities for mirrored abstract shots, while the lower floor is good for street photography, where buyers and vendors merge. Modern architecture of the adjacent Torre Agbar is also interesting to photograph at night.
• Diagonal Mar: Organic shapes in cutting edge architecture, large open areas good for minimalist photography. Structures of note include the Forum, Telefonica building and huge Solar Roof. The architecture can be excellent to shoot during evening blue hour. The tubular structure at the Parc de Diagonal Mar is also interesting to photograph.
• Barceloneta Beach: Overlooking the beachfront at Barceloneta, stands the modern W Hotel – an excellent subject during sunrise, and equally beautiful at sunset. The beach has a youthful, energetic yet relaxed vibe, and the promenade is good for panning shots of the locals running, cycling and skating between the palm trees. Here you can take the cablecar up to Montjuic.
• Sant Pau Hospital: The stunning Hospital de Sant Pau is one of the World Heritage Sites, and a masterpiece of engineering and design. Apart from the scale of the series of structures and gardens, the detail in the ceramic mosaics, motifs and use of brick and wrought iron, are equally impressive. A vast renovation project has brought this site back to it’s former glory. The Sant Pau is a good choice before visiting the nearby Sagrada Família.
• La Sagrada Família: One of the many Modernist Catalan structures in Barcelona, but undoubtedly the most impressive. Architectural photographers will be as impressed as the Instagram crowd. Best to enter the church around 2 hours before sunset, when the sun illuminates the stained glass and lights the interior with beautiful colors.

Barcelona Morning Photography Tour Itinerary

The meeting point would be on the corner, outside the Zara store at Plaza Catalunya [Pl. de Catalunya 5, Barcelona 08002]. Directions to the meeting point can be found here.

From Plaza Catalunya, we will head down the iconic Ramblas to visit to the Boqueria market – a visual delight for photographers! We will capture the colours and chaos as the locals go about their daily routine in this fantastic market. Exquisite displays of fresh produce in a wonderful variety of colours and textures invite everyone from local chefs to foodies to tourists, and make this one of the most loved food markets in the world. The Mercat de la Boqueria is also one of the world’s oldest markets – dating back to the year 1217. This site is a must-see for street photographers in particular, however photographing the repeating patterns, textures and colours of produce of the food stall displays, as well as an excellent concentration of buyers and sellers, make the Boqueria market a great choice for environmental portraits.

Located on the edge of the Boqueria, our itinerary also includes a visit through Barcelona’s oldest district, and also one of it’s most authentic. The Raval is a fantastic neighbourhood to photograph – Modern architecture, washing-clad facades, skateboarders and unusual characters willing to have their photos taken make for great street photography. Wandering towards the heart of the Raval, you will notice how the streets become narrower and the residential apartments become taller and more concentrated. Home to a vibrant multi-cultural community, the hip restaurants, trendy independent shops and cutting-edge street art give this neighbourhood an air of vitality and freedom unlike anywhere else in the city.

From here, we will cut across the Ramblas and head towards the Gothic Quarter, the historic centre of the Old City. Here you will step back in time through the small quiet alleyways and courtyards filled with soft light and great atmosphere. The old stone walls, gargoyles, Gothic and Roman architecture are in stark contrast to the Raval and will make for some stunning images. Situated around the thirteenth century Santa Eulalia Cathedral, the Gothic quarter contains some of the city’s most beautiful streets and open squares, including the Cloisters, Sant Felip i Neri plaza, Placa del Rei, Placa Sant Jaume, the Roman Wall Puerta del Bisbe and many other beautiful locations. This neighbourhood is all about architectural photography. It is a great area to return to at different times of the day, such as during afternoon golden hour and is also a highlight for our Barcelona Night Photography Tours. Within the Gothic quarter is the old Jewish Quarter and ancient synagogue. This tiny district has some of the oldest habitable buildings in Barcelona.

The trendy Borne district is an exceptional neighbourhood to photograph thanks to it’s labyrinth of tiny alleyways that give an impression of one giant maze. Boutique designer stores by day and hip bars by night, over the years, the Borne has become the most fashionable neighbourhood in the city.  We will walk the narrow dark alleyways and visit Gothic churches, trendy stores, open plazas, fascinating architecture and other points of interest before we head towards one of the marvels of Catalan Modernism – the Music Palace. This building is one of the finest examples of Art Nouveau architecture in existence and is also one of Barcelona’s 9 World Heritage Sites. A mixture of Modernist and Moorish influences make this building very unique. Built upon the Medieval part of the Old City, ancient remnants from different eras of the past amalgamate with cutting edge design. What makes the Borne so special is the variety of photo opportunities on offer and can easily be visited time and again. This would be the end of the tour, and we will escort you to a recommended restaurant or back to Plaza Catalunya.

These unique photo tours have been designed to guide you through the most photogenic locations of Barcelona, often away from the typical tourist trails, while at the same time aiding you in perfecting your photographic skills. We believe that this combination of an educational experience while being guided through the city’s most beautiful spots with your camera is the reason Barcelona Photography Tours have been recommended with positive reviews by photo enthusiasts since our company formed in 2000.

Our Barcelona morning photo walk was our first itinerary created, and is still one of our most popular. Our Barcelona Morning Photography Tour is also incorporated into our extended 6 hour Barcelona Morning / Afternoon photography Tour. To see our full range of itineraries, you can check our listed Barcelona Photography Tours.