Italy photos

Surprisingly, when I look at pictures that people have taken in Rome, I see very few pictures from the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument. The pictures I have taken from there are some of my favorite pictures. In Florence, be sure to go to the hills above Florence. I like the view from Ft. Belvedere just above the Boboli Grardens behind the Pitti Palace. I also loved a picture I took in Venice from my gondola at night of two other gondolas that were along side of us. The reflection of the lights on the water with the gondolas in the foreground brings back great memories. There are so many great picture opportunities in the Cinque Terre. Usually, the best pictures are taken from a place in the hills above the towns looking down at the towns. In Paris, some of my best pictures were taken from the top of Notre Dame with the gargoyles in the foreground. For one of my favorite street scenes in Paris, I love the area by Place du Tertre just a couple of blocks to the west of Sacre -Coeur. This is where you can see a number of artists painting. It makes a great picture of the artist in the foreground with his painting and the subject of his painting in the background. I just love that you can take so many pictures with a digital camera. I remember the old days of having to deal with film and the cost of developing all that film when you returned. You will have a ball in Europe if you love taking pictures. Just remember to put the camera down from time to time and take it all in without constantly looking through a viewfinder.

A few suggestions for Venice: Get up and out really early - beautiful light, and the crowded areas won't be crowded yet. Get lost in the back streets. Visit the della Salute church - they allow photography inside w/o flash, and the view from the front steps is lovely. Visit Burano - houses are incredible colors. Visit San Giorgio Maggiore, look across to Piazza San Marco, go up the bell tower. Could go on and on...

Well, ok, more Venice... The Squero di San Trovaso boatyard, where they make and repair gondolas. The Rialto Market(s), one for vegetables, one for fish.

Thank you for the suggestions. Quite a few of the spots I've read about, but there were also some new ones. Thanks! What about any small towns very near those main cities that have incredible photo opportunities and are quick and easy to get too? Thanks for all the advice!

Photogenic side trips I can think of are Padova from Venice, Fiesole from Florence, Orvieto and Ostia Antica from Rome, and Giverny from Paris. In Padova, the markets around the Palazzo della Ragione are really fun, ditto the early evening scene downtown.

kevin,

As a professional photographer, I'm sure you'll be able to spot the best opportunities according to circumstances when you're there (ie: location, lighting, people, etc.). Were you planning to take a Tripod? Although a bit of a "pain" to travel with, I find that really helps for those early morning or late night opportunities. What range of Lenses are you planning to take?

A few thoughts on each of the locations you'll be visiting....

• Venice - there are often some good photo op's in the back alleys and side streets away from Piazza San Marco. It's often possible to get shots of Gondolas in some of the quiet back streets. Pictures from the top of the Campanile provide an interesting perspective. Finally the multi-colour houses of Burano always provide lots of good op's.
• Florence - the San Lorenzo market is often a good place for pictures, both the indoor central market as well as the outdoor markets which extend across quite an area including Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini. Another possibility is to take the Bus up the hill to Fiesole, which provides good views of the city. There's a good location across the river for shots of the Duomo and the city. I can't remember the location but I'm sure Roberto or one of the others will be able to provide more information. If you have the desire, climbing to the top of the Duomo provides some good possibilities.
• Cinque Terre - which of the five towns are you planning to stay? Hiking the Sentiero Azzurro trails (at least those that are open at the time) will provide lots of good shots, including the classic shot of Vernazza taken from above the town. I'd suggest taking the boat at least between the five towns, as that provides a unique perspective of the towns from the water. If you happen to be there on a market day (Thursday in Monterosso as I recall), there are lots of colourful displays and people. I find that it's a good idea to pack at least a P&S camera when going out for dinner, as there are often some serendipitous photo op's. If you're planning to take any day trips, Porto Venere or Portofino are good for photos.
• Rome - lots of photo op's. Spend some time in Trastevere and get some shots of the river (especially at night), the Jewish quarter, etc. You could also go to the top of St. Peter's or the Vittorio Emanuele monument for some "high" views. The area around the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill are good. There's also Villa Borghese, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and Castel Sant'Angelo. I often find in many cities that taking one of the Hop On/Hop Off Bus tours provides a good overview of the city, and reveals good spots for photos, which I can return to later on foot.

Note that some Museums and other sites prohibit photos entirely, but most of them just prohibit flash photography. However, there are always some inconsiderate morons who feel the rules don't apply to them, and pop away with flashes anyway. I've been in a few places where a small fee is charged for photographers (ie: €3 or so). I don't have a problem with that, and find that it makes things a lot easier when I'm not looking over my shoulder.

One other point to mention is that especially in crowded locations like the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc., pickpockets and scammers will be at work, so be sure to wear a Money Belt and be vigilant.

In Florence I advice you to get up and shoot photos very early in the morning. Sunday morning is even better. The empty city has an hidden charm that is lost when it begins to get crowded.
The most amazing vista over the city is from the garden of villa Bardini; it is much closer than the landscape from Piazzale Michelangelo. If you have time to spend, a new vantage point with a different view over the center is the roof of the new modern opera house near the Cascine. Free access from the meadow then over the external stairs. The last row of the open air arena is the highest accessible point.

I once got out very early in Paris to take photos, to my dismay the fountains were off. Late night with a tripod - the buildings are illuminated until midnight. That's probably when they turn the fountains off too.

In Florence, I watched the sunset from the Santa Trinita Bridge (the one before the Ponte Vecchio), beautiful in both directions.

In Florence I advice you to get up and shoot photos very early in the
morning. Sunday morning is even better. The empty city has an hidden
charm that is lost when it begins to get crowded.

Yes, absolutely, and I'll advise that for ALL of your locations. You'll be traveling during high season when crowds are thickest so those pre-dawn/dawn hours are great for avoiding a lot of bodies! If your accommodations provide breakfast, go out for a couple hours of shooting before. After dark is also a good time. You won't have any problems finding too much to point a lens at; it's not so much doing that from the places everyone else does as catching the rare moment no one else has?

In Rome, I'll add the top of the Aventine around the municipal rose gardens and St. Sabina. The gardens themselves will probably be past peak bloom but you can get some nice shots of the Rome skyline from up there. That one doesn't have to be done at the crack of dawn. :O)

Fantastic! Thank you all. I have no problem getting up early for photos so thank you for that advice. Really looking forward to the experience...just have to make sure I don't cross the line with the Mrs. re: "Let me just take one more photo over here..." Thanks all! I love the specific location tips.

In all areas being there when all of the tourists are not is the key, fortunately capturing the best light is often at those times as well so plan many early mornings and have some late evenings.

Rome: colesseum and panthenon at night are a must. View from Vatican after climbing St. Peters is a great shot
Inside St. Peter's ; but no tripod.
Vatican museum stairway inside is a must for the spiral (also no tripod)
They are serious about no photos inside Sistine Chapel, so don't think about trying that.

Venice: academia bridge at sunrise, St Mark's Square at Sunrise or before sunrise looking at the docked gondolas.

Florence: Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset, Climb the bell tower during the day or dusk for best shot of the Dome up close.
Tuscany Area: countryside right near San Quirico/Pienza at sunrise.

Cinque Terre: Manarola sunset from near the Bar Nessun Dorma that is on the side, Riomaggiore sunset from the rocks looking back at the town, Vernazza both sunrise and sunset from up on the trails. Different trail depending if sunrise or sunset.

Paris: Notre Dame with river in front, Climb steps at Notre Dame for up close gargoyles with city in back, Sunset from Tour Monterparnesse observation deck, Tracedero at sunset for Tour Eiffel shots, Pont Alexander III bridge, Louvre triangle at night, inside Saint Chappelle (assume no tripods), Palace Des Vosges early morning

Kevin, at issue is the fact that in nearly every direction I see a photo to make, it's a serious affliction. I get most of my exercise running to catch up to my Mrs.

Dave...you think like I do!

I have the same problem (and a patient husband).
Yep, aside from ducking heads, the light is just a whole lot better in the early mornings and late afternoons.

My advise other than having a patient wife if you are a professional photographer is to be a tourist and not a photographer for most of the day when the lighting is too harsh to make a perfect photo anyway.
Tell your wife to sleep in, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, shop or go to the spa in the early morning hours while you go out on your own for photos. No one wants to sit and wait for you to setup a tripod, plan out your composition and take multiple photos of the same scene no matter how patient.
Sunset becomes a little tougher as it often interferes with dinner times.

I would rather return from a trip with 10 great pictures than 100 good ones and great pictures usually take planning, effort and a fair amount of luck.

I love combing thru Pinterest and Instagram and pinning photos of interesting looking places when we travel to try and find.

A few years ago we did the Amalfi Coast and I was pinning pics of Ravello, Amalfi and other places so I could look for these spots and get some inspiration. The funniest one was I had a few pins of this door in Ravello (I love taking pics of doors, much to hubby's chagrin). So in the back of my mind was...gotta see if I can find this door. Didn't have any luck so we sat down in the main square for lunch...looked across the square...and lo and behold! - THE door!

So have a scan thru pinterest and insta - it's also great for getting ideas for angles or different perspectives and seeing the lighting at certain times of day...

Kevin , Notre Dame - after walking up all those steps it's timed so you only have a few min. to compose a shot as they hurry you off or I would still be up there ! The front door / locks on the church are AMAZING so too the statues on the front of the church. I could not stop taking close ups with my long lens as it is so neat to be able to see what the average person misses when you use a lens like that. I love doing it. Plus I have a good husband who waits patiently for a pretty long time so I try not to abuse it.

Venice: anywhere during the early morning when the sun it coming up, preferably before tourists are out and the locals are just getting up doing their daily tasks

Florence: Piazza Michelangelo (of course) and Forte di Belvedere and even the top of the Duomo if you have time

Rome: On top of Palatine Hill (or any of Rome's seven hills), the Victor Emmanuelle Monument, and the Colosseum!

Cinque Terre: they told us the best pictures come from walking along the path from Monterosso to Vernazza, but really anywhere is amazing, especially at night when everything is lit up

We are going to many of the same spots too. Although I'm not a professional I love to take photos. These are great ideas and I will have to try and find some of them. I have also looked on Pinterest and there are some great ideas out there. Anybody know of a website for photographers to find out the different photo opportunities of a city? I though I had heard about one? This is one I also look at before going to a different city/location. http://www.shothotspot.com/

Good luck!

Those are all good items above. I'll add one that was missed and was one of my favorite photo's on my last trip. In Rome we were at Aquaduct Park (real easy to get to use using the Subway) just before sunset. You can get amazing photos of the sun setting just underneath the arches of the aquaducts.

We had a jogger take our group photo that came out amazing with our silloutttes sitting on a tree log looking into the arches.

Hi Kevin,
I agree with Yosemite! The pictures I took at the top of the Victor Emmaneul Monument last year are some of my favorites. Panoramic views. Also got a great picture in Monti neighborhood, took at street picture and at the end the Colosseum, mixture of new world and ancient world. It you have a chance to go to some of the rooftop bars in Rome around sunset, beautiful crosses on top of the many churches.

Good for you for doing research in advance, but allow me to disabuse you of a certain notion. You write: "I also don't want to miss something around those locations that is simply amazing." No matter what you do or where you go, you are going to miss something amazing. Those parts of Italy that you name are so unbelievably photogenic that there's no way you can capture it all. I'm telling you this so you don't become a victim of FOMO (fear of missing out). That can easily ruin a vacation.

The pictures I took at the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument last year are some of my favorites. Panoramic views.

I'm jealous. I missed out on that on my last trip. I wanted a low afternoon sun angle, and wound up waiting too late. The monument closes at 18:30 most days (19:30 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday), and the ticket office closes 45 minutes before that. That's hours before sunset in the early summer.

I love the late afternoon sun, when everything turns gold. It's a perfect time to photograph San Marco. And we also have great photos from the middle of the Accademia Bridge, looking down the grand canal toward San Marco, at that time of day.

Interesting discussion that brings to mind the saying: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Friends who toured Italy brought back countless photos that seemed to be either church stained glass windows or photos of museum sculptures and paintings. No people. To paraphrase President Reagan's thoughts about redwoods, "if you've seen one stained glass window...."

One of my memorable (to me) photos is that of the Mona Lisa with a 20 or 30 deep crowd pushing to get closer to the painting. It's nice to get some real people or a cute cat into the context and scale of the photos.

I am also a professional photographer and have found that I have to find the balance between photographer and tourist. I always try to get up as early and possible and go out and photograph alone. It is my creative time. Dawn is always less busy than sunset, so unless it is a landscape scene or mountains, or views of the sea I prefer not dealing with a ton of other tourists. If I have captured a few amazing images in the morning I find myself much more relaxed the rest of the day and am not frantically trying to photograph everything in sight. There are those iconic images of all the well known tourist sites, but those are usually the last thing I care about photographing. I like to find my own little pieces of Europe.

Just know that, as someone else mentioned.... you will miss something... but you probably found something different!
I also would rather have fewer images that I love than dozens that are mediocre.

We visited Piazza San Marco at 7 am on a Sunday morning. Other than a couple having their wedding photos taken, we had the piazza all to ourselves.

Hi Kevin. For nice views/pics of the Pantheon and surrounding piazza, you might try the bar on the roof of the Albergo del Senato hotel right next to the Pantheon. I believe it's open to the public although we stayed at the hotel a few years back and went up there every night to shoot at sunset. You will need a wide angle lens but the views are amazing.

I second the suggestion of taking the elevator to the top of The Vittorio Emmanuel monument. Nice views! And, also go to the top of Castel Sant'Angelo.

For a nice view of Piazza Navona, there's a museum at the far end of the piazza and the guards were nice enough to open up a window (I think on the third floor) and let me take a few photos. I didn't want to abuse their generosity so I had my camera and lens all ready to go and tried to shoot really fast (handheld). Again, a wide angle lens will work best. I did the same thing in Venice at the Ca' Rezzonico museum and got some great shots out the window from an upper floor, looking down a canal with a bell tower over the canal and the cruise ships in the distance. These 2 photos hang in my hall and I love them because they are taken from lesser known vantage points.

In Venice, Burano is extremely photo worthy. The challenge is to get there early or late so as to avoid the throngs of tourists.