Fez Photography Tour: Light, Rooftops & Portraits

Fez is one of the most photogenic cities in the world and one of the hardest to photograph well. The lanes are narrow and dark, the light falls in hard stripes, the best viewpoints are on private roofs, and the most interesting subjects are people who may not want their picture taken. This day solves all four problems. Your guide knows which terrace catches the tannery at the right hour, which doorway glows at eight in the morning, and how to ask a craftsman for a portrait so the answer is yes.

Working with the light

We build the day around the sun rather than around a checklist. Early morning for the empty souks, when the shutters are still down and the lanes belong to cats, bread carts and shafts of low light through the reed canopies. Late morning on the high ground at Borj Nord or the Marinid tombs. Midday, when the light is flat and useless outdoors, we go inside: medersa courtyards, fondouks, carved cedar and zellige, where the contrast works in your favour. Then the tannery when the sun is high enough to light the vats, and the rooftops for golden hour and the call to prayer.

Subjects you will come away with

Geometry in the medersas, the brass-studded doors of Fes el-Bali, the honeycomb of the Chouara vats, hands at work in the copper and pottery workshops, mule traffic in a shaft of light, dyed wool hanging overhead, minarets against the Middle Atlas, and the rooftop panorama where the whole medina reads as a single texture.

For any camera

Bring whatever you have. The guide is used to full-frame bodies with primes, mirrorless travel kits and phones, and will talk composition and access rather than settings unless you want otherwise. A fast lens and a wide angle are useful; a tripod is rarely needed and often unwelcome in crowded lanes.

Etiquette, honestly

Fez is a living city, not a set. Your guide introduces you, explains what you are doing and asks permission, and will tell you plainly when the answer is no. Those introductions are the difference between a tourist snapshot and a portrait somebody agreed to.