Photographers guide to Dubai

How do you get the best views and photos of the intriguing city of Dubai? This article is very much aimed at photographers, although if you are planning a trip to Dubai just for fun, I hope you will also find it interesting! I recently visited Dubai, specifically to take photos of the ever-changing city, and did some research before the trip to try to find the best places to photograph in Dubai. One of the most interesting was this from Muhammad Abu Bakar, which not only includes the top 10 locations, but has a wealth of interesting information about whether eager security people are likely to spoil your fun!

However, what struck me in reading this (and it was reinforced during my visit) was how difficult it would be to capture those fantastic images of Dubai that you may have seen. Spectacular sunsets, tall buildings rising above the clouds, fantastic aerial shots of roadway interchanges – I guess you might be extremely lucky and the weather conditions just work out when you are in the right location at the right time! But the reality is that those fantastic images are taken by people who live there (or spend a lot of time there) so that they can be in the right place when there is a good chance of the weather co-operating. So, my guide to Dubai is for someone who is visiting for a few days and wants to capture as wide a range of interesting sights as possible. This first article will cover the background and then I’ll write four more covering the important sights and scenes of Dubai.

So, if you want this type of image for your portfolio, then this is the right article for you!

When to visit Dubai?

In a few words – in the winter! I went in late March/early April and this is perhaps the last week you should attempt. Earlier in March would have been better as the air is clearer to allow you to capture those wide panoramas, and there is less chance of humidity and heat spoiling your day and your photos.

What is the key thing to take with you?

Really, really comfortable walking shoes! Your camera and tripod is obviously a must have, but I found that you will miss the interesting views unless you are willing to walk and constantly take in the changing perspectives. Over the four days and one evening that I was there, I walked 42 miles and without those hiking shoes, I would have been crippled!

In terms of camera gear, I actually took two bodies (only because I happened to still have my older Sony A7R3 body that I plan to sell), a 24-105mm lens for walkabout purposes, a 16-24mm lens that I took when I visited the Burj Khalifa and the business district, a small Sony compact (the RX100VII) because it had a zoom to 200mm equivalent. And finally, I bought a TT Artisan 11mm fisheye lens that I kept on that second Sony body. I’ll come on to some of the photos you can take with a fisheye lens as we continue our tour of Dubai. If you are interested in it, here is a link (affiliate) to Amazon for the lens.

I also bought a new tripod just before the trip as well. I have had a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod for at least 10 years and have a head that is secure and solid. But, it doesn’t fit into a rollaboard suitcase and that is all I planned to take. So I researched various travel tripods and decided to try the Peak Design tripod with integrated head. And boy, was I impressed. I did buy the carbon fiber version that weighs 1.29 kg, although there is an aluminum one that is just a bit heavier. But this new one is much shorter when folded, than my Gitzo one, extends to more or less the same height and is about 500g less in weight. (about 1lb less). The head is integrated and is stable for cameras up to 20lbs (10kg) or so. I found it fit my bag with no issues at all and was very stable even when extended to its full height. You can see this on Amazon if you are interested. It is not often I recommend products, but this really exceeded my expectations. And so, I have a Gitzo tripod and head for sale as well as my old camera body!

My most useful lens was the 24-105mm. That handled almost all types of shot and often that was the only one I carried with me.

Where to stay in Dubai?

I planned to be there for 4 nights. The first night is almost just an “arrive and sleep” night and so I planned for 2 nights in the Creek area (the older part of Dubai), one night in the business district and one night in Jumeriah down by the marina. Dubai is a big city and shooting up and down the busy roads in taxis would have been time consuming and expensive. There is a metro (which is great, clean, efficient and easy to use) but it only really goes from one end of Dubai to the other and is often some way away from the interesting places. I’m over-simplifying that a bit – there is more than one line, but most of the interesting places are on the main one. However, I have to say that the metro is really inexpensive. I bought a silver card, which can be recharged, and it cost $7. I took one trip back to my first hotel and then a very long (about 1 hour) trip from Jumeirah to the airport on the last day, and I still had money left on the card. There is a “first class” carriage and I later realized that I had enough to travel in that! The average cost of my Uber rides was about $10 to $15 and that was for the “comfort” class, including a Tesla on one trip.

I also wanted to have views (if possible) from the places I stayed. I understood that security people could be annoying, especially if you wanted to use a tripod, and so a room with a view would be a bonus!

I chose a smallish hotel in the Bur Dubai area – the Canopy by Hilton Dubai Al Seef. It was not expensive – about $100 with all the fees and taxes and was right on the waterfront of the Creek and from there, I was able to walk all the way from the hotel to the ocean without doing any crazy walks by fast moving traffic! Most of it was on pedestrian areas alongside the Creek, and this was the view from the swimming pool area on the roof.

The third night I looked for an Airbnb in the business area, and one specifically looking towards the Burj al Khalifa. I found a studio apartment from a local Dubai company called Unlock Holiday Homes. I booked this through Airbnb, but it does look like you can also book direct. They were very helpful, and although they were going to “upgrade” me into a one bedroom apartment, the view from there was not great and so I stuck with my original request for the view, and they gave me this studio room with a fantastic view (the one that introduced this article).

This room was about $140 or so. Again, the view was great, but I was right on the cycle path/walkway which went all the way to the ocean again with many different views of the city along the way.

Finally, I planned to visit the marina and the Jumeirah area and did splurge a bit on a king room with ocean view in the Hilton Dubai The Walk. This was closer to $250 and I did have to wait at check-in to get a room on a higher floor, but the view from that balcony was just great:

It was right on the beach and not far from the pathway that goes all around the marina and so again, with lots of steps, I was able to take a wide range of shots of the incredibly designed buildings in that area. My flight home was not until after midnight and so I got the equivalent of another day in the hotel (they gave me a late checkout) without having to carry all my stuff with me.

In the next installment, I will cover what you can see in each of these areas of Dubai if you are willing to put in the effort. I know that this is not for everyone – people do go to Dubai for a restful beach holiday after all, and there are endless things to do from skiing to desert exploration (or perhaps just rent a Ferrari by the hour and cruise up and down the roads!)

The next article in this series will explore old Dubai and the Creek area, plus the Jumeirah Mosque. Then we move onto the Dubai Downtown District and the Dubai Canal, from there, I moved into the Hilton Dubai The Walk resort at Jumeirah Beach Residences by the Marina and the final episode will focus on the the Burj al Arab area and the Ain Dubai Observation wheel.