Remember how I went to Yosemite to take pictures and share them with you, as part of my series of photography location guides around the world?
Admittedly, Yosemite was a tough act to follow. Maybe I should have aimed a bit lower for my first post in the series. I think, however, I may have found a worthy successor. On a recent road trip through the USA, we stopped off at the Grand Canyon.
Which is rather a pretty place, quite nice for photography. I have no idea how I’m going to follow these two locations up, to be honest it’s probably going to be downhill from here.
Back to the Grand Canyon. We had allocated two full days to take it in, and I spent a good deal of time researching the best places to shoot the sunrise and the sunset at the Grand Canyon, both online and through questioning the park rangers when we arrived. Note that this is all for the south rim – time was tight, so we didn’t have a chance to get to the other side.
I appreciate that a couple of days isn’t very much, but to be honest, I think that most visitors come for around about this length of time, and you will have enough time to see as much as you want. I took in the Grand Canyon sunset from two different locations, and sunrise from one, and was very happy with the results. Here are my tips for where to go for shooting the Grand Canyon at sunset and sunrise, as well as some general advice on visiting.
Sunrise and Sunset at the Grand Canyon: The Best Photography Locations
Sunset at the Grand Canyon: Hopi Point and Yavapai Point
A little pre-visit research, followed by a chat with the rangers on arrival confirmed that Hopi Point was a good option for sunset at the Grand Canyon – the location thrusts out a way into the Canyon, so you have a clear view in both directions.
The key thing to remember when shooting sunset at the Grand Canyon is that you really want to be shooting in the opposite direction to the sun, slightly counter-intuitively. This is because the contrast is super high as the sun sinks low, and shooting into the sun won’t reveal the glory of what is below you very well.
Point your camera away from the sun though, and you’ll see the light on the rocks below, which is just spectacular.
One thing to note at this point, about this location, and about many of the locations in the Grand Canyon. It’s going to be busy. Sunset is a very popular time for folks to come out, and locations such as Hopi Point get very crowded. It’s not all bad news though! Just step a little away from the crowds and fences (take care, the drops are quite incredible!), and you will be able to find your own quiet photography paradise to get the shots you want.
In the case of Hopi Point, I went a little way east of the main viewing area, and was very happy with the results. The advantage of Hopi Point was that as it’s so popular, there are a great many buses ready and waiting to get everyone home after the sunset is over. More on getting around and the bus system at the end of the post.
The other location I went for sunset was Yavapai Point. This is a little walk from the visitor centre, although there is a shuttle bus option. I found myself a route down to the edge which appeared to have excellent views up and down the canyon, and waited to see what would happen.
As you can see, what happened was quite pretty! Admittedly, the mile deep drop was fairly terrifying, but the views of the Canyon and the light (again, shooting away from the sun until it set), were magnificent!
Sunrise at the Grand Canyon: Mather’s Point
I will freely admit that I have a major flaw as a photographer – I hate early mornings. Given that the best light of the day is at sunrise and sunset, this means that I’m missing around fifty percent of my shooting opportunities just because I’m lazy.
Well, I think I’m going to have to change that, and start trying to get up earlier.
I’m going to issue a spoiler – the sunrise at the Grand Canyon was easily the best I’ve ever seen, and entirely worth the 4am start for.
I took a bit of time to find a great location for sunrise, walking up and down the rim path near Mather’s Point, which is by the visitor centre. Mather’s Point is a popular location for sunrise, as this photo shows:
and I didn’t want to be battling crowds to get the shot. So again, I headed east along the rim, in this case around 300 metres, and found myself a handy spot away from both people and railings. I grabbed a selfie (tripods have so many good uses!) to give you an idea of where I was.
As you can see, not a bad spot for sunrise. And these were the photos I got:
Which, as you can imagine, I was quite happy with.
Other Grand Canyon Photography Locations
Ok, so it’s not all sunset and sunrise. If you’ve got more time at the Grand Canyon, then you’ll find yourself wanting to shoot during the day. In this case – pray for some clouds. The canyon is vast, and getting a sense scale can be a bit challenging.
We drove up and down the Canyon Rim a little, and found countless opportunities to stop off and take photos. One favourite was Duck Rock (first photo below), a rock which is said to look like a duck. I admit I wasn’t totally convinced, but it made for a nice piece of foreground!
Finally, in the main cluster of hotels and bars near the train station there are ample opportunities along the rim for photos, including some excellent spots to get that all important selfie. Which, I promise you, will look a lot better with a tripod.
Practicalities for visiting the Grand Canyon
First, you need to remember that the Grand Canyon is a hugely popular destination, for overseas visitors and Americans alike. If you plan on going, book your accommodation well in advance! Camping, which was what we did, is a good option, but in the busiest summer months sites can book up months in advance. Lodging options and links for reservations can be found here.
Next, all those people mean that getting around the Grand Canyon is a process that is carefully managed. Whilst you can drive your own car, the canyon road network is labyrinth like, and I’d suggest that instead of driving you take the free shuttle bus. Large parts of the park can only be accessed by this shuttle bus network for much of the year, and they’ll get you where you want to go. At popular times of day (sunset!), be aware that there can be queues for the buses, so arrive well in advance (at least an hour) so as not to miss a moment.
What else? Well, in the summer of course it’s going to be seriously hot here, so be aware of the signs of dehydration and keep yourself well topped off with water. Food is available in a variety of locations, and there’s an excellent grocery store, as well as a bank and post office, so you don’t need to worry about that.
Further Reading and other Resources for Photographing the Grand Canyon
If you want more information, both on photography at the Grand Canyon, and on visiting in general, then I can highly recommend the following resources:
- The Photographers Guide to the Grand Canyon is a good book option if you want something printed to bring with you
- For more general advice on visiting the Grand Canyon, including visiting both the north and south rims, this excellent post on spending four days at the Grand Canyon has you covered.
- If you’re looking for a fun road trip which includes the Grand Canyon, see our two week USA road trip itinerary
- We have a guide to hiking Havasu Falls if you’re looking for an epic hike with amazing photography opportunities. This is also within the Grand Canyon, but on an Indian Reservation.
- The Grand Canyon is not too far from Las Vegas. See our guide to things to do in Las Vegas for some ideas on spending time in the party city. We also have a guide to the best day trips from Las Vegas.
- If you are looking for a tripod (and if you’re serious about your photography, you absolutely should have one!), then Vanguard have an excellent range. The VEO system I was using for this shoot is specifically designed for travel, meaning it’s super-light and easy to use, plus they won’t break the bank.
- If you’re in the market for a new camera, check out my definitive guide to the best travel camera, with something for every budget
- My other photography location guides, to get you the best shot in destinations around the world
- Finally, if you’re looking to learn more about photography, I run an online travel photography course which covers everything I know about photography, plus you get one on one feedback directly from me as you go! Check it out and let me know if you have any questions.
If you’ve visited the Grand Canyon for sunrise or sunset, do share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below – particularly if you found a great spot for sunset or sunrise!
Kody M says
Tank you so much for all the info! I’m taking my wife and kids in a couple weeks. I plan on making the drive from CO to the south rim over night (13ish hours). If all goes well, we will catch the sunrise at the spot you were! Thanks for posting the GPS cords! OMG! I’m so excited! This has been on my bucket list since I knew what one was! Safe travels to you and yours!
P.S. I don’t have any sort of fancy camera, just an iPhone. But I still can’t wait!!
Laurence Norah says
My pleasure Kody! I hope you have a great trip and I’m sure you’ll get some great photos regardless of your camera 😀
Rhonda Johnson says
Awesome site👍. We live in lake havasu city, been to GC many times but you offered great photo tips. Ty for sharing.
Laurence Norah says
Thanks very much Rhonda! It’s always lovely to hear from locals that I’m getting it right 🙂 Stay well!
Johanna says
Stunning pictures and a lot of very helpful and detailed tips! Thanks a lot for this, the article is really helpful 🙂
Laurence Norah says
My pleasure Johanna, I’m pleased you liked it 🙂
Jacob Forsythe says
I’m curious how far off the trail you had to go for your sunrise location? I was trying to find your spot! Love the overlook!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Jacob!
It wasn’t far off the trail, the exact co-ordinates I took the sunrise photos from was here: 36°3’38.886″ N 112°6’24.539″ W
which you can see on Google Maps here: https://goo.gl/maps/nTUhrfU8yNN2
I would very much advise caution of course, wherever you choose to go, and especially if you leave the marked trail. There are very large drops in the Grand canyon and many unfenced sections. So please do take care 🙂
Have a great trip!
Laurence
yasmin says
hey! great guide! do you recommend using an ND? i was considering purchasing one but have read that graduated filters can be better for the canyon. i don’t have the budget to get a fixed and a graduated filter. i would mostly if not exclusively be using it for sunrise/sunset shots. did you use one? what do you recommend?
Laurence Norah says
Hi Yasmin!
So I didn’t use an ND filter. The only reason to use it would be if you wanted to do longer exposure of the cloud movements. I would say though that a graduated filter would definitely be useful. The difference between the brightness in the sky and the darkness of the canyon makes for challenging photography, and a graduated filter can help with this. I didn’t have one, so I used exposure blending to achieve this in post, but a graduated filter would definitely have made this easier 🙂
Have an awesome trip! Would love to see your photos when you are done, we have a facebook group you are welcome to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/travelloversandphotography/
Laurence
yasmin says
thanks for the quick response! do you have any guides on exposure blending in lightroom? i have lightroom but am definitely less than proficient in it.
Laurence Norah says
My pleasure! So I don’t have a guide for Lightroom for exposure blending, but to be honest there’s not a lot to it. The key is to get the exposures in the first place, for which you’ll obviously need a tripod and a camera that supports exposure bracketing (although you can do it manually). In Lightroom, you then select the images you want to blend and press “HDR merge”, and it’ll do it for you.
Photoshop is actually better for this as it gives you control over the layers and the blending, but I find the HDR merge tool in Lightroom works pretty well, and despite the name, the results are not too HDR’y 🙂
Nicole Nieto says
Thank you so much for all this great information. It was incredibly helpful! I’ll be in the area this coming Wednesday/Thursday. I’m getting my itinerary together and just have a few ?s
Wednesday Sunset – Yavapai/Hopi Point? do getting to these require walks/hikes or more of an actual lookout point near the road?
Thursday Sunrise/hike – Mather’s Point. I checked that it should be around 6:30am. Same question, is it close to the road or there’s a hike to where you want to be? what time do you suggest we get there?
Also, I have approx 3-4 hours for a hike after that so any suggestions on which direction to head or trail?
Your suggestions are so appreciated!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Nicole
So neither of the locations require a hike as there are shuttle buses that run to both of them. The only reason you might hike is if the shuttle bus is full. For sunset, Hopi point for example is a popular spot, so you will want to arrive at the shuttle bus in plenty of time. My advice is to walk a bit away from the main lookout point for both options as they will be more crowded – even just a five minute walk will get you to more peaceful spots where you can enjoy the view with less of the crowds 🙂
In terms of a hike, personally I liked just walking along the rim – either direction is good! The trails run right along the edge and the views are spectacular. You could also try descending into the canyon if you prefer – just be aware it will take you longer to come up then to go down 🙂
Have a great trip, and do drop in to our facebook group to share your photos and feedback, we’d love to see them! You can find that here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/travelloversandphotography/
Laurence
Nicole Nieto says
Thanks so much and I definitely will follow up with my shots!! We would like to actually hike and get a little bit of a workout in, I see South Kaibab Trail is popular, but if you have a rec for any other trail to hike down, thinking down for 1-1.5 hours and back.
Again, I really appreciate all the information I’ve gotten here and your suggestions as well!
Thanks for getting back to me so quick,
A panicing/last minute east coaster 🙂
Laurence Norah says
My pleasure Nicole 🙂 So I haven’t actually done the trails into the canyons, but friends of mine have done both the South Kaibab Trail and the Bright Angel trail. The latter is a little easier with more shade, whilst the former is a bit steeper. Both are very popular trails though, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy either 🙂
Jannette Bradley says
Greetings! First off, your photos are AMAZING! You and your wife have quite an eye for the camera. Thank you for the advice,tips, and photos on this blog. I’m wondering if you can answer a few questions for me: I plan to visit the South Rim in June. I googled the time of the sunrise (it’s around 5:12am) and we are staying in Flagstaff. I’m thinking we should leave FS around 3:45 to get to the Canyon on time? Do you recommend parking at the visitor center and walking to Mather Point? How “early” before actual sunrise should we arrive? Also, since it will be dark, is the road to the visitor center well marked to direct us to the appropriate area to park and get to Mather Point? Any advice on taking the perfect sunrise picture?
Thank you in advance for the help and thanks again for this very informative blog.
Peace and light to you both,
Jannette
Laurence Norah says
Hi Jannette,
Thanks very much!
I would definitely say you will need to park at the visitor centre and walk to Mather point. It’s the closest (and pretty much only!) parking available. I would say you will want to be there at least 30 – 40 minutes before actual sunrise as the pre-sunrise light can also be magical, plus the canyon photographs really well when the sun isn’t up as the canyons are less contrasts. The visitor centre is well marked as I recall, but I have to admit that I drove there in daylight. But there aren’t a lot of roads so I think you will be fine. I would suggest having a GPS or downloading an offline Google Map of the area for reference.
In terms of photographing the event, my advice is to use a tripod if you possibly can, especially before the sun comes up, as it will be quite dark. We also have loads of tips on photography across the site, I’d suggest starting here and reading up on composition etc 🙂
https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/category/photography/photography-tips/
Have an awesome trip!
Laurence
Karyn Curtis says
We will be visiting the Grand Canyon in July. We are not camping; will be at a hotel in Flagstaff. I want to capture the sunrise. I know we’ll have to head out very early. Once we are there do we get on a shuttle to take us to these specific spots you recommended? Thanks
Laurence Norah says
Hi Karyn,
For parking for Mather Point, which is one of my recommended sunrise locations, you will be able to park at the visitor center. It should not be too busy if you arrive that early! You can see a map of parking locations here:
https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/parking_sr.htm
If you aim for P2, you should be just a short walk from the rim 🙂
Enjoy!
Laurence
Karyn says
Thanks! Because we are going that early we shouldn’t need the shuttle then, correct? Also since it will be dark I’m nervous about the hike down to Mather Point with kids. What do you think? Thanks again!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Karyn,
That should be correct! The hike down to Mather Point is on a well marked and level path, and there are fences at Mather Point itself, so I don’t think you’ll have any trouble as long as your kids stay to the path 🙂
Karyn Curtis says
Thank you for all your help!
Chris says
Hi Lawrence, Jessica,
“Wow” photos!!! I will take your advice, may struggle to get up at 4am! I would be most grateful for any recommendation about taking beautiful photos in Cuba, including diving photos?
Thanks,
Chris
Laurence Norah says
Hey Chris!
Thanks very much 🙂 Unfortunately I’ve not been to Cuba, so I wouldn’t be able to help 🙁 Have a great trip though!
Laurence
Henry AT fotoeins says
Hi, Laurence. I found your post in a search as I’m accumulating best practices and wisdom online for viewing sunrises and sunsets at the Grand Canyon. I’m looking forward to witnessing at least one with the naked eye; the rest will be left to a choice of camera!
Laurence Norah says
Thanks Henry! Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with, and have a great trip! It’s an incredible sight to see for sure 😀
Ras Jarborg says
Thanks so much for this post! We just arrived at Grand Canyon and managed to drive into the park by 07.30am to bear the crowds. I was looking for tips on sunset and sunrise photography posts when Google led me straight to your post. I’m now signed up for your newsletter. Thanks again!
Laurence Norah says
Awesome – have a wonderful time! It’s a stunning place 🙂 Thanks for signing up, we look forward to having you be part of our adventure!
becky says
Hey Laurence and Jessica, love this post! What stunning photos!! Amazing!
I am off to LA and also the Grand Canyon next week, I’m really excited and looking forward to using plenty of your great tips’ thank you so much!
Also not looking forward to the 4am start but I know it will be worth it!
Will we be able to drive and park nearby the sunrise spots?
Thank you!!
Becky
Laurence Norah says
Hi Becky! My pleasure. For the sunrise spots, the best option is to take the shuttle *assuming you are camping*, as this runs from very early in the morning and will take you to where you need to go. There is very limited parking around the park 🙂
Yoshi says
Hi Laurence, really helpful post and the photos are AMAZING! Soo excited to go for the first time! My husband’s a photographer and I’m a festival fashion designer so when we travel we usually do photoshoots for my clothing line . I’m planning to drive to the Grand Canyon after a festival in Cali and wanted to do sunrise/sunset photoshoots with possibly studio lights set up and drone footage. Is there any place you would recommend that’s not fenced off? I notice that a lot of the viewpoints have fences but ideally wanted to shoot somewhere more natural where we could just climb on a rock or have the models actually interact with the scenery without a big crowd coming to look.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Yoshi!
Thanks very much! So, I have good news and bad news. The bad news – you can’t use drones in the Grand Canyon (or any US national park). You can see the rules here: https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/management/lawsandpolicies.htm
The good news is that it is very easy to find unfenced areas, in fact, most of the grand canyon is unfenced – it’s just the very popular spots that have fences, and these aren’t very long. I specifically asked a ranger about where I was allowed to go, and she said I was fine to go anywhere. So you won’t have a problem. I did a lot of photography and had no problems, you should be able to easily find a spot with no crowds (sunrise is better than sunset for this) and shoot unhindered.
Have a great trip!
Katie BH says
Hey Lawrence! Firstly photos are amazing! I was in the canyon November 2017 and managed to get sunrise and sunset photos. My favourite one (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10159654560950494&set=a.10159551659225494.1073741869.644015493&type=3&theater) of the sunrise was taken from Moran Point just off desert view drive – i was aiming to get to desert view point but didnt make it out of bed in time to get there – still pretty awesome photo ops from there 🙂 feel free to flick through the rest on my facebook page and I’m heading back there in May this year so will check out Yavapai point for the sunrise 🙂
Katie
Laurence Norah says
Hey Katie!
Thanks for sharing. For some reason I can’t see the image (possibly it’s not set to a public audience on facebook?), but I’m delighted you had a good time anyway. I’d love to take a look at your facebook page and see what you got from your adventure though! Good luck in May!
Chris Víllanueva says
hey Laurence! i just stumbled on your page and i think your photos are amazing! i just have a quick question as to one of the photos, the “selfie” that you took with your tripod after walking down 300m from mathers point east…how did you get on that rock? did you have you climb over the safety railing in order to get that photo? or do the railings stop after awhile? and your just free to go onto the edge of the rocks? i am curious because i want to go on a trip at the end of this year, and one of my main goals is to recreate a photo like that one of you standing on the rock overlooking the grand canyon!
Laurence says
Hey Chris!
When I was there there are points where there are fences, and then huge stretches without fences. I made the point of checking with a park range their policy on this, and she told me I was fine to go wherever I wanted, even the other side of the fences, and it was on me if I fell off. So yes, you’re free to go on the edge of rocks, but please exercise caution and be careful – some of those rocks are on the edge of mile high drops 😉
Have a great trip!
Duke Mantee says
Enjoyed your article and photos. I saw Grand Canyon for the 1st time this summer and am determined to go back next year.
Ford Quarterman says
I recently just returned from my first jaunt to the Grandaddy Canyon, & couldn’t put down the camera! You’ll have to try out the north rim next time – much less people, higher in elevation & more “foresty.” Even the iPhone shutterbugs can get stunners there, but thanks for these brilliant pro shots of one of our planet’s gems!