This page is all about Angkor Wat photography tips. Angkor Wat, the city temple, is the biggest religious building in the world, built during the 12th century under the reign of King Suryavarman II. Spreads on 163 hectares and surrounded by a large moat, Angkor Wat is famous for its five lotus-shaped towers which silhouette can be seen best with the sun behind them at sunrise. For a photographer visiting this famous site, the experience can be quite overwhelming and hopefully these suggestions will be useful to first time visitors to taking better pictures of this famous landmark.
ANGKOR WAT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS | THE BEST LENS FOR ANGKOR WAT
After being on site for few hours, many photographers realized too late that their 24mm (on full frame) is not wide enough to capture some frames. It is true in Angkor Wat temple and even more so in the other temples in Angkor.
If you using a Canon camera, we would suggest the moderately-priced Canon EF 17–40mm f/4L USM or the more expensive Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L USM. You can go probably as wide as a 12mm on a rectilinear ultra wide lens
If you have a Fisheye lens taking the dust in one of your drawers, it is time to take it for a spin in Angkor where you will take unique pictures. The picture below was taken with a 7.5 mm fisheye lens mounted on a Fuji mirrorless camera which is a 11mm (35mm equivalent).
If you have a smartphone, you can check if you have a wide angle view mode, which is available on models released in the past 2 years or so.
ANGKOR WAT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS | LOOK AROUND FOR DETAILS
Angkor Wat temple is so huge that it is easy to miss the many small intricate details inside its galleries. Some of them can be high up or lower to the ground so be sure too look in all directions.
ANGKOR WAT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS | COMPOSE WITH LIGHT AND SHADOWS
If you have a clear and sunny in Angkor Wat you will enjoy enjoy playing with light and shadows especially in early morning or late evening. Just to be sure to expose for the highlights!
ANGKOR WAT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS | GET OUT OF THE BEATEN PATH
Right location, right time. On a busy day, Angkor Wat temple received closed to 10 000 visitors but it is still possible to find places relatively empty for a short period of time if you have a good photography guide with Angkor Photography Tours.
Angkor Wat main tower backlit at sunset
ANGKOR WAT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS | GET YOUR EXPOSURE RIGHT
Getting the right exposure in Angkor Wat is not so easy as light changes drastically between inside and outside the temple. Unless you are shooting on auto ISO you will have to always pay attention to your ISO settings first before moving forward with the other settings. Whether you are shooting manual or priority aperture, the metering system of your camera will be challenged. You have probably read that shooting against the sun is not recommended but with the right settings in your camera and the right angle it can give fantastic results as you can see on the picture below.
