Photography · 8 min read
Erg Chebbi photographs badly at midday and unforgettably at either end of the day. The difference is not your camera — it is the hour, the angle to the sun and whether there are forty footprints across your ridge. This is what we have learned taking guests to the same dunes several times a week.
The first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset are when the sand goes orange and every ridge throws a long shadow. Between about 11:00 and 16:00 the light comes from overhead, the dunes flatten out and even a good camera returns a beige nothing.
Sunrise is better than sunset for clean sand: the wind overnight erases the previous day's tracks and you will often be the first person on the ridge.
Shoot along the ridge, not across it. Standing at the foot of a dune pointing up gives you a flat wall; walking the crest and shooting down its length gives you the S-curve everyone recognises.
Put a person or a buggy in the frame. Erg Chebbi has no trees and no buildings, so nothing tells the viewer the dune is 150 metres high until a human being appears on it.
On a camera, shoot a stop underexposed. Sand fools meters into brightening everything and washing out the colour you came for. Keep your aperture around f/8 to f/11 for depth, and shoot RAW so you can pull the warmth back.
On a phone, tap the brightest part of the sand to set exposure, then drag the slider down slightly. Turn off any auto-enhance mode that adds fake contrast, and avoid digital zoom — walk closer instead.
Fine Saharan sand gets into lens barrels, zips and charging ports and does not come out. Do not change lenses on the dunes. Keep the camera in a zipped bag between stops and only take it out when the buggy has stopped moving.
Bring more battery than you think: cold winter mornings drain them fast, and there is no power on a dune.
Do not shoot while driving — you need both hands, and a dropped phone in soft sand is usually gone. Passengers can film with a strap or a gimbal, but the honest answer is that the best shots come at the stops.
Your guide stops wherever the light is good and will happily take the group photo you cannot take yourself. Tell us at the briefing if photography is the point of the ride and we will route accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
The hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. Midday light flattens the dunes completely.
Yes, in a zipped bag. Take it out at stops, not while moving, and do not change lenses outdoors.
Always. Tell us before you set off that photos matter and we will plan the route around the light.
Drones need permission to enter Morocco and are frequently held at customs. Assume you cannot bring one unless you have arranged it in advance.
Send us your date and group size on WhatsApp. We usually reply within a few minutes.
