Considering a visit to the legendary Lower Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona? Whether you’re an Arizona first-timer or a frequent flyer, these Lower Antelope Canyon photos will inspire you to finally book a tour.
Below, you’ll find Antelope Canyon photo tips, Lower Antelope Canyon pictures inside the canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon pictures above the canyon.
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Antelope Canyon Photo Tips
Taking photos inside Antelope Canyon can be tricky. Between the mandatory fast-paced tours, dark lighting and busy crowds, you’ll want to take note of these quick Lower Antelope Canyon photo tips before visiting.
- Do not take photos while climbing the staircases (against Antelope Canyon policy).
- Do not take videos inside Antelope Canyon (against Antelope Canyon policy).
- Visit Lower Antelope Canyon midday for the best lighting.
- Use a camera that allows you to manually adjust lighting (updated iPhones can do this too).
- Shoot in RAW photo format instead of JPG. You can change this in your camera settings.
- Clean your camera lens frequently.
- Do not use a tripod (against Antelope Canyon policy).
- Find canyon corners without crowds.
- Ask your tour guide to take a photo for you. They know the best photo spots.
- Keep filters turned off when shooting with an iPhone.
- Photograph light beams if you see them.
- Decrease shadows and increase hue saturations when editing.
Obviously, we’ll go over these Antelope Canyon photo tips more in depth as we go through the following photos.
Lower Antelope Canyon Photos Inside The Canyon
Climbing down inside Lower Antelope Canyon is a totally otherworldly, awe-inspiring experience.
The fluorescent orange clay walls curve and carve through the canyon’s sandstone like colorful ocean waves. At the same time, the Navajo tour guides are kind, welcoming and passionate about sharing their land through educational tours and storytelling.
To best capture the essence of Lower Antelope Canyon in your photos, I highly recommend you use a camera body and lens that perform well in low light and allow you to manually adjust the lighting.
I use the Canon 5D Mark IV for all my travel photography. Inside Antelope Canyon, I used my trusty Sigma 35mm F/1.4 prime lens.
Because the canyon is dark, which can cause unnecessary blur and graininess in your pictures, the best camera settings for Lower Antelope Canyon are a low f-stop (1.2-2.5 preferred), a high ISO (around 1250 preferred) and a quick shutter speed (between 1/500-1/2000 preferred).
These are the exact camera settings I used for all of the Lower Antelope Canyon photos shown here.
Moreover, a good rule of thumb is to always shoot in RAW and error toward shooting too dark. Photographing in RAW will allow you to edit dark photos in editing softwares like Lightroom without damaging the photo. Similarly, shooting dark will prevent overexposure.
To edit dark photos in Lightroom, decrease shadows, decrease blacks, increase highlights, increase whites and, if necessary, increase exposure but to no more than 1.0.
Lastly, if you see any blue coloring in your Lower Antelope Canyon photos, your camera lens is dirty. Make sure your lens is free from dust and smudges for the truest coloring. The canyon walls should only photograph orange.
Lower Antelope Canyon Photography Rules
Because you’re on Navajo land, it’s imperative to follow the Antelope Canyon photography rules in respect for the Navajo people.
For example, videos are prohibited inside of the canyon without a commercial permit. However, you are free to take videos above the canyon. Additionally, for safety reasons, you cannot take photos while on the steep staircases, and tripods are prohibited.
Furthermore, you cannot visit Lower Antelope Canyon without a trained Navajo tour guide. I booked our tour guide through GetYourGuide, and I had a fantastic, seamless experience with them.
Likewise, make sure to book your tour guide as soon as possible because Lower Antelope Canyon tours do regularly sell out. You can book your mandatory Navajo tour for Lower Antelope Canyon here.
Lower Antelope Canyon Photos Above The Canyon
As previously mentioned, although you cannot take videos down inside Lower Antelope Canyon, you can take as many videos and photos as you like on top of the canyon.
Here’s what Lower Antelope Canyon looks like from above. It’s incredible how such a subtle, hidden rock formation from above appears to be so enchanting and magical from below.
Feel inspired to visit Lower Antelope Canyon yet? Remember to book your mandatory tour with an authentic Navajo tour guide here!
Also, be sure to follow me over on Instagram for more travel tips and photography inspiration.
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