Desert photoshoot
Thirty minutes in the red dunes south of Dubai, in the last low sun before the sand goes from orange to blue.
- Starting from
- $290
- Duration
- 30 min
- You receive
- 20+ edited photos
- Delivery
- 48–72 h
Only-in-the-UAE shoots
What’s included
- 20 edited photos
- Untracked dunes chosen ahead, away from the safari camps
- Timed for the last half hour of sunset light
- Private online gallery within 48–72 hours
Add to the booking
Bought with this shoot, never on their own. Fixed prices in US dollars.
Drone add-on
A licensed operator joins the photoshoot for aerial frames — only at locations where flying is permitted, which rules out most of Downtown, the Palm and the areas near the airports.
+$150
Reel add-on
One vertical reel of 30–60 seconds, filmed between frames during the photoshoot and delivered within 3–5 days.
+$120
Extra hour
Another hour of shooting, for a second location or for staying on from sunset into the blue hour.
+$120
Flying dress rental
A long-train dress from our wardrobe, laced to fit, chosen before the day; best in the dunes or on a windy beach.
+$150
Hair & make-up artist
Hair and make-up at your hotel before the shoot, done to last in heat and humidity, with a touch-up kit on location.
+$180
Express 24 h delivery
The full edited gallery within 24 hours instead of 48–72 — useful when you fly home the next day.
+$60
4×4 desert transfer
Pick-up from your hotel in a 4×4 with a driver who knows the sand, out to untracked dunes and back after dark.
+$90
Portfolio
Desert photoshoot: portfolio
Frames from recent shoots, to plan yours against.
Where to book it
Book Desert photoshoot where you are staying
Available in 13 places across the UAE. Choose the one nearest your hotel — travel within it is included.
About this shoot
Clean sand at the right hour
- Starting from
- $290
- Duration
- 30 min
- Edited photos
- 20
- Places
- 13
The dunes worth photographing are not the ones by the road. Tyre tracks and safari convoys cover the sand near the camps, so the shoot goes deeper, usually around Al Marmoom or the edge of the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, 45 to 60 minutes from the city. A 4×4 transfer can be added; an ordinary car reaches a meeting point on tarmac but not the sand itself. Allow extra time on weekday evenings, when traffic out of the city slows after 4 pm.
The thirty minutes are timed to fall in the half hour before sunset, when the dunes turn orange and every ridge throws a long shadow. From May to September sunrise is the better choice, because at 5 pm the sand is still too hot to stand on barefoot. Flowing fabrics in solid colours — terracotta, white, deep blue — read best against the sand; busy prints disappear. Wind is the variable: on gusty days we choose a dune with its back to it.
You receive 20 edited photos in a private gallery within 48 to 72 hours.
Before you book
Frequently asked questions: Desert photoshoot
How do we get to the dunes?
Untouched dunes are off-road. You can drive yourself to the edge of the sand, or add the 4×4 transfer and be collected from your hotel; from the Marina it is about forty-five minutes each way. A normal car cannot go onto the sand.
Is it too hot in summer?
From June to September we shoot at sunrise instead: the sand is cool, the light is just as low and the dunes have no tyre tracks yet. A sunset session in August means 40 °C at the start and glowing-hot sand.
Next step
Plan your Desert photoshoot
Reply within 2 hours. No deposit required to enquire.