More Simple photography tips for time in Seville - or elsewhere - Royal Alcázar Sevilla

Five simple photography tips for time in Seville - Camera and Phone Camera

• Get low to obtain a different angle on a popular scene

• Be aware of the light, maybe come back another time

• Use the depth of field preview button, if you're using a camera

• Low angle can add huge dramatic effect

• Try to avoid post-adjustment

  
  

Moorish architecture is beautiful, indeed stunning, and some of the best is to be found in the Royal Alcázar of Seville. Islamic modified by later Catholic Monarchs, it is one of the finest examples of Mudéjar architecture.

Photographing such architecture is challenging, and rewarding at the same time.

There is no real point at which one bit of archtiecture stops and another starts, so cut-off points can be hard to choose - if you step back a few metres you end up with so much more, which can be good or bad.

In this article I'm going to chat about some photographs of the Courtyard of the Maidens in the Seville Alcazar.

One very simple photography tip is to get there early with pre-booked tickets. Unless you fancy photographs with lots of people in the way of the architecture.

I was there a couple of weeks before Easter when the weather was great, and the tourists still largely thinking about their holidays rather than doing their holidays.

The main point of this is the composition.

Image One - Courtyard of The Maidens Seville

Image One is taken from standing position on wide-angle with my iphone 14. This height allows the pattern of the plain tiles to show, along with the reflection and length of the pool.

The reflections in the pool are very natural, with hints of the arches above. If mirror calm, imagine what the reflections woul be like!

If you were sending me this for some nurture comments, I'd immediately point out that the green tiles around the pool are a great framing asset, but pulling back a smidgin would have allowed the corners to be included.

Image Two - Courtyard of The Maidens Seville

With Image Two I got down much lower, with markedly different effect.

The wide angle lens has caused distortion of the tiles in the foreground, but to my mind it works quite well.

The pool is not so significant, nor the reflections, and because of where i was positioned I ended up losing more of the corners.

All in all an OK shot, but were I there now, I'd try landscape rather than portrait orientation. I can't remember why I didn't!

Positives are the sky in the scene. Note how the relative darkness of the foreground has meant that the iphone hasn't coped very well with the bright clouds.

Time of day, is, as ever, of huge significance, and also time of year. Both affecting how much light is on the scene. To me, the lighting of this scene benefits from lack of sunshine on the side of the buiding.

Image Three - Courtyard of The Maidens

Image Three. Same courtyard, different scene.

This image captures more of the intricate Moorish tilework. These colourful ceramic tiles, mostly crafted across the river, create a mesmerizing effect of light, shadow, and reflection.

Shot using the iPhone’s ultra-wide lens, the photograph effectively captures the expansive view.

While the lens offers excellent background sharpness, there is the typical trade-off—some foreground blur. Still, the overall detail remains compelling.

As with much of Moorish architecture, the design offers no single focal point. Instead, the complex interlacing of horseshoe arches guides the eye through the space, making cut-off points difficult to select.,

Though the bases of the columns are missing from this angle, raising the camera would have diminished the visual impact of the tile patterns on the floor.