Wat Arun Photoshoot A Private One-Hour Session at the Temple of Dawn
An honest look at booking a session here, including the crowds most guides won't warn you about.
Gallery
Wat Arun is one of the most crowded temples in Thailand
Before you book, we want to be upfront about something most photographers won't mention. This is one of the most heavily visited sites in the country. Tour groups arrive steadily throughout the day, and the same is true at the Grand Palace, which is even more packed. Many Bangkok sightseeing tours build their standard day trip around these two stops.
That matters for photos. At the best-known spots, you'll be queuing behind other photographers waiting their turn. For most of the day there will be strangers somewhere in your background. The crowd thins later in the afternoon, but outside the first hour after opening it never really goes quiet.
One more thing worth knowing. The temple only permits locally licensed photographers to shoot commercially on site, and you'll find plenty of them offering sessions around the entrance at very different price points and quality levels. Compare portfolios rather than quotes alone, and ask to see a full gallery from one session rather than a handful of best shots.
"If you want this specific temple in your photos, we'll absolutely make it happen. But if you just want beautiful temple photos, we can show you places you'll love more."
- Tourists fill the temple all day, except the first hour after opening
- Midday sun is harsher, though we work with it when that suits your schedule
- Popular spots have queues of other photographers waiting their turn
- Sightseeing tours route groups through here every day
A one-hour photoshoot at the Temple of Dawn
A Wat Arun photoshoot with us runs one hour, because an hour is genuinely all this temple needs. That covers the main spots without rushing, and after an hour the session gains more from adding another location than from repeating the same backgrounds.
If you want a Wat Arun photographer for longer, we build the extra hours around the temple rather than inside it. Wat Pho is a short ride away, the river and the surrounding streets are on the doorstep, and our 2-hour and 4-hour packages cover several places in one afternoon. See our pricing page for the full breakdown, or ask us and we'll plan a route.
What's included
- Up to 1 hour on location at Wat Arun
- Up to 300 fully edited photos
- Delivered within 24 to 72 hours
- High-resolution files, ready for print and social media
- Full creative direction on poses, angles and timing
Pricing
11k THB $335 Our 1-hour package, priced per session and not per person. Longer packages add nearby locations.That's the shoot itself. Costume and makeup are optional add-ons if you want them, detailed in the next section.
Costume and makeup, if you want them
Most of our clients here shoot in their own clothes. Traditional Thai costume is an option that suits some people and not others, and the same goes for makeup. Here's what's realistic at this temple:
Thai costume rental
There are dozens of rental shops along the streets leading up to the temple. They're walk-in, no reservation needed, and the whole process takes around 20 to 30 minutes including dressing.
Typical rental prices run 100 to 300 THB ($5 to $10) for the costume itself. Quality and detailing vary between shops, so it's worth choosing a costume you actually like rather than taking the first one offered.
Paid directly to the rental shopHair and makeup
The rental shops nearby typically also offer hair and makeup for 200 to 400 THB ($10 to $15). It's a convenient option for casual photos. If you want makeup designed specifically for photography, a specialist MUA gives you more control over the finish.
For photo-ready makeup by a specialist MUA, we offer it as an add-on to our bookings from 4k THB / $120. It's part of our service and can only be booked together with one of our sessions.
See our MUA add-on →Quieter temples, more room to shoot
If you're looking for a more relaxed shoot without strangers in the background, we know the city well and can point you to temples that are just as striking, often more photogenic in the final image, and where we can actually take our time.
Across the river, quieter than here, home to the Reclining Buddha.
The Marble Temple, rarely crowded and beautiful for portrait work.
Striking iron-spired temple, almost empty on weekdays.
What you get for the price
Quality over the lowest price
We aren't the cheapest option here. The difference is in the photography: considered composition and light, careful direction, consistent editing, and enough time to make each frame deliberate.
Working around the crowds
We can shoot at any time the temple is open, and we plan around whatever slot suits you. Later in the day the light softens and the crowd becomes easier to work around, but we know the angles and which spots work best at different times of day, so the background stays as clean as possible whenever you come.
You keep the full-res files
Up to 300 high-resolution edited photos delivered within 24 to 72 hours. Print them, frame them, post them. They're yours. No watermarked proofs, no upsell on "premium" downloads.
What clients say afterwards
Honestly we booked here because it's the one everyone photographs, and yeah it was busy. But the photographer knew when to shoot and when to wait for a gap. We didn't get the fake-empty-temple shots you see on Instagram but we got real photos of us there and I prefer that. Good guy, made my husband laugh which is hard.
We first booked someone recommended by the costume rental store. Got 200 photos back and honestly only about 3 were actually good. So frustrating. We reached out here and did a second session. Difference was day and night. Composition, lighting, editing, all of it. Wish we'd just started here and saved the first booking.
Booked for our anniversary. The team was upfront that it gets crowded and suggested we consider Wat Pho instead, which we did, and it was so much calmer. Photos came out beautifully. We're so glad they were honest with us before we paid rather than after.
FAQ
No. Most of our clients here shoot in their own clothes. Costume is purely optional. If you want a traditional Thai costume, the rental shops around the temple charge 100 to 300 THB ($5 to $10) and take walk-ins.
Probably some. The temple receives very large numbers of visitors every day and we can't clear it. We time shots, pick angles and wait for gaps, but some strangers in the background are unavoidable. If that bothers you, we'd genuinely recommend a quieter temple like Wat Pho or Wat Benchamabophit.
No. Our pricing is per session, not per person. Whether you're solo, a couple, a family or a group of six, the session is 11k THB / $335. Everyone in the group is included in the edited photos.
The weather here is unpredictable, so here's how we handle it. If your outdoor shoot falls on a rainy day, you can cancel or reschedule freely and your deposit is refunded in full.
For cancellations due to any other reason, the deposit is non-refundable. If you need to reschedule for non-weather reasons, give us at least 48 hours' notice and we'll find a new date. Your deposit is held and applied to the rescheduled session.
You can book any time the temple is open. Later in the afternoon is our favourite, since the light softens and the spires catch the golden hour, but earlier slots work too and we shoot them regularly. The last start time shifts through the year with sunset and the temple's closing time, so tell us what suits you and we will confirm.
Up to one hour on location. You receive up to 300 fully edited photos delivered within 24 to 72 hours as high-resolution files.
Yes. An hour is enough for the temple itself, so longer bookings add other places nearby: Wat Pho, the river, the surrounding streets. Our 2-hour and 4-hour packages cover several locations in one afternoon. See the pricing page for the full breakdown.
Not by default, but we offer makeup as an add-on to our bookings from 4k THB / $120. It's part of our service and can only be booked alongside one of our sessions, not standalone. See our dedicated makeup artist page for details.
Ready to book your session at the temple?
Or if you'd prefer a quieter temple for your session, tell us what you have in mind and we'll suggest the right location.
Explore more locations
Other temples and places we shoot across the city