The Eiffel Tower is one of the most photographed tourist sites in the world. There are so many Eiffel Tower pictures out there that you might wonder whether it’s worth taking yet another shot of the landmark.
However, even the most cliché photography subjects can be transformed into something fresh and new with some thoughtfulness. You don’t need to be a professional photographer to find a fresh perspective and create a never-before-seen image of the Eiffel Tower. All you need is some creativity, patience, and a willingness to try new ideas.
11 Creative Ideas for Eiffel Tower Pictures
Here are some ways that photographers have made their Eiffel Tower images more unique and interesting. Even though all the following ideas have been done before (as the accompanying photos demonstrate), they allow for more creativity and individual style than the classic, direct tourist shot of the Eiffel Tower. Use these ideas and pictures as inspiration, and create your own unique perspective!
Eiffel Tower from Below
A lot of Eiffel Tower pictures are shot from afar, so the whole tower is clearly visible. But you can get equally stunning shots from directly below the Eiffel Tower. With the right composition, you can capture the beauty of the landmark while still creating a unique photo.
ilirjan rrumbullaku – Eiffel Tower
Howard Ferrier – Dusk beneath the golden arches
Sam Codrington – Magnifique
Bradley Weber – Eiffel Tower Looking Up
Trocadéro View of the Eiffel Tower
The elevated platform in the Trocadéro Gardens offers a fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower. Unless you arrive early enough, though, you’re bound to meet a crowd of other people here. Most of them are aiming for direct shots of the Eiffel Tower – all similar in appearance.
If you want a unique shot, avoid this approach. Instead, go to Place du Trocadéro and photograph the crowd. You’ll still get an incredible shot of the Eiffel Tower in the background, but it’ll look unlike all the other tourist photos.
Zed The Dragon – Tout un Symbole pour Paris en Bleu Blanc Rouge.
Hernán Piñera – Classic eiffel
Cedric Lange – Trocadero
Konstantin Tilberg – Trocadero
Unique Perspectives of the Eiffel Tower
You can find plenty of blog posts listing the best photography locations in Paris. (We even have one!) But when you’re photographing tall landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, it can be worthwhile to go places that aren’t well-known for their photography. These locations can give you views that no other photographer has captured before.
Even in popular locations, though, you can create unique shots by using juxtaposition, a photography technique that places two subjects next to each other for comparison. Juxtaposition can add humor and freshness to an otherwise classic shot.
Forced perspective is a similar technique that can be fun to experiment with, too. Though forced perspective can have a touristy feel, it’s actually a difficult technique that allows for a lot of creativity and unique shots.
Shirren Lim – .the lady.
Hemzah Ahmed – Little & Large…
VV Nincic – Paris scenery
joanne clifford – Windows on Paris
The Eiffel Tower Reflected in Water
If your visit to Paris is rainy, you’ll miss out on blue skies and beautiful sunsets with the Eiffel Tower – but you’ll have the unique opportunity to photograph reflections of the landmark in puddles and rain-covered streets. These beautiful shots can help make up for the disappointment of rain.
kuhnmi – Eiffel Tower in a Puddle
Bradley Weber – Eiffel Tower Reflected
Simon – paris in the rain
Long Exposures with the Eiffel Tower
In general, the best long exposures have movement around something static. This unchanging subject becomes the focus of the image, while the blurred movement creates atmosphere. For example, an imposing skyscraper may be surrounded by a beautiful blur of clouds.
Iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower are ideal subjects for long exposures because they’re surrounded by movement – traffic, clouds, flowing water, crowds of tourists, etc. They’re also lit up at night, so you can get nice long exposures even after sunset.
Falcon® Photography – La Seine
ilirjan rrumbullaku – A Quiet Morning in Paris
Pedro Szekely – Eiffel Tower
pourkoiaps – Le Temps qui passe
Eiffel Tower Bokeh
At night, the Eiffel Tower becomes a lovely subject for bokeh photography, especially during its hourly light show. Every evening, starting after sunset until 1am, the Eiffel Tower sparkles with light for five minutes on the hour. The final one at 1am lasts 10 minutes and is special because the rest of the Tower is dark, so only the twinkling lights are visible.
Krystian Olszanski – Sparkles
Raymond’s Glass Eye – French Bokeh
RomainHerbé – Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower at Sunset
Because every sunset is a little different, you can get unique photos just by photographing the Eiffel Tower during sunset. Though it’s been done countless times before, no two photos look exactly the same. Even on the same day, you can get drastically different photos at the beginning and end of the sunset.
While a sunrise over Paris can also be beautiful, it won’t have the same energy or vibrant color as a sunset. Because Parisians often go out in the evening, the streets and buildings will be full of golden light around sunset.
Besides, if you want to view the horizon, you’ll need to shoot from a tall building like the Montparnasse Tower, which opens at 9:30. That’s well past sunrise, even in December. On the plus side, it stays open until 10:30 or 11pm, so you can shoot the sunset year-round.
ilirjan rrumbullaku – Sunset Over Paris
Sam Codrington – Paris at Night
ilirjan rrumbullaku – Sparkling Tower
alyssa BLACK. – sunset over the eiffel tower | paris.
The Eiffel Tower During the Blue Hour
You can get fantastic pictures of the Eiffel Tower during the Blue Hour after sunset, when the Tower is glowing with light. This golden light will stand out beautifully against the blue twilight sky, as blue and orange/yellow are contrasting colors.
The pre-dawn Blue Hour won’t have the same bold effect, since the Eiffel Tower isn’t lit in the morning, but you can still get nice atmospheric shots with blue tones if you’re up early. Most of Paris will likely still be asleep, so you’ll at least have a lot of space to yourself.
Pedro Szekely – Eiffel Tower Lights
Hemzah Ahmed – Parisian Blue…
✓ Елена Пејчинова – When I Say ‘Light’
Zoltán Vörös – Blue hour – Blue shadow
Eiffel Tower Silhouette
Silhouettes are a great option for shots taken just before sunrise or before the Eiffel Tower is lit around sunset. In both of these situations, you’ll have a beautiful backdrop for the silhouette, as the sky will be full of color.
Silhouettes of the Eiffel Tower also work well in the midday, when the sun is high and bright. This harsh sunlit can ruin many other types of shots, but for a silhouette in black and white, it can work brilliantly.
Blair-39 – Jumping like The Eiffel Tower
joanne clifford – Night falls over Paris
Jonathan Gross – Eiffel Tower Sky Streaks
Tony Gravé – An eclipse of steel
The Eiffel Tower “Lighthouse” Beacon
The top of the Eiffel Tower has a rotating light that resembles a lighthouse beacon with light beams on both sides. Because these light beams are directly opposite to each other, you can create awesome photos by composing the light beams to create a straight line, crossing the frame.
Of course, you can create many other interesting compositions, too. You can match the color of the light beam to the sky, shoot the light beam straight on, or simply capture the light beam disappearing into the night.
Charles Patrick Ewing – Eiffel Tower at Midnight
alyssa BLACK. – eiffel tower | paris.
PapaPiper – PARIS-5
Howard Ferrier – Spellbound
The Carousel near the Eiffel Tower
Many photos of the Eiffel Tower focus on it alone as the main subject. But you can get equally striking photos by including another subject in the image, so the Eiffel Tower won’t be front and center.
The carousel by the Eiffel Tower, called the “Carrousel de la Tour Eiffel,” is an excellent subject for this approach. Both it and the Eiffel Tower are lit at night, so you can get lovely shots of them together against the dark sky.
Howard Ferrier – Christmas in Paris
Sean X Liu – Eiffel tower+carousel
alyssa BLACK. – carousel | eiffel tower.
The Seine River with the Eiffel Tower
The Seine River is another subject that pairs well with the Eiffel Tower. Depending on what part of the Seine you’re photographing and how you compose the image, the Eiffel Tower can either be a prominent part of the photo or an eye-catching landmark on the side. Either way, the river can give your image a feeling of peace and openness, a snapshot of serenity in the middle of the city.
ilirjan rrumbullaku – Overlooking the Seine
valcker – Eiffel tower sunrise
Lenny K Photography – Eiffel Tower in Vintage Sepia
Pedro Szekely – Eiffel Tower
