It doesn’t get much more iconic than the Eiffel Tower in Paris… Which is why we wanted to share different ways to capture wider cityscapes views of the French landmark.

The most obvious shot is from the Trocadéro, across the Seine river. It’s a straight-forward location, with the obvious image being a centered, symmetrical composition. In the image below, Michael timed his exposure to make sure the rotating light beam at the top of the tower would be straight and centered.

Michael found another great spot at the Trocadéro, but it involves some (probably illegal) climbing. In any case, using the gold statues at night provides a great foreground for the Eiffel Tower.

On the opposite side of the tower is the Champ de Mars, a large open plaza with grass and paths. Michael was there on a rainy night and used puddles to add some interest to his composition. The green lighting provides a great contrast to the orange lights of the tower.

One of the areas we’ll photograph during the September workshop is the Wall of Peace, which is at the opposite end of the Champs de Mars. Angie found interesting ways to create layers and frame the Eiffel Tower:

Avenue Rapp is a charming French street with more great views of the ever-iconic tower. It’s a great area to add context and more Parisian details to your images. Here, Angie waited to include the scooter in her image.

Here’s a slightly detailed take on the Eiffel Tower with the bridge detail in the foreground to add interest.

A great spot to photograph the Eiffel Tower is from Tour Montparnasse, the only skyscraper in the city. The view from its observatory is spectacular!

A fun way to create slightly more abstract takes the Eiffel Tower is to zoom your lens in or out during a long exposure to create light trails. Your subject stays stationary and in focus and you have this fun effect. Kinda reminds me of champagne.

If you’d like to photograph the Eiffel Tower, and much more in Paris, join us on our architecture photography workshop on September 26-30!