PhotoUbud · Gianyar, Bali

Bali photoshoot · Ubud

In short

A Bali photoshoot in Ubud costs from $160 for 30 minutes at one iconic location — a temple gate, rice terraces or a jungle waterfall — with 15+ edited photos delivered online in 48–72 hours. Travel within the Ubud area is included; temple donations and entry tickets are paid separately. A second icon needs an extra hour at $100.

Starting from: $160
Duration: 30 min
Edited photos: 15+

Why here

Why choose Bali photoshoot in Ubud?

Most people who search for a Bali photoshoot want one picture that anyone at home will recognise as Bali without a caption. Around Ubud there are three such pictures, and they ask for different mornings: the split stone gate of a village temple, with carved guardians and an offering basket at its foot; rice terraces stepping down a valley under coconut palms; and a curtain of water in a fern-lined jungle bowl. The starting session is built around one of them, chosen for your date, not all three glimpsed from a car. Of the three, the temple gate is the one most visitors skip — and the one that says Bali most precisely, because nowhere else in the world builds gates like these.

How the shoot is planned

What does the shoot in Ubud look like?

The route

Take the temple-gate version, the one we plan most carefully. We meet at your hotel around 6:15 and drive south through Mas, the woodcarvers’ village, to Batuan, where the village temple has one of the finest carved gateways near Ubud. At the entrance you put on a sarong and sash — lent at the gate against a donation — and the half hour runs from the outside in: first the full gate from low down, so its two halves frame the sky; then you on the steps, small against the stone; then closer portraits by the carved walls of the outer courtyard, where the morning light comes in sideways. If the women of the village arrive with offerings, we step aside and wait; that minute often gives the best candid frame of the morning. With an extra hour ($100), we finish on the open rice fields behind Mas on the way back.

The timing

The temple gate wants the first hour after sunrise, between about 6:30 and 7:30: the stone is still cool-toned, the courtyard is empty and the light comes in low enough to show the carving. Terraces are a strict sunrise job, waterfalls a mid-morning one once light reaches into the gorge. Any month works for a temple, but check the Balinese calendar — on Galungan, Kuningan and a village odalan the gate is dressed in penjor and cloth and full of worshippers, beautiful to see and not a place to pose. In the wet season, November to March, all three icons are best before ten, ahead of the afternoon rain.

What’s included

What does the package include?

The Bali photoshoot package in Ubud covers: 15+ edited photos; One location on Bali, chosen around where you are staying; Start time planned for the light, the tide and the queues on your date; Posing direction in English or Russian; Private online gallery within 48–72 hours. Nothing is added to the price after the shoot. Permits worth knowing about: Tegallalang Rice Terrace — entry around IDR 25,000, plus small donations at farmer checkpoints on the paths; swings are extra; Tibumana Waterfall — entry around IDR 20,000; a short stepped path through jungle; Kanto Lampo Waterfall — entry around IDR 15,000–20,000; sarongs are not needed; Sayan Ridge & Ayung Valley — depends on the villa or venue; many allow guests' shoots, some charge a location fee.

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Portfolio

Bali photoshoot in Ubud

Frames from recent shoots, to plan yours against.

Before you book

FAQ — Bali photoshoot in Ubud

Temple gate, terraces or waterfall — which should we choose?

Choose by what you want on the wall. Terraces give the widest, greenest frame and suit bright clothes; the temple gate gives texture, culture and a slightly more formal look; a waterfall gives drama and spray but wet hair. If you are unsure, the gate is the safest bet in any weather, because stone looks good under cloud, while terraces lose their colour on a grey morning.

Can we go to Lempuyang from Ubud instead?

Yes, but it is a different morning. Lempuyang is roughly one to one and a half hours east of Ubud, the queue for the gate can be long, and it sits outside the Ubud area, so the drive is agreed in advance. For a first Bali photoshoot we usually suggest a carved gate closer to Ubud: no queue, no time limit at the gate, and the same feeling of stone and ceremony.

What should we wear for a temple-gate shoot?

Something that covers the shoulders and works under a sarong: a plain top or shirt in white, cream, ochre or deep red reads well against grey and red stone. Avoid black, which merges with the carved shadows, and short skirts or vests. The sarong and sash are part of the picture, so you can choose a colour at the gate or bring your own.

How is this different from the $130 holiday photoshoot?

The holiday photoshoot happens close to where you are staying — your hotel, the lane outside, the nearest rice field — with no drive. The Bali photoshoot, from $160, takes you to one of the recognisable places and is timed for its light and its crowds. Both give 15+ edited photos in 48–72 hours; the difference is the destination and the planning around it.

Same shoot elsewhere