Yellowstone Photography: The Shots, the Light and the Workshops
The four pictures everyone comes for are Grand Prismatic from the Fairy Falls overlook, the Lower Falls from Artist Point, bison or wolves in Lamar Valley at dawn, and the travertine terraces at Mammoth. Grand Prismatic needs midday sun for the colour, which is the opposite of the usual rule. Wildlife needs a 400mm lens and the first or last hour of light. Workshops run out of West Yellowstone, Gardiner and Bozeman, and winter is the season most of them are built around.
The shots, and when to take them
- Grand Prismatic Spring. From the Fairy Falls trail overlook, a 1.2 mile walk from the Fairy Falls trailhead, not from the boardwalk. Go between 11am and 2pm on a clear day. The colours need direct overhead sun, and a cold morning fills the basin with steam that hides everything.
- Lower Falls, 308 feet. Artist Point on the south rim for the classic view, best in morning light. Lookout Point on the north rim for a different angle. A rainbow forms in the spray from mid morning in summer.
- Lamar Valley wildlife. First light and last light, every time. Bison year round, wolves in winter and early spring, bears on the slopes in May and June.
- Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. Overcast days are better than sun here, because the white travertine blows out easily.
- Old Faithful. The predicted eruption times are posted. Backlit at sunset with the crowd in silhouette is more interesting than the standard daylight frame.
Kit
- A long lens for wildlife. 400mm is the practical minimum and 600mm is better. Legal distances are 25 yards from most animals and 100 yards from bears and wolves, and those are the reason you need the reach.
- A wide lens for the basins. 16 to 35mm covers the geyser landscapes and the night sky.
- A polariser to cut glare off the thermal pools, which makes more difference here than almost anywhere.
- A tripod for dawn wildlife and for the falls.
- Spare batteries, and in winter keep them against your body. Cold halves their life.
Workshops and tours
Multi day photography workshops run year round, and the serious ones are in winter. The reason is access: with the interior roads closed to cars, a workshop with snowcoach transport puts you at the geyser basins at first light with nobody else there, which is impossible to arrange yourself. Summer workshops tend to focus on Lamar Valley wildlife and run out of Gardiner and Cooke City. See Yellowstone in winter for how oversnow access works.
The rules that are actually enforced
Stay on boardwalks in thermal areas, without exception. Keep 25 yards from bison and elk and 100 yards from bears and wolves, and understand that approaching for a photograph is the most common way people get hurt here. Drones are banned throughout the park. Tripods are fine on boardwalks provided you are not blocking them.
For night work, see our northern lights guide.
Yellowstone Photography: The Shots, the Light and the Workshops FAQs
Between roughly 11am and 2pm on a clear day, from the Fairy Falls trail overlook rather than the boardwalk. The colours need direct overhead sun, and on a cold morning steam fills the basin and hides the spring completely.
Four hundred millimetres is the practical minimum and 600mm is better. Park rules require 25 yards of distance from most animals and 100 yards from bears and wolves, so reach is not optional.
No. Launching, landing or operating a drone is prohibited throughout the park.
