Photographers in Alicante & the Costa Blanca

Professional photoshoots in Alicante start from €279. Packages differ in length and in how many edited photos are included, so you can choose anything from a short walk along the Explanada to a longer session that also climbs to the castle viewpoints. If you want to shoot up the coast — Altea, Calpe, Guadalest — agree the route with the photographer in advance, because that turns it into a half-day.

In the city: the Explanada de España with its marble wave and palms, the marina, Postiguet beach under the rock, the painted houses and steps of the Barrio de Santa Cruz, and the terraces of the Santa Bárbara castle for the view over the whole bay. Within an hour along the coast: Altea's white old town under its blue-tiled dome, the Peñón de Ifach at Calpe, the pine-backed coves of Xàbia, and the castle village of Guadalest in the mountains inland.

Early morning and the last hour before sunset. Alicante is one of the sunniest cities in Spain, and in July and August the midday light is hard and flat while the beaches are at their fullest; the same places are quiet and warm-toned at either end of the day. Winter is the local secret — mild, clear and empty enough to photograph the Explanada or the castle without a crowd.

Three ways: the lift cut through the rock from the Postiguet beach side, the road that curls around the back of the hill, and a footpath up from the Barrio de Santa Cruz. Walking the castle grounds is free, the lift is ticketed, and both the lift and the opening hours change with the season — check the current times when you fix the date, and allow for the climb if you are shooting in summer heat.