The Louvre is the most photogenic museum on earth, and you do not even need a ticket to shoot there. The best Louvre photo spots sit outside, around the pyramid and the courtyards, and they are open to everyone. As a Paris photographer I shoot there almost every week, and this guide gathers the corners that always deliver.
Louvre photo spots are the locations around the museum where portraits work best: the glass pyramid and its reflections, the Cour Carree and its stone arches, the Arc du Carrousel, and the gardens that frame the palace. All of them are outdoors, free to access, and within a five minute walk of each other.
Where Are the Best Louvre Photo Spots?
Every corner of the palace has a different personality, so the trick is knowing what each one gives you before you arrive. These are the six locations I use in almost every session.
- The glass pyramid. The signature frame of modern Paris. Reflections, perfect symmetry, and a backdrop everyone recognises in a second.
- The Cour Carree. A quiet stone courtyard with carved arches and surprisingly few people, ideal for elegant, editorial portraits.
- The Arc du Carrousel. The small triumphal arch that lines up with the pyramid, perfect for layered, cinematic compositions.
- The riverside colonnades. Long rows of columns along the Seine facade that add depth and rhythm behind you.
- The Tuileries edge. Green chairs, fountains and classic garden frames one minute from the palace walls.
- The Palais-Royal garden. Technically next door, and one of the most aesthetic detours in the whole city.
How Do You Avoid the Crowds at the Louvre?
The crowd concentrates in one place: the center of the pyramid courtyard. Walk fifty meters in any direction and the density drops fast. The Cour Carree is often nearly empty even when the pyramid esplanade is packed, and the colonnades along the river rarely see tourists at all.
Angles matter more than luck. I shoot low to hide people behind the fountains, use the pyramid glass to isolate you against sky, and time each frame between the waves of visitors. In a normal session we still get clean, empty-looking backgrounds without waiting around.
What Should You Wear for a Louvre Photoshoot?
The palace is beige stone and glass, so almost every color works against it. Solid tones photograph better than busy patterns, and one dressier outfit pays off here more than anywhere else in Paris, because the architecture itself is formal. Comfortable shoes matter too, since the best spots are spread across the courtyards and gardens.
If you want inspiration before choosing, my guide on what to wear for a Paris photoshoot covers colors, layers and combinations that work at every landmark.
Do You Need a Permit to Shoot at the Louvre?
For a personal session, no. The courtyards, the pyramid esplanade and the surrounding gardens are public space, and portrait sessions like the ones I run happen there every single day. Tripods and large production setups are a different story, but a photographer, a couple and natural light need no paperwork at all.
Inside the museum the rules change, and honestly the light outside is better anyway. The glass, the stone and the open sky give you more variety in twenty minutes of courtyard walking than any interior gallery could.
Turn These Spots Into a Real Photoshoot
If you want these frames with you in them, and not just on your camera roll, I run a dedicated Louvre photoshoot experience that covers every location in this guide in one relaxed route. You can see how these spots look in real sessions in my instagrammable Paris album, and if you want to go beyond the museum, start with the best photo spots in Paris.
Send me a message on WhatsApp with your dates and your ideas, and I will build your Louvre route around them.