Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend Photography Guide – Page Arizona
Updated 2026 – Southwest road trip itinerary and photography guide
This post is part of my Southwest road trip through Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. After driving from Sedona to Page, Arizona the day before, we planned a full day of photography around some of the most famous locations in the Southwest, including Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, and even an aerial tour over the desert.
If you missed the earlier posts, you can start here:
Southwest Road Trip Itinerary – Phoenix, Sedona, Antelope Canyon, Zion & Las Vegas
Sunrise at Horseshoe Bend
We woke up early with the goal of getting to Horseshoe Bend before sunrise. One of the nice things about staying in Page, Arizona is that the overlook is only a few minutes from town, so it was an easy drive in the dark to get there before anyone else.
When we pulled into the parking lot, we were only the second vehicle there. We grabbed our gear, bundled up for the cool desert morning, and made the short half-mile walk out to the overlook. That little hike was enough to wake us up and get ready for the morning shoot.
When we reached the canyon, we set up right away as the sky was starting to brighten. Horseshoe Bend is such a large overlook that there are plenty of good spots to shoot from, and even as more photographers arrived there was still room for everyone to find their own angle.
The morning was quiet except for birds and the occasional sound of the wind moving through the canyon. Being out there before sunrise was one of the highlights of the entire trip.
Tips for Photographing Horseshoe Bend at Sunrise
We were there in April, and the conditions were beautiful but a little challenging for photography. There were no clouds in the sky, which meant we didn’t get the dramatic pink and purple colors that can happen when the sun rises behind you.
At sunrise at Horseshoe Bend, the sun comes up behind the overlook, which creates a few challenges:
If there are clouds, they can light up with amazing color.
Without clouds, the sky stays fairly simple.
It takes a long time for the sunlight to reach the bottom of the canyon.
Because of the extreme contrast between the bright sky and the dark canyon below, I highly recommend bracketing exposures and combining them later as HDR. I shot both long exposures and bracketed images, but the HDR shots gave the best balance of detail in the sky, the cliffs, and the river below.
We stayed longer than most people after sunrise, waiting for the sunlight to reach deeper into the canyon. Eventually the rocks below started to glow with a warm golden color, and that ended up being my favorite light of the morning.
Afternoon Photography in Antelope Canyon
After finishing at Horseshoe Bend, we headed back into Page for another photography tour through Antelope Canyon. This was our second time shooting there on the trip, but the lighting changes so much throughout the day that every visit feels different.
If you book a tour around midday, usually between noon and 1pm, you have the best chance of seeing the famous light beams shining down into the canyon. Later in the afternoon, the light beams are usually gone, but the colors inside the canyon become deeper and more saturated.
Both times of day can be great depending on what kind of photos you want. The slot canyon walls reflect the sunlight in different ways throughout the day, so even shooting the same location twice can give completely different results.
Aerial Photography Over Tower Butte
Later that afternoon we decided to try something completely different and booked a helicopter tour that was supposed to land on top of Tower Butte. The plan was to fly out over the desert, land on the butte, and photograph the landscape from above.
The wind was too strong that day to safely land on Tower Butte, so instead we did a flying tour over the area. Even without landing, the view from the helicopter was incredible. Seeing the desert, canyons, and rock formations from the air gave a completely different perspective than anything we had seen from the ground.
I love looking for angles that most people don’t get to see. Anyone can stand at a popular overlook and take the same photo, but when you can find a different perspective, it makes the image feel more personal. The aerial views of Tower Butte ended up being some of my favorite shots from the entire trip.
Ending the Day in Page Arizona
After a long day of shooting, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest before the next part of the trip. The following morning we would be leaving Page and driving north into Utah toward Springdale and Zion National Park, another place I had wanted to photograph for a long time.
Next stop: Page Arizona to Zion National Park
Full trip guide: Southwest Road Trip Itinerary – Phoenix, Sedona, Antelope Canyon, Zion & Las Vegas
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