Taj Mahal and reflecting pool
Llamas overlooking Machu Picchu, Peru
Gondolas on the Grand Canal, Venice
floating chunks of ice in the water in Antartica
a crowd of people walking around stonehenge in England
the easter island head sculptures in Tongariki
the roots of a tree growing around the entrance to the ta prahm temple in Cambodia
a heard of wildebeast running through the dirt at dusk through the serengeti in tanzania
a close view of a carving of a human figure on a column in the pyramids of Giza in Egypt
birds covering the shore with a boat in the distance in the British Isles
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Taj Mahal, IndiaPhoto tip: Reflection pictures are often best when precisely symmetrical, so this is one time when it’s perfectly OK to break the “rule of thirds.” Put the horizon in the exact middle of the frame to capture the elegance of the Taj Mahal’s Mughal architecture.
Photograph by Jim Richardson

How to photograph 10 iconic places

A National Geographic photographer shares his tips for depicting the beauty of his most beloved destinations.

ByJim Richardson
Photographs byJim Richardson
December 27, 2018

Like iron filings drawn to a magnet, we can’t resist the pull of the world’s most iconic places—their mystery, their splendor, their improbable but undeniable place in history.

Any attempt to list such places will always be arbitrary. But after photographing more than 50 stories for National Geographic, I find the exercise has something more to do with understanding both ourselves and the world. Just as going there and taking the pictures was a deeply rich experience, so too is the simple act of asking which ones—and why?