Hi - I will be visiting both in June. I know both islands are beautiful and photo-geneic - but I was wondering where people go to take those "post card" shots we all see of the blue domed church against the bright blue water. And especially the night shots with the amazing blue/purple skies and buildings glowing as they light up for the night. There must be specific spots which are better than others to catch the best sunset or photo opportunity. Just wondering if anyone knows of such places since I am a photo fanatic

Thanks!

Most of those shots are taken from the village of Oia on the north end of the island. But the accurate question should be, "where CAN'T you find the perfect location for the perfect photo?" Anyplace along the caldera wall will give you so many choices for angles, light, textures and colors you will go crazy trying to decide!

Hi there. The Santorini pictures with the blue dome church and smaller pink and white domes above the sea are taken in Oia. Then, if you turn the other direction, you see the town (with more blue domes) profiled against the water. Beautiful! We walked along the pedestrian main drag and followed the camera toting tourists who were all walking down a narrow stairway, then coming back up a few minutes later. Turns out, they were all seeking out this vantage point (and that photograph). There was a small cafe where we had lunch just adjacent to the walkway. If you look at my trip report (just click on my name to see it), I might have more information in there. Anyway, there are also great sunset shots to be found around Firastephani, I think, but I can't give you any specifics about those locations.

As for Mykonos, we got great pictures on the small beach just before the town. The town curves around this beach(with remezzo bar on one side of the horseshoe and a cluster of white/red/blue buildings on the other. Again, I can't tell you exactly how to get there, but you can't miss it if you are dropped off by a taxi then walk into town.

On Mykonos, walk up to the windmills and take your pictures looking down to the harbor, water and Little Venice. At sunset when the lights start to come on it's a beautiful setting.

For the most dramatic ones in Santorini, particularly Oia, hire a little boat and take them from the water!

A great sunset spot on Santorini (besides in Oia) is in Imerovigli, at the church that is just under the Blue Note restaurant, along the pedestrian walkway and close to the old fortress. The church has a terrace looking out over the water. Great view, and not that crowded.

You'll see when you get there, as brotherleelove says, that there really isn't anywhere along the caldera where you can't get a great photo.
Also, in the towns (esp Oia) there are lots of nice colourful doorways, windows, etc that make neat photos.

And on Mykonos, besides the views from the windmills and in the harbour area, we got some good shots from up on the hill behind Mykonos town, where the Rochari and Belvedere hotels are. You can look down the gentle slope, over the rooftops of the town, to the water.

The light on both islands, as the sun sets, turns a gorgeous soft peachy colour and makes everything look so, so beautiful.

Thanks so much - i have actually written down all the spots you all recommended and will surely try to visit them all.

Being on the islands themselves provide a "perfect" photo op.

Don't concern yourself with photos or else you likely won't enjoy time on the island, and will miss out on natural photo ops, while focusing on the ideal one.

Have a nice trip.

The current cover of the Lonely Planet Greece guide book was taken in Fira, Santorini. It was a little to the north and west of the cathedral and down the cliff some.

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/search_...archfor=greece

I loved taking my camera around Santorini. I found myself taking endless pictures that were gorgeous while I looked for more. I enjoyed searching out the location of the cover of my guidebook. I wanted to see how the photo compared to real life. Real life was dustier than the guide book photo.