The Two Mykonos: From the Alleys of Chora to Scorpios

A Mykonos Photoshoot Day, From Morning Alleys to Sunset at Sea

How the best shoots move between two versions of the island

The most memorable shoots I've done here don't pick one Mykonos over the other.

They picked both.

They had breakfast in the old town, lunch at Nammos, a boat ride between, and watched the sun set from a table at Scorpios. Three moods, one day, and one photographer moving with them through all of it.

This is what a full Mykonos photoshoot can actually look like.

Morning, Before the Island Wakes Up

The best hour to shoot in Mykonos town is the one most people never see.

At seven in the morning, the alleys are empty. The fishermen are out. The shop shutters are still down. The stone is cool, the shadows are long, and the light is the softest it will be all day.

We walk. We don't rush. Little Venice at this hour doesn't feel like a landmark, it feels like a neighborhood. Paraportiani, without anyone else around, feels almost private at that hour. The chapels up in the hills hold their silence a little longer.

This is the part of the day where the architecture does the work. Nothing needs to be staged. You're just there, early, and the island is quiet, and I'm nearby, catching it.

Midday, Long Lunches by the Sea

By noon the light is harder, and that's when we move.

Mykonos has built a specific kind of beauty around the middle of the day. Long lunches by the sea, shaded tables under woven canopies, glasses of rosé and the sound of something slow playing in the background. Nammos, Spilia, Principote. Each has its own rhythm, and each photographs differently.

Or, if you'd rather skip the crowd and make the day feel fully private, a yacht party at anchor off one of the quieter coves. Lunch on board, swim stops in between, your own soundtrack if that's the day you want.

I know which ones have the softest midday light, which ones have the best corners, which ones are more open to having a photographer quietly moving around. Nine seasons shooting here means I don't have to guess.

One thing worth knowing: these places don't let photographers in on their own. You need a table booking in your name, and a short line in the reservation that says something like:

We'd also love to have our photographer join us for part of the afternoon. Please let us know if this is alright.

That single sentence makes the difference between a relaxed lunch and a conversation at the door.

Afternoon, On the Water

The middle of the afternoon is when Mykonos really breathes.

Some people stay on at lunch, slow into the day, let the shoot wind down with a few more frames in a villa or by the pool. Others get on a boat.

A half-day charter out to Rhenia or Delos is one of the most photographable experiences this island offers. The light on the water is endless. The privacy is total. You can swim, you can lie down, you can open a bottle of something cold and forget you booked a photographer at all. Those are the frames that end up printed for the wall.

One thing worth mentioning: most of the big beach clubs on the island, midday and sunset alike, have their own docks. Arriving and leaving by boat is a very Mykonos way to move between them, and it makes the day feel seamless rather than scheduled.

For yacht planning, I work with 4YOT, a brokerage that knows the boats, the captains, and the coves, and who matches clients to the right charter on the first try. I send people their way because I trust the fit.

Sunset, Where the Island Turns

Late afternoon into evening is when Mykonos shifts again.

The boat pulls up to the dock of a place like Scorpios, or Alemagou on the north side, or Zuma up on the ridge with the view. These venues are technically open earlier in the day too, but the mood they were built for is this one. The sun low, the music slower but lifting, the light turning every white wall gold.

This is the part of the day where the images stop being about architecture and start being about feeling. A table close to the sea. Candles being lit. Someone you love laughing in the last of the sun. These are the frames people remember.

If you'd rather close the day on land, the windmills at Kato Mili or a terrace above Chora do the same work. Either way, by the time the light is fully gone, you've lived a day that looks, in photographs, like something out of a film.

The same reservation rule applies at these venues too. A table booked in your name, a short note about the photographer. I help phrase it.

The Part Most People Don't See

Putting a day like this together is more than picking pretty spots.

It's knowing which villa managers will open the property for a morning shoot before guests arrive. Knowing which concierge at which hotel will hold the right table on the right night. Knowing the captain of the right boat for the right kind of afternoon. Knowing which restaurant has the cleanest sightline to the water at sunset, and which night of the week is quieter than the others.

These things take time to learn. Nine seasons is enough.

When you hire me for a Mykonos shoot, a lot of the planning around it quietly disappears. The people I work with already know me, and my clients arrive relaxed because someone else has handled the pieces that usually cause stress.

A Note on the Wind

One practical thing. The Meltemi, the north wind that runs through July and August, is real. Some days it's a breeze. Other days it rearranges everyone's hair.

We plan around it. A sheltered morning, a calmer cove, a villa terrace instead of an exposed cliff. When it's in a cooperative mood, we use it. A flowing dress, a scarf catching the air, hair moving on a cliff above the sea. These are often the best frames of the whole day.

A Last Thought

A Mykonos photoshoot isn't about choosing between the old town and the luxury. It's about moving through both, at the right hour, at the right pace, with someone who knows the island well enough to make the day feel easy.

That's the part I love. Not just the photographs, but the quiet coordination that lets you stop thinking about logistics and actually be present in one of the most beautiful places in the Mediterranean.