Buenos Aires
Mar del Plata is the Atlantic resort city of the province of Buenos Aires and the seat of the Partido de General Pueyrredon, about 400 km south of the capital, or a 45-minute flight to the Aeropuerto Internacional Ástor Piazzolla. Patricio Peralta Ramos founded the town on 10 February 1874, and it grew into the country's summer capital, a city of rocky headlands, stone villas and long beaches facing east.
The coast is public land managed by the municipality. The Ente Municipal de Turismo y Cultura (EMTUR) administers 50 Unidades Turísticas Fiscales along 47 km of shore, and most of them operate as balnearios with tents, umbrellas and restaurants under a concession granted by ordinance. Inside a balneario, the concessionaire decides who sets up a camera; on the open sand between them, nobody does.
The city's photographs come from its rocks and its buildings as much as its sand. The Torreón del Monje, a mock fortress on the rocks at Punta Piedras, was commissioned by Ernesto Tornquist from the German architect Karl Nordmann and donated to the city. Along the Rambla, Alejandro Bustillo's Casino and Hotel Provincial frame the Playa Bristol, and the port, with its sea lions and orange fishing boats, sits to the south.
Most of our clients here are Argentine families and couples on holiday, plus weddings at the coastal event venues and owners photographing summer houses before the season. Each balneario or venue is asked for its policy in writing before the date.
Sessions
Family photos in Mar del Plata from $140 at the fishing port, where sea lions rest on the breakwater beside the orange boats, or on the sand at sunrise.
Maternity photos in Mar del Plata from $130 on the south coast, where wide beaches past the lighthouse give way to small coves at the foot of the cliffs.
Mar del Plata wedding photographer from $1,400. The Torreón del Monje seats up to 1,200 guests and has 3,500 m² of its own terraces over the sea.
Real estate photography in Mar del Plata from $280 for the stone-and-wood houses of Stella Maris, Los Troncos and Divino Rostro, delivered within 72 hours.
Drone real estate photos in Mar del Plata from $380. Near the Ástor Piazzolla airport its control zone applies, where Open-category drones may not fly.
Locations
The best hour at each, and what a professional session there needs in the way of a permit — with the issuing authority and the date it was last checked.
A stone mock fortress with a footbridge over the coast road, built for Ernesto Tornquist and restored since 1979. It is declared of national, provincial and municipal tourist interest.
Source: torreondelmonje.com.ar · Checked October 2026
Alejandro Bustillo's twin brick-and-stone buildings facing Playa Bristol, with the sea lion statues and the long Rambla stairs between them.
Source: turismomardelplata.gob.ar · Checked October 2026
The fishing port south of the centre, with its orange boats, nets, gulls and the sea lions that rest on the breakwater.
Source: turismomardelplata.gob.ar · Checked October 2026
The traditional residential barrio of stone-and-wood houses with tiled roofs above Playa Grande, and the beach clubs strung along the paseo below.
Source: turismomardelplata.gob.ar · Checked October 2026
Timing
Summer, December to February, is the high season: the balnearios are full from mid-morning, and portrait sessions on the sand move to the first hour after sunrise, when the sun comes up over the sea. The city celebrates its founding on 10 February. Spring and autumn are windy and quiet, with empty beaches and soft light on the stone of the Rambla, and they are the best months for real estate and weddings without the crowds. Winter is cold and grey but brings the clearest air for the port.
Licensed photographs of Mar del Plata, credited on the photo credits page.
Pricing
From $140
Your exact price is confirmed in writing before you pay.
From $130
Your exact price is confirmed in writing before you pay.
From $1,400
Custom pricing based on coverage, location and requirements, confirmed in writing before you pay.
These come under the Mar del Plata rate: a photographer travels out at no extra charge, and the session is priced exactly as it would be in Mar del Plata itself.
Not on the open sand, according to the published rules. Mar del Plata beaches are 50 municipal Unidades Turísticas Fiscales managed by EMTUR, and most operate as balnearios under concession, so a session inside a balneario's tents or deck is arranged with that concessionaire. The open public stretches in Mar del Plata carry no published photo permit.
Sunrise. Mar del Plata faces the Atlantic to the east, so in summer the sun comes up over the sea before 6:00 and the beaches stay empty until mid-morning. Summer evenings in Mar del Plata put the sun behind the city, which suits the port and the stone buildings rather than the sand.
About 400 km south by road, or a 45-minute flight from Buenos Aires to the Aeropuerto Internacional Ástor Piazzolla, according to EMTUR. Most Mar del Plata clients drive down for a holiday, and Cariló is roughly an hour and a half to the north along the coast.
Next step
Tell us the date and the kind of session. A coordinator replies within two hours with an available photographer who works in Mar del Plata, and your exact price.