The rules split cleanly into two regimes. On the street, in the plazas and in barrios such as Jalatlaco, a handheld session needs no published permit, and the work is reading the crowds and the light on the façades. Inside anything run by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), which includes the Museo de las Culturas in the former convent of Santo Domingo and the archaeological zones of Monte Albán and Mitla, professional equipment needs INAH permit INAH-01-001, applied for at least 10 business days ahead and charged at MXN 7,958 per day for photography in 2026, on top of the entry ticket.
Distances are short by Mexican standards. Aeropuerto Internacional de Oaxaca sits about 7 km south of the centre, Monte Albán is a climb of roughly 20 minutes by car up the western hills, and Mitla lies about 45 km east along the Tlacolula valley, past the mezcal palenques of Santiago Matatlán. Hierve el Agua, the petrified waterfalls, is a further hour beyond Mitla on a community-run road whose access has been interrupted by local disputes in past years, so it is confirmed the week before rather than promised.
The clients are a mix: couples from the US and Canada on their own trip, Mexican couples booking a preboda in the city where they plan to marry, and families who come for Día de Muertos. Since February 2024 the Barranca Larga–Ventanilla highway has brought Puerto Escondido within about 2.5 hours, so a growing number of sessions are split between the valley and the coast.
