Oaxaca
Day of the Dead photoshoot · Oaxaca
In short
Day of the Dead photoshoot in Oaxaca starts at $200: 30 min on location with a photographer who works in Oaxaca, and 20 edited photos delivered to a private gallery within 7 days.
Why choose Day of the Dead photoshoot in Oaxaca?
Oaxaca is where a Día de Muertos session makes the most sense, because the festival here is lived in public: altars in shop windows, sand tapetes in the barrios, comparsas with brass bands moving through the centre after dark, and families keeping vigil at the graves of their own dead. A 30-minute session is built around that calendar rather than staged against it, and it takes one of two shapes: catrina makeup and marigold portraits in the late afternoon in the centre or Jalatlaco, or the candlelit part after dark at a cemetery, with the families who are actually there treated as hosts rather than as scenery. Covering both in one evening takes a longer session, quoted in writing before booking.
Worth knowing about Oaxaca
Not every cemetery in the city stays open late. In 2025 the Municipio de Oaxaca de Juárez opened the Panteón General and Panteón San Miguel from 7:00 to midnight between 31 October and 2 November, but closed Marquesado and Xochimilco at 18:00 and Jardín at 19:00. A candlelit portrait is therefore planned for the first two, and the 2026 hours are confirmed when the municipality publishes them.
What does the session in Oaxaca look like?
- Panteón General
- The municipal cemetery that stays open until midnight, with an arcade of niches that frames a portrait without stepping near a grave.
- Panteón de Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán
- The vigil people travel for, on family graves in a separate municipality south of the city. Photographed from the paths, and only where a family agrees.
- Andador Macedonio Alcalá
- Comparsas and costumed groups pass along it in the evenings, so a portrait in catrina makeup can include a real procession behind it.
- Barrio de Jalatlaco
- Painted walls and quieter lanes for the makeup portraits in the last daylight, before the crowds of the night.
What does Day of the Dead photoshoot in Oaxaca include?
- 30-minute portrait session during the Día de Muertos season
- 20 edited photos
- Online gallery delivered within 7 days
- Locations chosen among public streets, plazas and community displays, not private family altars
- Session timed to start once your catrina or catrín face painting is finished
Permits at these locations: Andador Macedonio Alcalá: No published municipal fee for a handheld session on the pedestrian street; ask the Municipio de Oaxaca de Juárez before staging anything that blocks it Barrio de Jalatlaco: No published municipal fee for handheld photography on these residential streets; respect doorways and residents, and ask the Municipio de Oaxaca de Juárez about any set-up Panteón General: No published photo fee; in 2025 the municipality opened it 7:00–24:00 from 31 October to 2 November, and families tending graves are asked first
FAQ — Day of the Dead photoshoot in Oaxaca
Which nights of Día de Muertos are best for photos in Oaxaca?
The main days of Día de Muertos are 1 and 2 November, according to the Secretaría de Cultura, and in Oaxaca events begin on 31 October. The evening of 1 November is the one most Día de Muertos sessions in Oaxaca are built around, either with makeup portraits before dark or with the candlelit cemetery visit after it; a longer session covers both.
Is it respectful to photograph the cemetery vigils in Oaxaca?
Only with care. The graves at Xoxocotlán and at the Panteón General in Oaxaca belong to families who are remembering their own dead. Our Oaxaca photographers ask before photographing anyone at a grave, keep to the paths, never use flash on a family, and leave when asked. Portraits are made in the arcades and aisles, not on the tombs.
Can the catrina makeup be included in the Oaxaca session?
Yes. A Día de Muertos session in Oaxaca usually starts with catrina face painting in the late afternoon, followed by portraits in Jalatlaco or on the Andador Macedonio Alcalá before dark. The makeup artist is booked separately, and the session time is set so the makeup is finished while there is still daylight.