Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman Facade, San Cristobal de las Casas

The salmon-pink Baroque facade, worked into Solomonic columns, niches and the Habsburg double eagle, faces roughly west, so it takes flat or side light through the day and full direct light in the afternoon; the strongest frame comes from across the atrium looking straight up the facade with the artisan market stalls providing foreground texture. The permanent market of Tzotzil and Tzeltal weavers fills the atrium and street from about 09:00 to 18:00, which supplies useful foreground colour but also means the lower third of the facade is rarely clear of stalls and umbrellas during the day; arriving before 08:00 gets a clean, uncluttered facade instead. Late afternoon, 16:30 to 18:00, gives warm direct light on the carved stonework, while November to April's dry, clear highland skies produce the most reliable results. The atrium is busy but not overcrowded outside major festival dates, and there is generally enough room to work a tripod off to one side without blocking the market aisles, though a compact setup is more practical. No permit or fee applies to photographing the exterior; entry to the church interior is free, but flash is discouraged in the dim nave. Traders in the market generally do not want to be photographed without being asked first, and buying something is the customary way of opening that conversation before turning a camera toward them.