Gent Sint-Baafs en Belfort

Towers that dominate the square

Sint-Baafsplein in Gent is one of the most photographed spots in Belgium, and for good reason. The combination of Sint-Baafskathedraal, the Belfort and the Lakenhalle on a single square is unusually compact. You barely need to move to get three monuments in frame. That is also the challenge: everyone makes the same photo here. The question is how you see something different.

The square is large enough to play with distance and perspective. A wide angle at 24mm gives you the whole surroundings, but pulls in a lot of stone and less sky. With a slightly longer focal length around 35mm or 50mm you can be more selective. You deliberately crop one of the towers and let the other dominate. That creates tension in the composition.

Blue hour is the moment

The blue hour works beautifully here. Just after sunset the sky is still light enough to outline the towers, and the building lights add warmth. The balance between cool blue and warm yellow makes this place far more interesting in the evening than during the day. Set up your tripod and allow at least half an hour before it gets dark. The light intensity changes quickly.

During the day the square is busy with tourists, trams and people at the terraces. That can actually be interesting for street photography: people looking up, guides with parasols, children pointing at the Belfort. With a longer shutter speed on a tripod you can also blur that movement and let the architecture breathe.

Practical

Sint-Baafsplein sits in the low-traffic city center of Gent. It is best to park in one of the parking lots on the edge of the city, such as Rooigem or Sint-Michiels, and then walk or take the tram into the center. Allow ten to fifteen minutes on foot from the nearest parking lot. No permit is required for photography in public space. If you want to photograph inside the cathedral or the Belfort, you simply pay the entrance fee.

The Belfort can be climbed by lift, which gives an interesting aerial view over the square and the rooftops of Gent. On sunny days in spring and autumn, the light sits low and soft over the city early in the morning.

Sources and further reading

• Visit Gent – officiële toeristische website
• Sint-Baafskathedraal Gent
• Belfort Gent – Stad Gent