Photography permit Bali: commercial and pre-wedding shoots

By Film Permit Bali Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table carry their source and check month. Fees change, and they are official or third-party figures, not our offers.

Whether you need a photography permit in Bali depends on the job. Only Bali Film Center says the national rule covers stills, and the regulation text itself is about film. Sites such as Tanah Lot ask commercial sessions to report to management, a national table lists conservation area charges, and a foreign photographer also faces the visa question.

Do you need a photography permit in Bali?

We know of no single photoshoot permit by that name. In practice, three separate questions decide your position: whether a national film-style permit reaches your stills work, whether the place you are shooting treats it as a chargeable commercial use, and whether the visa of the person holding the camera allows them to be paid. A wedding photographer can be fine on the first two and still have a problem on the third.

A couple taking phone photos at a rice terrace is not the concern of this page. What follows is about hired photographers, commercial sessions and pre-wedding shoots.

Does the national rule cover stills?

Only one source says so, and it sells the service. Bali Film Center extends its permission requirement for foreign producers beyond film and video to still photography, across non-theatrical, documentary, advertising and promotional work. Indonesia's national film permit comes from Regulation 48/2018, whose text is about film, not photography, and Bali Film Center's guidance does not address personal travel photos.

So a foreign advertising campaign shot on stills has a credible reason to ask the question, and no firm official answer. Put it to the embassy handling your application or to a registered local partner, describe the job as it is, and keep the reply. A brand shoot with a foreign client is much closer to this question than a local couple booking a photographer they found through a friend.

What do sites charge for photo sessions?

Very few publish it, and the ones who do are not all first-hand. The price table on this page shows the published figures, with these origins:

Tanah Lot's official ticket page is the most useful statement here, because it comes from a site manager and treats photo sessions alongside shooting and other commercial purposes. The Jatiluwih figures come from a listing by Water Sport by Wira Tour Bali, so treat them as a third party's account until the manager confirms them. The fuller picture is on filming at Jatiluwih.

The conservation tariff table lists commercial photography for tour packages, magazines and advertising per package per location. It also prints two lines with the same wording and different amounts, so ask which applies before you quote a client. It is a national table published by an office in another province, not a West Bali rate.

Many popular backdrops, Mount Batur among them, have no published rule we can point you to. Operators do make claims about public beaches, private villas and the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, which are set out under location permits for filming in Bali. Absence of a published rule is not permission. Ask whoever manages the site or owns the land, get the answer in writing, and allow for a local charge at the gate.

What about pre-wedding shoots?

Plan a pre-wedding session as you would a commercial shoot. The Jatiluwih listing charges for it separately, and one concierge page goes further. Bali Bliss Concierge says location fees and a separate photography permit are often both needed for a professional pre-wedding session, depending on the site. It also warns that temples can shut to shoots at prayer or ceremony times, and that a drone takes its own permission. It is an operator's blog, so use it as a prompt for questions rather than as a rule.

Ask three things when you book a location. First, is there a fee for a professional session, as distinct from admission? Second, does a video add a charge, so that a combined photo and wedding video package counts twice? Third, are there dates when ceremonies close the site? Couples should also ask the photographer who holds the permission on the day, so nobody finds out at the gate that each side assumed the other had it.

Can a foreign photographer work on a tourist visa?

The visa pages point against it. The B1 page says holders cannot sell services, and cannot be paid by an individual or company in Indonesia. Bali's Governor Circular 7 of 2025 forbids tourists to work or run a business unless properly permitted. A photographer invoicing a Bali wedding planner fits those words closely.

A foreign couple flying in their own photographer and paying them abroad is less tidy on the literal text, since the pay does not come from Indonesia, but the circular's wording about working still applies. There is also a recent reference point. The BBC reported in December 2025 on a content creator deported over tourist-visa work, following a raid on a production studio. That case concerned commercial content rather than weddings, but the ground was the visa. The longer treatment is on filming on a tourist visa, and it applies to stills as much as video.

What is off limits at sacred sites?

Circular 7 of 2025 rules out climbing sacred trees or monuments, and inappropriate or nude photos at religious sites fall under the same ban. Love Bali guidelines tell visitors to avoid taking inappropriate photos or disrespectful behaviour in sacred areas. Neither lists poses, so leave out anything staged on a shrine, a statue or a sacred tree.

Practical access is softer and depends on the day. Your Happiness Tours, a travel blog, describes photography in a temple's outer courtyard as generally fine unless a ceremony is under way, and notes that priests can ask anyone to stop. That is not an official rule, but the last part deserves respect: if someone asks you to stop, stop, and move the session. Requirements for crews are covered in filming at temples in Bali.

What else do photographers and couples ask?

Can foreign photographers work in Bali?

Not on a visitor visa, on the wording of the B1 page and Circular 7 of 2025. Ask a registered sponsor which category fits stills work, since the visa pages are written around film and programme production.

Do photographers need a permit in Bali?

Bali Film Center says foreign producers need permission for still photography. Regulation 48/2018 itself is about film, so that reading rests on an operator. Site managers can require their own consent or fee regardless.

Do I need a permit for a pre wedding shoot in Bali?

Bali Bliss Concierge says professional pre-wedding shoots often need location fees plus a photography permit, varying by site. Check with each manager.

Is a photography permit needed at Bali attractions?

It varies. Tanah Lot says photo sessions should report to the management, while many attractions publish nothing. Ask before the day and carry whatever written reply you receive.

Which sources support this page?

• Bali Film Center: guidelines
• Regulation 48/2018 on location use by foreign filmmakers
• Tanah Lot: official ticket page
• Water Sport by Wira Tour Bali: Jatiluwih listing
• BBKSDA South Sulawesi: conservation area charges and SIMAKSI, February 2025
• Bali Bliss Concierge: permits for pre-wedding photos
• Immigration: B1 visa on arrival
• Bali Tourism Office: Governor Circular 7 of 2025
• BBC News, 12 December 2025
• Love Bali: travel guidelines, updated 24 February 2026
• Your Happiness Tours: photography rules at Bali temples

How do I reach the desk?

For a commercial or pre-wedding shoot, send the locations, date, photographer's nationality and who is paying, on WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or at bd@juaraholding.com. We answer the questions we can, and site managers decide on access. Our interest is commercial, since requests can lead to a paid booking; see the disclaimer. Only a written offer commits anyone to a fee or a service.