The west-bank platforms

The western bank is the civilised way to photograph Dettifoss. Road 862 is paved from the Ring Road, the car park is close, and a maintained path leads to a series of viewpoints along the canyon rim, the last of which looks straight across the hundred-metre width of the falls.

That matters for a session: the footing is stable, the distances are short, and a couple in good clothes can work here without scrambling. From mid-morning through the middle of a sunny day, the spray hangs a rainbow across the gorge — put it behind the couple and it does the drama for you. Wide frames need a person in them for scale; without one, the pictures never convey how big this is.

The spray reaches further than it appears and soaks everything within minutes, including lenses; work in bursts, wipe between frames, and bring a dry layer for portraits made away from the falls. Keep to the marked paths — the rock near the lip is permanently wet and the edges are unfenced — and remember this is Vatnajökull National Park, so drones need the park's permission rather than a hopeful launch.