The steps below Akureyrarkirkja

Akureyrarkirkja stands on a terrace above the town centre, reached by a broad flight of stone steps that rises straight out of the street. The church itself is pale concrete with twin stepped towers, designed by the same architect as Reykjavik's Hallgrímskirkja, and from its terrace the whole of Akureyri lays itself out: coloured roofs, the harbour, the long blue line of Eyjafjörður and snow-topped mountains on the far side.

The steps are the composition. Put the couple partway up with the flight running away below them and the town behind, or shoot from the top down so the stairs lead the eye into the fjord. Turn around and the facade gives you a graphic vertical background — best in the afternoon, when the west-facing front takes the light. In the four or five hours of December daylight the sun barely clears the mountains opposite, which means the town below sits in soft blue shade while the church catches whatever gold there is: a look you cannot get in summer.

Akureyri is a working town rather than a tourist site, which is the advantage: nobody minds a camera, there is no queue, and the streets below are full of small backdrops — the pedestrian street, painted timber houses, the harbour. A session here can move on foot from church to town to waterfront in an hour.

A couple of things to respect and plan for. It is an active parish church with services, weddings and funerals; check nothing is on before booking, and treat the interior as needing permission rather than assuming. The steps are stone and get properly icy from November to March, when the town grits but does not always clear them — flat shoes with grip, and the handrail for anyone unsteady. The terrace is exposed to wind funnelling up the fjord.