Llandudno is highly photogenic because its geography does most of the labour. The curve of the bay, the pier, the hotel frontage, the Great Orme and the Little Orme provide strong lines before anyone starts fiddling with settings.

The classic shots are obvious because they work: the pier from the promenade, the bay from Happy Valley or the Great Orme, and West Shore looking towards the mountains.

The view from the Great Orme summit looking east gives the full bay composition: hotel frontage below, pier extending into the water, the crescent of North Shore curving to the Little Orme. It is a photograph that has been taken thousands of times and remains worth taking because the subject is genuinely strong.

But the details matter too. Shelters, old signs, hotel fronts, tram tracks, limestone textures and weathered seaside architecture often tell the truth better than the grand view.

Do not photograph only the polished face. Llandudno’s faded edges, practical corners and slightly tired surfaces are part of the story. A flawless resort photograph is often just a lie with good exposure.

The Great Orme Tramway offers one of the more distinctive photographic subjects in North Wales: the tram moving through the residential street below the headland, on tracks embedded in the road surface, with Victorian terraces on either side. It has been taken many times and is still worth taking.

The best light usually comes early, late or just after weather has moved through. Midday can flatten the town, while evening gives the buildings and headlands more drama than they strictly deserve.

West Shore at sunset is the easy prize and is easy for a reason: the combination of westward exposure, mountains across the estuary and the residential calm of the shore gives material that does not require exceptional skill, only the willingness to be there at the right time.

Marine Drive provides an extended sequence of cliff, sea, town and sky compositions as the headland turns. Stop where it is safe to stop and give each location the time it requires.

The harder prize is catching Llandudno when it forgets to pose. The promenade in early morning before the visitors are about, the town in autumn light, the Orme in mist and the pier in winter give the town in its less-performed register. That is when the real photography begins.