Guide to Los Angeles International Airport

Probably the most famous spot at LAX is the hill on Imperial Avenue. Situated on the southside of the airfield and therefore ideal for the sun, it has a good view of the southern side of the airport and the southern two runways (07L/R - 25L/R).
For photography a good zoom lens is required, regional jets for example require more than 400mm for a full frame, the heavies needing something like 200-300mm.
The downside here is that it is quite a distance and so heat haze becomes a problem during the warmest part of the day.

The location is in a residential area and is very popular with the locals, you can safely stand here all day without getting any hassle from the authorities. There is also a 7eleven store down the road for drinks and snacks, although I'd probably recommend a visit to In n Out burger for lunch!

Sat Nav Co-ordinates
(Some locations may not be next to a road but the sat nav should get you pretty close using these co-ordinates)

Latitude: N33° 55' 51" (N33° 55.856')
Longitude: W118° 24' 42" (W118° 24.694')

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Another famous LAX location is the In n Out burger restaurant on Sepulveda Blvd. The restaurant itself is a fast food chain that offers only burgers and fries but they are very, very nice and I would recommend a visit.
The location of the restaurant is very much directly underneath the approach path and the heavies pass just a few hundred feet over the top of you. You can walk further down the path to get a more side on shot of the approaching aircraft, atlthough it should be said that you are always standing right next to a busy road, I don't know if you are likely to get moved on beacuse of this if standing anywhere but at the restaurant.

Photos

Sat Nav Co-ordinates
(Some locations may not be next to a road but the sat nav should get you pretty close using these co-ordinates)

Latitude: N33° 57' 12" (N33° 57.208')
Longitude: W118° 23' 50" (W118° 23.826')

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The Radisson Hotel used to have a great bar at the top on the penthouse level that offered great views and photo opportunities. This was closed as a result of being abused by many spotters who would sit up the all day and not purchase any food / drink.
The penthouse floor itself does still offer a view of the approach and of runways 24L/R threshold on the opposite side of the Hotel. However the area is regularly used by hotel staff who told security of our presence in the area many times. Upon speaking to security they told us that they were fine with hotel guests using the area while staying in the building. They also mentioned that everyone must stay inside and under no circumstances go outside as you can be clearly seen from the old control tower building which now has numerous cameras filming every angle around the airport. They did mention they had been visited by the FBI previously for someone going on to the roof.

Photography here is very difficult as you take pictures through tinted glass, the door isn't tinted but is at an angle for most arrivals and so a lot of you pics will come out with reflections or not quite focussed properly through the glass.

The hotel itself vertainly isn't one of the best Radisson, it definately shows its age and while I wouldn't recommend staying here for your entire stay it is worth getting a room for a night and checking out the views across the airport.

Sat Nav Co-ordinates
(Some locations may not be next to a road but the sat nav should get you pretty close using these co-ordinates)

Latitude: N33° 56' 46" (N33° 56.761')
Longitude: W118° 23' 43" (W118° 23.725')

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The flight path museum is located just off imperial highway on the south siude of the airport. The museum has a collection of artifacts and information from the history of LAX. It also has a DC-3 Dekota aircraft sat on the apron.

The museum itself overlooks the two southern runways 25L/R - 07L/R and you can get a good view across the apron. If you ask the staff nicely they will usually allow you to stand outside in order to get some pictures. It does involve a staff member standing with you for the duration you are outside and therfore not a good idea to overstay your welcome and expect to stand here all day long.
The negative from this spot is that the heat haze is very strong, even during our visit in March when we had coats on the heat haze was still too much on the pictures around 12-1pm.

The museum is worth a visit and it is free to get in (although they do accept donations) and it is open between 10am and 3pm Tuesday - Saturday. You can get more information on the flight path website.

Sat Nav Co-ordinates
(Some locations may not be next to a road but the sat nav should get you pretty close using these co-ordinates)

Latitude: N33° 55' 55" (N33° 55.919')
Longitude: W118° 24' 20" (W118° 24.327')

Photos

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The Proud Bird restaurant is underneath the appraoch to runway 25L/R and you can get approach shots of arriving aircraft.
It is located just off of Aviation Blvd only a short distance from the airport.

Sat Nav Co-ordinates
(Some locations may not be next to a road but the sat nav should get you pretty close using these co-ordinates)

Latitude: N33° 56' 8" (N33° 56.128')
Longitude: W118° 22' 40" (W118° 22.668')

Like most of the worlds big airports spotting from the central terminal area is often the least desirable however there are relatively close up views of a couple of the cul-de-sacs from the top floor of the Tom Bradley Terminal Car Park. You can really only see an area north of the car park and traffic using 24L/R. It's a car park so ideally you need a car and of course you do need to pay for your car although it's only a few dollars. There is a risk that you could get moved on or be questioned why you are taking pictures which is fairly typical for airports these days. If you have the use of a tripod it is a great spot for taking night photography. It can be a bit tricky since obviously you need the subject to stand still for a few seconds. On push back you can catch most while they de-couple the tug. Any lens between 70 and 150mm should be plenty for any aircraft on the ramp.
LAX central terminal area is very busy most of the time with vehicle traffic so watch out for signs to TB Car Park. It's a bit like 'Whacky Races' so be warned.

Sat Nav Co-ordinates
(Some locations may not be next to a road but the sat nav should get you pretty close using these co-ordinates)

Latitude: N33° 56' 38" (N33° 56.636')
Longitude: W118° 24' 20" (W118° 24.331')