Top Engagement Session Locations in the Bay Area
Hi everybody!
Picking out an engagement session location can be tough… there’s endless options, especially if you live here in the Bay Area, where you can be at the beach, downtown San Francisco, or redwood forest all within an hour of each other.
Generally, my guidelines for selecting an engagement photography location are the following:
Does it have diversity? Can we use a lot of different backgrounds?
How crowded does it get during sunset/sunrise?
Is this place significant/meaningful to both of you?
No matter where we end up going, it’s always best to choose a place that you and your fiance feel most comfortable, and have spent a lot of time together. Whether that’s the movie theater you had your first date, a beach in Half Moon Bay, or a local park; something that’s meaningful to you will always bring out the best emotions in photographs.
Baker Beach & Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, CA
Baker beach is one of the best spots in San Francisco for photos - you can see the cascading mountains and hilltop houses, and you can also see the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. And, occasionally, you’ll find a few nude people as well enjoying their Saturday on the beach.
If you’re looking for a scenic ocean background, as well as a few photos with the Golden Gate in the background, this is one of my favorites. You’ll surely be shooting amongst a few other couples and their photographer during peak golden hour, but the light is hard to beat.
Tips for getting to Baker Beach:
Free parking lots; and there’s also a lot of street parking nearby if you’re okay with walking a bit.
Bring layers! When I first started photographing sessions on the beach, I always forgot to take into account how much colder it is next to the ocean. Learn from my mistakes.
Wear sandals or shoes that will work in the sand. We’ll be doing quite a bit of walking, and some of my couples prefer to just shoot the beach session barefoot.
To get the best view of the Golden Gate, park in the northern parking lot. Maybe even consider taking a Lyft or Uber if you live somewhere nearby!
One thing to keep in mind: quite often, the golden gate bridge is covered with a layer of fog - most commonly between June, July & August! This particular wedding shown above was in September, and it was still slightly foggy that day.
If you’d like to see a gallery of Baker Beach & the Golden Gate, click here.
Lover’s Point - Pacific Grove, CA
Lover’s Point is perfect if you want a beautiful sunset spot on the beach. There’s plenty of rocky outcrops too, which can make for some really gorgeous sunset photos. I would highly recommend scheduling your session here during peak sunset, and leave a little extra time at the end for some dusk photos. It is facing the west, so facing the spectacular sunset!
A few tips for Lover’s Point:
There’s plenty of free parking along Ocean View Blvd., and lots of parking in the surrounding area.
I highly recommend just wearing sandals to the shoot - most of my couples on the beach end up taking off their shoes for most of the photographs. This makes it easier to walk over the rocks as well if you would like to capture similar photos to those above!
Be sure to bring along layers! The breeze from the ocean is so cold, especially in the winter months or close to dusk.
I highly recommend getting a few photographs at the sandy beach at Lover’s Point, and then driving just a few minutes over to the large rocky formations in the water. Once you climb around into the rocks, the sunset will be perfectly behind you for some amazing shots!
Pacific Grove also has a lot of cute little shops along the water, so you can get some photographs exploring the town as well.
To see a gallery from Lover’s Point, click here.
Pearson-Arastradero Preserve - Palo Alto, CA
Pearson-Arastradero Preserve in the foothills of Palo Alto is one of those hidden gems. It’s a hiking trail, and has an abundance of tall, tan grass. If you’re looking for a dead grass look in the background of your photos, look no further. Pearson-Arastradero has 10 miles of hiking open year-round, so there’s plenty to explore there to get some variety and different backgrounds.
Tips for getting to Baker Beach:
Free parking lot, but it’s fairly small, so it does tend to fill up fast near sunset.
Bring layers if we are photographing in the winter! When I first started photographing sessions outdoors in California, I always forgot to take into account how much colder it is once the sun goes down!!
Bring a few props along too! Christi & Matt brought a large blanket, which made for awesome photos and a great pop of color combined with the dead grass.
If you’d like to see a gallery of Pearson-Arastradero Preserve, click here!
Sutro Baths - San Francisco, CA
Sutro Baths and Land’s End is without a doubt one of the most breathtaking places in San Francisco (if not in the entire country). My first time venturing out here, I was in awe!
Land’s End is a huge area, and has winding roads among trees and a scenic view of the ocean. You can walk at least 4 miles in this area. You can get different backgrounds here, from dense trees and forest to sandy beaches and crashing waves.
A few tips:
Parking is free, and there is a huge lot available at the top of the stairs above the Sutro Baths. There’s also a lot of street parking right alongside the Cliff House Restaurant. Plus, no fees to visit this area (yay!).
There’s a public restroom here, which works out well if you have an outfit change! It makes things a little easier than trying to change discreetly in your car.
As with many of the other locations in San Francisco, always expect a high chance for fog in the area. Even when the weather forecast calls for sunshine, there is a good chance there will still be a lot of fog around.
Bring an extra pair of shoes! Land’s End is huge, and will require some walking to get to all the different spots. If you want the iconic Sutro Baths photo, it’s difficult and narrow to walk across, so I highly recommend comfortable shoes or flats for those photos.
Consider allowing extra time during your session to either walk over to the beach on the narrow walkway at Sutro Baths, or to hop in the car and drive over to Ocean Beach for beautiful beach portraits.
Poplar Beach - Half Moon Bay, CA
Poplar Beach in Half Moon Bay is another beautiful beach spot. Located just about an hour away from the San Jose area. If you’re looking for a scenic ocean background, this is another one of my favorites. You’ll probably run into a lot of people trying to get beautiful photos here during peak sunset hours, but it’s so worth it.
Tips for Poplar Beach:
There is a quite a bit of open parking here, but you do have to pay a few dollars to park.
As I mentioned in the other beach recommendations, bring layers! It’s usually colder than you anticipate it being, since there is a breeze from the ocean. You can always take off your jackets before we take the shot, and put them back on once we switch locations!
Wear sandals or shoes that are easily removed, to walk around in the sand. If you would also like to bring a pair to heels or dress shoes, you can do that as well here, as there is a great spot up top where you can get photos on solid ground. However, there’s a pretty steep walk down to the beach, so bring a pair of shoes appropriate for that.
Schedule your session here during the peak sunset time, and then also for about 20 minutes after that listed time. Dusk photos on the beach are sometimes better than the bright sunset shots!
If you’d like to see a gallery of Poplar Beach in Half Moon Bay, click here.
Legion of Honor - San Francisco, CA
Legion of Honor is actually a location I discovered just about a month ago. Legion of Honor a Fine Arts Museum with gorgeous French neoclassical architecture. The gorgeous white columns make for some beautiful photos, as well as all of the greenery located right off to the side of the building.
A few tips for doing an engagement session at Legion of Honor:
Be sure to plan for crowds, as usually this place is packed! It’s hard to find a spot where there aren’t people walking around in the background. One recommendation I have to avoid this would be to plan your shoot for a weekday, or on a Friday even.
The gates close at 5:15pm, so if you want those iconic column pictures, or any picture on the inside, photos need to be done before then. There’s plenty of greenery and trails nearby, so that’s also an option if the doors are closed!
There’s plenty of free parking! They have two lots; one by the big fountain out front, and another nearby.
It’s a short 5 minute drive from Sutro Baths & Land’s End! I often pair the two together, as I did for this engagement session. I would recommend going to Legion of Honor as your first location, since it will get darker in the interior more quickly, and then go over to Land’s End.
You may need to either wait for another group/photographer to finish up their shots, or just accept that people will likely be in the background of the photos. I can work some magic in Photoshop, but I typically try and avoid it if we can, since not everything can be edited out of the background.
Hopefully this gives you some ideas on where you can go for your engagement session! There’s so many beautiful places in the Bay Area, that it’s hard to name just a few. If you would like to know more great places to get photos taken, or any questions at all, feel free to reach out to me directly at laurenweberphoto@gmail.com !