Wondering where to go for your Engagement Portraits? Two of the most requested locations in the San Francisco Bay Area are the Palace of Fine Arts and Baker Beach. Although the Palace’s main dome is currently covered in scaffolding for renovations, there are plenty of great spots to take advantage of, as you will see below. To give you a little bit of history…the Palace was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition by architect Bernard R. Maybeck who chose a Roman ruin as his theme. For more information, visit www.exploratorium.edu/palace/index.html. Here are a few examples from my recent session with Kathryn and Quen, who are getting married this June. Congratulations Kathryn and Quen!!

Here’s what they had to say about the session:
We loved our engagement photo session with Nancy. Although we went into it feeling a little awkward, we were just having a lot of fun by the end of it! We appreciate how she had very specific and creative ideas, but also incoporated what we wanted. During our beach session, we were done on the beach and were about to go to another spot when she all of a sudden came up with ideas for other shots. She stopped us to take a few more photos, which turned out to be some of our favorite of the session! We love how Nancy is so flexible, creative, professional, and skilled at what she does. It makes us feel really at ease working with her.

Even though it can be cold (and believe me, it was on Thursday) Baker Beach offers a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge, lots of sand and surf to play in, and spectacular skies when the fog rolls back. Be ready to get wind blown!

While we’re on the subject of Engagement Portraits, here are some other great San Francisco locations: The Legion of Honor, The de Young Museum, The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, North Beach near Washington Square Park, The Embarcadero near Market Street, the Piers near the Ferry Building, the dog park at Bernal Heights (especially for you dog lovers) and the list goes on. Try to choose locations that have personal significance for you, that will add another layer of meaning to your images. Even something as simple as your favorite ice cream shop or wine bar can make an amazing backdrop. The most important thing is that you relax, have fun, and find out that being photographed can be fun!

Check back soon for tips on what to wear for your Engagement Session…