Santa Monica Beach is a beautiful location for engagement photos – or photos in general! With the help of my friends Jade and Jonathan, we set out on a Thursday afternoon to get some beautiful engagement inspired photos. This photoshoot was such a blast mostly because Jade and Jonathan are such a great couple. They are the sweetest! You can tell they have so much fun together. And can we just talk about how lovingly they look at each other (heart eyes!). For those who would like to have a photoshoot here, I have listed a few tips below that will help you.
Schedule your photos for a weekday: As mentioned above, Santa Monica is a beautiful location for photos —the beach, the palm trees, the pier — but it is also a very popular tourist location, which means large crowds of people. If you want to avoid the large crowds, I suggest scheduling your photos on Thursday. With this in mind, Jade and Jonathan scheduled their photos on a Thursday afternoon. There were still plenty of people at the beach, but not as many as you would see on a weekend.
If you don’t mind waking up super early, schedule a sunrise photoshoot instead of sunset: It bears repeating that Santa Monica is a very popular tourist spot, but larger crowds don’t start arriving until later in the day, so take advantage! Even if it means waking up at 4:00 am to get ready, it will be worth it when you’re able to get those photos you’re dreaming of without having to hide people in the background.
Wear light and flowy materials: Especially if you’re going in the water! The flowy material in dresses will add a lot of movement to photos and looks beautiful. Light materials will also dry faster, which will help once you’re going back home if you decide to go for a splash during your photos like Jade and Jonathan did!
Skip the shoes: This is not the place for wearing your favorite shoes, they will slow you down. There are so many beautiful locations around the beach itself so you will likely end up walking in the sand a lot. Shoes will only slow you down, and let’s be honest, no one likes to come home to get sand everywhere.
Most importantly, have fun with it!: This is not the time to take yourself too seriously. I find that the best photos happen when you’re just having fun. It’s all in the in-between moments. I always guide my couples so they’re never standing there like “what do we do now?”. When in doubt just keep moving, be silly, tickle each other or spin each other around, the beautiful photos will happen, trust that your photographer knows what they’re doing.
If you’re planning your big day and need a wedding pro and photography whiz wrapped into one, let’s talk! I offer a variety of services to help you thoughtfully capture your celebration.
xx Estephania
