If you’re on the hunt for the perfect backdrop for your San Diego engagement photos I’m sure you’ve seen tons and tons of beach sessions! But let me put you onto something different and still within an hour drive of downtown San Diego! For your non-beach-but-just-as-gorgeous photos consider planning Mount Laguna engagement photos!

Mount Laguna info:

Mt. Laguna is a short drive from Downtown San Diego, even shorter if you’re in East county and just so fun and different, its near Julian which is a spot most San Diegans are quite familiar with. You can find more info on Mt. Laguna from the US Forest Service website here.

One reason I love the San Diego mountains for engagement photos is the weather is usually great (minus cold winter days!) and in the summer it’s generally cooler than it is anywhere else, there’s also no annoying marine layer to take away the sun! The mountains are also the best because we’re totally surrounded by nature. This means more privacy and you get to interact with your surroundings during your session. I love directing you to do things like lay and roll around in the tall grass, walk along a downed tree, run in a field, pick flowers together, etc. (I could go on ALL day). I’ll take any chance I have to get you and your partner looking like we’re just out in the mountains adventuring!

Quick Tips for your engagement photos in Mount Laguna:

>>Best season for Mt. Laguna engagement photos: March- October (pretty much anytime there isn’t an active snow storm or a fire!)
>>What to wear: Layers! The mountains get cold at night and can be hot during the day. Make sure to layer up! Bring an outfit change if you want more variety.
>>What to bring?: Water (to drink haha)! Shoes you can actually move around in, snacks (obviously!!), any props you think could be fun to use, and your good attitudes to have the best photo session date night ever! 
>>Best time for your Mount Laguna engagement photos: Evenings! In the session below we started about an hour and 15 min before sunset and made sure to stay out till it started getting dark.

So why not have your engagement session in our local San Diego mountains?! You can make a whole day (or night) of it, stay at a cute air bnb and visit nearby Julian for a piece of pie from Julian Pie Company!

Don’t forget to reach out to me to start planning your San Diego engagement photos! You can learn more about my couples sessions here!