Are you a local just getting into photography? Or maybe a tourist or someone who’s new in town (John Mulaney voice)? Well, I take it your here to figure out some great spots to either take pictures or simply take in the sights, I’ll give you my favorite spots that I love going to!
5. Windandsea/BirdRock
Becoming more and more known (to the distaste of surfers no doubt), the Windandsea and Birdrock portion of La Jolla offers plenty of little hidden gems to work with. Whether you’re on Belvedere St playing with the lines of palm trees or the rocky outcrops that scatter the beaches, you can change your scenery in a matter of minutes. Spots to hit: Try going right of the beach for a little less crowded areas
4. Santee
I found this spot when I was rock climbing and it turned out to be my favorite spot to get a non-beachy feel from San Diego! Located in east county, its usually either empty or scattered about with a few other climbers (9/10 times super nice people!). Where to take pics? Some rocks here actually are easy enough to walk up the back and get a GREAT view of the surrounding valleys and hills. Park in West Hills Park for easy and ample parking!
3. Julian
HEY it’s still part of San Diego I swear. If you venture a little more than an hour east of Downtown San Diego and you’ll find drastically different scenery and peace from the hustle and bustle of the more populated areas of San Diego! My two favorite spots in/around Julian to shoot are the Sunrise Highway and Eagle Rock. With Sunrise Highway, its a two in one whammy of a location because you have this straightaway of a road that leads to a hill with trees (I suck at describing it just look at the dumb picture) but literally RIGHT NEXT TO IT is another expansive field surrounded by YOU GUESSED IT: some more rolling hills. Most of my couples/engagement shoots are taken here honestly. Just don’t let me catch you there man I WILL FIGHT YOU. Kidding (kinda).
2. Sunset Cliffs
The runner up to my favorite spot to shoot! This mile long stretch of coast is full of pockets of small cliff where you can easily isolate whatever you’re taking pictures of, while at the same time, busy enough that you’ll never catch it empty. Aptly named as well, it’s probably my favorite spot to snag some great colors during golden hour/sunset. For some reason, 80% of the time sunsets here simply are AMAZING. If you catch partly cloudy skies, you’re in store for vibrant blues before golden hour in those skies, then an assortment of colors in the sky depending on the day. If you get tired of the ocean setting (which I doubt you will), chances are you can find some nice houses/VW Buses to try and change it up a bit.
Torrey Pines Gliderport
THE CREME DE LE CREME. MY FAVORITE PART OF SAN DIEGO. Some of my favorite shoots, some of my favorite sights, and maybe the best view of coast San Diego has to give. There’s some metal chains here that really are for looks I swear. Scoot under them and grab a spot of cliff edge and enjoy the best backdrop EVER. Parking here might look full all the time but for the most part its pretty easy to find a spot. The gliderport here offers one big main area left of the Cliff Hanger Cafe, but there’s many trails that branch off the area that head south along the cliffside, or down below to Blacks Beach.
Bonus: Glamis
Okay. Lets say you’ve seen enough of the beach and haven’t seen a proper desert yet. Then if you’re willing to drive a smaaaall three hour drive of scenic average landscape, you can be rewarded to some epic desert dunes. Depending on the time of year you go it’ll be either extremely hot or incredibly cold. No middle ground. But when golden hour comes around here, you cant beat the lighting. During that time here, I’ve noticed that whites turn an incredible and vibrant cream that I really can’t recreate anywhere else. My suggestion? Visit in November or March. You’ll get manageable temps mixed with partly cloudy skies (best lighting hands down).
