Best Engagement Session Locations in SLO County
We’re in the thick of engagement season, and once the celebrations die down, couples begin planning their wedding. Once couples nail down a photographer, the next question becomes “where should we take our engagement photos?” We’re here to help you answer this question as we go through what we believe to be the best engagement session locations in San Luis Obispo County!
Montana de Oro
A total classic for all you Central Coast locals! Montana de Oro State Park is located near the town of Los Osos, just outside of San Luis Obispo, right on the coast and features a wide variety of different landscapes to make your session truly you. MDO has everything from tall sand dunes that dump right out into the ocean, to a dense eucalytpus forest with a picturesque winding road, a small beach with some epic cliff and rock formations, and the ever popular Bluff Trail for some cliffside, ocean view moments, just to name a few.
Since Montana de Oro is our most frequently requested location in San Luis Obispo County, we know this area pretty darn well! If you have a vision for your engagement session, we can probably bring it to life in this state park!
2. Morro Bay
Keeping with the coastal theme we have going, we’re moving this party over to Morro Bay. With its epic rock and iconic smokestacks, Morro Bay is one of the Central Coast’s true gems. Morro Bay’s picturesque strand is a local surfer’s paradise and allows all kinds of animals on the beach from horses to dogs. This location makes it so easy to customize your engagement session by incorporating activities and animals you love! The area also has a set of gorgeous, rolling dunes that catch light perfectly and make for some beautiful photos!
3. Cambria
One of SLO County’s lesser known gems is Cambria, just 45 minutes up Highway 1 from the city of San Luis Obispo. We believe it is worth the trip, as Cambria offers some of the most beautiful locations for an engagement session, in our opinion! We’ll start by talking about Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, the town’s pristine open space area. This is where you’ll find the best forest for taking photos and an epic bluff trail that rivals Montana de Oro’s, with significantly less traffic for a more intimate element! There is also nearby Moonstone Beach, which offers more stunning cliffs, a rocky shoreline, and giant pieces of driftwood scattered about.
4. Backroads
If you’ve spent any time driving around San Luis Obispo County, you’ve probably noticed the immense number of backroads winding their way through the picturesque green hills and canyons. These backroads make for an incredible engagement photo session location, especially if you’re not into photos on the beach! Joseph and I LOVE driving, so we have scouted out a number of lightly trafficked backroads that offer views of the hills and the occasional (frequent) cow.
5. Oceano Dunes
It’s basically the Sahara Desert, but in our own backyard! Close to Pismo Beach, you’ll find the Oceano Dunes SVRA, one of the most epic places to visit in SLO County! Aside from just looking absolutely stunning (check out the photo of Joseph scaling one of these giant dunes at the top of this article!), this is also the only beach in San Luis Obispo County where you can drive your car onto the beach. If your engagement session would not be complete without your Jeep, let’s definitely shoot here!
6. The Beach
Because, well, duh. San Luis Obispo County is coastal, and, if we haven’t made our point yet, our coastline is pretty freaking gorgeous! From staggering cliffs to massive sand dunes, all of SLO County’s beaches are pretty unique. You can get big rocks like the ones near Pismo Beach, or you can get classic, white California sand below a pier like in Avila Beach. If you’re all about capturing that beachy vibe, we suggest heading to one in San Luis Obispo for your engagement session. We’re happy to recommend some more private locations if you’re not trying to take your engagement photos with everyone looking, too!
Bonus: Yosemite National Park
Alright, we know this isn’t in SLO County, but Yosemite is very close by and is an easy day trip! Plus, we want to take full advantage of this gorgeous place before Glacier Point Road closes indefinitely in 2022. If your dream engagement session includes kissing your best friend on top of the Yosemite Valley’s staggering granite cliffs, watching sunrise over Half Dome all snuggled up next to each other, or a day hike to Yosemite Falls, we would love to join!!!
We’d love to show you 100 more of our favorite locations (and take your engagement photos)
Contact us to learn more!