San Francisco City Hall Engagement Photos

Wide photo of MJ and Alejandra at the bottom of the grand staircase inside San Francisco City Hall.

Why start an engagement session at 8 in the morning? Because that is when San Francisco City Hall is empty, the light is pouring through the rotunda windows, and you get the grand staircase to yourselves. MJ and Alejandra met me there on a Friday in October, dressed like they were about to get married in the fanciest room in the city.

MJ and Alejandra sitting and laughing on the curved staircase at San Francisco City Hall
Close portrait of MJ kissing Alejandra on the forehead at San Francisco City Hall

She wore white, which inside that building reads less like an engagement session and more like a rehearsal. Their wedding is not until 11.11.2027, a date they picked on purpose. This session was the warm up.

San Francisco City Hall, before anyone else got there

City Hall does not need a permit or a reservation for photos during public hours, which still surprises people. What it rewards is an early alarm. By 9 the rotunda starts filling with wedding parties and tour groups. At 8, it was just us, the marble, and a security guard who has seen a thousand of these and was not impressed.

MJ and Alejandra seated on the marble steps under the gold railing at San Francisco City Hall
Black and white photo of MJ and Alejandra laughing on the City Hall staircase
Black and white photo of MJ and Alejandra walking down the grand staircase holding hands
MJ and Alejandra kissing in a vintage elevator doorway at San Francisco City Hall

We worked the greatest hits: the grand staircase, the rotunda floor from above, the big lattice window, the old elevator with the gold doors. Alejandra laughs with her whole body, and MJ looks at her like he is trying not to laugh first. That combination photographs well.

MJ and Alejandra walking down the grand staircase toward the camera at San Francisco City Hall
MJ and Alejandra leaning on the ornate staircase railing at San Francisco City Hall
MJ and Alejandra holding hands on the grand staircase at San Francisco City Hall
Black and white close portrait of Alejandra smiling at MJ inside San Francisco City Hall
MJ leading Alejandra down the grand staircase, seen from above, at San Francisco City Hall
MJ and Alejandra on the patterned rotunda floor of San Francisco City Hall, photographed from the floor above
MJ and Alejandra embracing on a marble stairwell landing at San Francisco City Hall, seen from above
MJ and Alejandra laughing on a staircase landing, photographed through the railing at San Francisco City Hall
MJ and Alejandra nose to nose against a marble wall at San Francisco City Hall
MJ and Alejandra sitting in a tall lattice window at San Francisco City Hall
Alejandra laughing while sitting in the City Hall window with MJ beside her
Alejandra resting her head on MJ with her eyes closed at San Francisco City Hall
Black and white close portrait of MJ and Alejandra with their foreheads together at San Francisco City Hall

The ring got its own moment, because it should. Then we took the show outside: the colonnade, the doors with CITY HALL written over them in gold, a crosswalk photo I will never not take, and the dome from the plaza across the street.

MJ kissing Alejandra on the cheek in a City Hall corridor as she laughs
Detail of Alejandra engagement ring as her hand reaches for MJ hand at San Francisco City Hall
MJ and Alejandra under the arched rotunda window at San Francisco City Hall
MJ and Alejandra laughing at each other along the rotunda balustrade at San Francisco City Hall
Candid close photo of MJ and Alejandra laughing together inside San Francisco City Hall
Alejandra leaning on MJ and laughing along the balustrade at San Francisco City Hall
MJ and Alejandra walking hand in hand down a City Hall corridor, laughing
MJ and Alejandra embracing outside San Francisco City Hall along the colonnade
MJ and Alejandra walking out of the ornate City Hall doors holding hands
MJ and Alejandra crossing the street in front of San Francisco City Hall
MJ and Alejandra kissing in the plaza in front of the San Francisco City Hall dome

Then we drove across the city to Lands End

Lands End is the opposite building. No marble, no ceiling, no plan for the weather. The fog was in, the wind was up, and MJ was still in the suit, because the outfit change was scheduled for later and the trails were right there. Formal clothes in wild places photograph better than they have any right to.

MJ and Alejandra on a coastal trail at Lands End in San Francisco, still in their City Hall outfits
Close portrait of MJ kissing Alejandra on the cheek at Lands End
Alejandra kissing MJ on the cheek while he grins at the camera at Lands End
MJ and Alejandra walking arm in arm and laughing on a Lands End trail
Detail of Alejandra engagement ring resting on MJ suit at Lands End
MJ and Alejandra laughing together on a Lands End trail surrounded by coastal scrub
The Sutro Baths ruins and Seal Rocks in the fog at Lands End, San Francisco

Then the jeans came out. White tees, denim, and a version of these two that laughs even louder. Somewhere on the trail a piggyback ride broke out. I did not request it. I also did not stop it.

MJ and Alejandra walking hand in hand toward the camera on a Lands End trail in jeans and white tees
MJ and Alejandra standing on a trail among the cypress trees at Lands End
MJ kissing Alejandra on the temple on a Lands End trail
Wide photo of MJ and Alejandra small in the frame on a trail under tall cypress at Lands End
MJ hugging Alejandra from behind on a Lands End trail, both smiling
Alejandra smiling over MJ shoulder at the camera during their Lands End engagement session
MJ and Alejandra walking a Lands End trail as the wind catches Alejandra hair
MJ and Alejandra laughing with her hands on his chest on a Lands End trail
Alejandra looking back over her shoulder at MJ on a Lands End trail
MJ and Alejandra walking under the twisted cypress trunks at Lands End
Wide photo of MJ and Alejandra walking beneath wind shaped cypress trees at Lands End
MJ and Alejandra kissing under the cypress trees at Lands End
Alejandra riding piggyback on MJ along a Lands End trail
MJ and Alejandra both laughing at the camera during a piggyback ride at Lands End
MJ and Alejandra among tall cypress trees with the ocean behind them at Lands End
Alejandra throwing her head back laughing with MJ at Lands End

The cliffs at the end of the city

The trails at Lands End end at the cliffs above the Sutro Baths, with Seal Rocks sitting out in the surf and one sea stack with a hole clean through it that everyone calls Heart Rock. The fog never fully lifted, which San Francisco people will tell you is the correct weather. Soft light, empty trails, and the whole Pacific doing its thing behind them.

MJ and Alejandra on the Lands End cliffs with Seal Rocks in the ocean behind them
MJ and Alejandra standing on a point at Lands End with cypress trees in the foreground
MJ and Alejandra kissing in front of dense green cypress at Lands End
Wide view of MJ and Alejandra small on a Lands End headland above the Pacific
MJ and Alejandra embracing on the cliffs with sea stacks behind them at Lands End
MJ and Alejandra embracing and laughing on a Lands End cliff above the surf
MJ and Alejandra nose to nose with the Pacific behind them at Lands End
MJ and Alejandra walking a ridge trail hand in hand above the ocean at Lands End
MJ and Alejandra embracing on a Lands End point with an island rock offshore
Close photo of Alejandra laughing up at MJ on the Lands End cliffs, her tattooed shoulder to the camera
MJ and Alejandra holding hands in front of Heart Rock at Lands End
MJ and Alejandra standing on the Sutro Baths ruins wall with Seal Rocks behind them
MJ and Alejandra laughing together at the Sutro Baths ruins
MJ and Alejandra embracing in front of the arched Heart Rock at Lands End

MJ and Alejandra get married on 11.11.2027, and I get to photograph that too. If this morning was the warm up, the wedding is in trouble. In the good way.

MJ and Alejandra walking hand in hand along the cliff with Heart Rock behind them at Lands End

San Francisco City Hall engagement photos: quick answers

Do you need a permit or reservation for engagement photos at San Francisco City Hall?

No. Photography is allowed throughout the building during public hours, 8 in the morning to 6 in the evening, with no permit and no reservation. Reservations are for ceremonies and private rentals, not for a photo session.

Where is San Francisco City Hall?

In the Civic Center, at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102. Get there early and the building is yours.

When is the best time for a City Hall engagement session?

Right at opening on a weekday. This session started at 8 on a Friday morning and the rotunda was empty. By mid morning the building fills up with ceremonies and visitors.

Can you do two locations in one engagement session?

Yes. City Hall and Lands End are about a half hour apart by car, and the contrast is the whole point: marble and gold, then fog and cliffs. An outfit change in between makes it feel like two sessions.

What should you wear for a City Hall engagement session?

Something formal reads right against the marble at City Hall. Then change into something you can walk a trail in for the coast. That is exactly what MJ and Alejandra did: suit and white dress first, jeans and white tees second.

Planning an engagement session in San Francisco, or a wedding anywhere in Northern California? I shoot photo and video as a team across wine country and beyond. Have a look at wine country weddings and then come tell me about your day.

Share:

Photography

Category:

Silver Seas