How to Shoot a La Jolla Cliffs Engagement

Overall Thoughts on Photographing La Jolla Cliffs Engagements

A La Jolla Cliffs engagement session offers breathtaking scenery, but mastering the light is key. By positioning your clients thoughtfully, using body blocking, bringing an assistant, and timing your session strategically, you can create stunning, timeless engagement photos—even in harsh coastal light. Here is a link to several of my sessions at this location so you can see my techniques with diffrent clients.

How to Handle Harsh Light at La Jolla Cliffs

Position Your Clients with Intention

For a La Jolla Cliffs Engagement, I position my clients with their backs to the sun. This creates soft, even lighting on their faces and avoids harsh shadows. However, at the La Jolla Cliffs, the sun reflecting off the ocean can be extremely bright and often results in blown-out highlights.

To avoid this, I rarely shoot straight into the sun. Instead, I move slightly to one side of the couple so I can capture the deep blue tones of the Pacific Ocean without the intense glare. This angle still provides flattering light while preserving background detail.

Use the “Body Blocking” Technique

One challenge with side lighting is that it can create uneven patches of light on a client’s face. To fix this, I use a technique called “body blocking,” popularized by Katelyn James.

Body blocking involves placing the taller partner between the sun and the other partner, allowing their body to block the harsh light. This simple adjustment prevents distracting highlights on the forehead, nose, or chin and creates clean, consistent lighting.

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Bring an Assistant to Your Engagement Session

One of my biggest recommendations for photographing a La Jolla engagement session is to bring an assistant—especially when shooting near the ocean.

I always bring someone with me at the beach, usually my husband, Zack. He’s incredible at using a reflector to block sunlight from hitting my lens, which helps reduce haze and lens flare. This allows me to shoot more confidently toward the sun while maintaining contrast and clarity.

At times, he’ll also use the reflector to block direct light from hitting the couple, placing them in open shade. This technique works consistently and makes a huge difference in challenging lighting conditions.

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Best Timing for a La Jolla Cliffs Engagement Session

I recommend starting your engagement session on the cliffs for the first half of the session, when the sun is still harsh. During this portion of the shoot, I have my clients wear their more formal outfits. At the beach, I always start my sessions an hour and a half before sunset. Here is the website I use to determine sunset times.

We begin with close-up portraits, which allows me to guide them through posing and help them feel comfortable in front of the camera. Once they’re relaxed and confident, we move into wider, more dramatic cliffside shots.

As the sun begins to set, we head down to the beach. This is when the light becomes softer and more flattering. The couple changes into a more casual outfit, and the mood naturally shifts into something more relaxed and playful. This is the perfect time for candid moments, movement, and natural interaction on the sand.

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