Whether you’re planning an engagement session or a wedding, or any other kind of photo shoot, one of the first decisions you have to make is where to go. On a wedding day, time is incredibly tight. Logistics, distance and travel time are critical. You’ll be faced with questions like, if my ceremony is at St. Paul’s in Oakland, and my reception is at the Carnegie Museum, do I have time to go to the North Shore? What options are there for me in Oakland if I choose not to take the time to drive downtown?

Before you jump into the location guide map, please, please, do not overlook the second key piece here – which is when to go! Please note that each photo has a not-particularly-attractive time stamp on it. Why did I put these ugly numbers all over these photos? Because time of day is critical to creating beautiful photos. And time of day is fluid depending on the time of year. For example, 6:30pm might be the perfect time of day for photos at the North Shore in May… but if you go at 6:30pm in November, it’s going to be dark. Be sure to consult a sunset calculator so you know when it will be getting dark on the day of your shoot. Better yet – ask your photographer!