The famous Golden Gate Bridge is visible from many places throughout San Francisco. Baker Beach is one of the few that lets you get really close and is not yet overrun as much as the places to the north of the bridge. You can include foreground elements and create the illusion of loneliness.
Baker Beach is a great place for a stroll and to photograph during sunset.
How to get there
Baker Beach Map
From Lincoln Blvd. turn left on Bowley Street toward the parking lot. If you plan to shoot the sunset, you should park at the trail further up north (see GPS position below).
GPS position
Parking area:
Trail for night shots:
How to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge from Baker Beach
Golden Gate Reflection at Baker Beach
The beach is an excellent foreground to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge. You can include some driftwood or other elements to increase interest and draw the viewers attention towards the Golden Gate Bridge.
I love to wait for the waves to wash ashore. The frothy white foam makes an excellent foreground. This is one of my favorite photographs, especially on cloudy days, when the foam mirrors the sky. After the water recedes, the Golden Gate Bridge reflects in the wet sand, creating another spectacular scene.
Observe the waves before you spring into action. Find out where you can safely stand without being hit by waves while your foreground continuously gets washed over. I prefer to have another person watch the waves and give me a warning, so that my equipement does not get wet. Once you are immersed in your scene and you have viewfinder tunnel vision, it will be hard to keep track of the waves.
Use the imaginary line drawn by the seashore. You can do this by photographing from as far back as the parking lot with a short telephoto lens to pull the bridge closer. If the water is calm, you can take off your shoes and walk a few steps into the water for a completely different perspective that will make your pictures look unique.
I also like to inlcude people walking their dogs or couples holding hands in my pictures, especially during sunset. I know those are cliché shots, but they work for a reason. Even wedding photographers come here to have the bride and groom pose.
On stormy days the waves will break on the rocks at the end of the beach. Walk a little closer and use a wide to normal focal length to make the breaking waves seem taller than the bridge. I am sure you will find a lot of interesting angles. Baker Beach is the best places to shoot the bridge with many different variations of foreground elements. Look for patterns in the sand, footprints or waves to create interesting and dynamic foregrounds.
On bright days, the light reflecting off the sand will cause your camera to underexpose your pictures. Always evaluate your exposure using your histogram and adjust accordingly via exposure compensation.
Best Time of the Day and Best Season
Any season is good, but I think spring is the best time, when wildflowers cover the hills. You can use those to add color to your photographs.
The best light is from mid-afternoon to sunset. This is also a great place for sunset photography, but you need to park on the street and take the steep stairs down to the beach as the gate of the parking lot is closed after sunset. Less people will be around during the sunset and you can have the beach almost to yourself.
Time required
You need about two hours to photograph at Baker Beach. You can do it in one hour if your time is limited.
Equipment
- Wide-angle Lens to include foreground elements
- Normal to short telephoto zoom lens to bring the bridge closer
- Beach Towel so that you can take off your shoes and stand in the water
- Polarizing filter to enhance the colors and bring out the reflections of the bridge
- Tripod and cable release for sunset shots
Difficulty Photographing
Baker Beach is a nude beach. Do not photograph nudists and do not come here if nudists offend you. If you are open-minded, you can get outstanding photographs at this place.
Close Locations
- Golden Gate Park: Japanese Tea Garden
- Golden Gate Park West Side
- Golden Gate Bridge
- San Francisco Presidio
- San Francisco’s Fort Point
- Beach and Cliff House
- Sutro Baths and Lands End
- Lincoln Park and Legion of Honor
- Fisherman’s Wharf
- Marina, Crissy Field
- Palace of Fine Arts
- Twin Peaks
- Fort Mason
Useful Resources
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4 Comments
Very interesting. For some reason, I did not picture surf breaking under the Golden Gate. You’ve captured it well in the photo. Keep up the good work. I’m waiting on that book!
Cool photos! Very interesting blog! So you actually teach people online how to do photography, even where, when and how to get there!
ViktoryiaN
That sums up the idea of this blog. I am just getting started
I loved Baker Beach, and have soo many pictures from there!
Had no idea, that it was a nude beach. It was cold when we were there last June, and just ran into some people fishing.