One of the most common question I get from clients is “What beach do you recommend for our photos session?”. There is no one answer to this question, as we have plenty of options in the Miami, FL area. I have photographed engagements, proposals, elopements and weddings at so many different beaches, and they all have amazing sceneries to offer, and provide a lot of diversity for your images.
Here are 6 of my favorites:
Virginia Keys
Virginia Keys Beach is located on the Key Biscayne island. It offers a lot of different sceneries. I personally love it for its rocks, appearing mangroves, and trees that are directly on the beach. It is not your typical Miami beach, and is mostly not visited by tourists.
Opening hours: officially 7AM – 9PM but call (305) 960-4600 to confirm, they tend to change them for no reason
Entrance fee: $8
Address: 4020 Virginia Beach Dr, Miami, FL 33149
South Pointe Park
South Pointe Park is located at the tip of Miami Beach island. It is quite dear to my heart as I took my wedding photos there. I love it for many reasons: it is a beach, a park and a pier all at once. It offers a lot of different sceneries from wide fields of palm trees, to high grass, to grass dunes, rocks, lifeguard cabins, etc.
I only ever have sunrise sessions there because this is a highly visited park, and it tends to get busy after sunrise until the end of the day. Plus, the light is absolutely divine in the morning, when the sun rises on the ocean.
Opening hours: 24/7
Parking fee: free and easy to find until 9AM, then $20 9AM – 3AM
Address: 1 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Matheson Hammock Park
Matheson Hammock Park is quite unique as it offers a circle shaped beach. It is located in the beautiful neighborhood of Coral Gables. I love that we are literally surrounded by water everywhere, and have access to a marina, a beach, a park and a field of palm trees. I usually photograph there at sunrise as it tends to get busy throughout the day. The entire road leading to the beach is filled with trees forming an arched shape – it looks amazing in pictures! I particularly appreciate the park, and the ruined building in the middle, that makes up for stunning, elevated photographs.
Opening hours: Sunrise to sunset
Entrance fee: $8 (the entrance to the park at the very beginning is free – the entrance to the beach/marina is paying)
Address: 9610 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, FL 33156
Haulover Beach
Haulover Beach is located at the very top of the Miami Beach island. I personally photograph at the portion before the bridge, as the portrait after the bridge requires a photography permit.
Anyway, I am mostly interested in the fishing pier, that offers an absolutely unobstructed view on the ocean. Once again, I prefer photographing there at sunrise, to avoid the crowd that builds up throughout the day. Plus, watching the sun rises and getting these beautiful golden sun beams is priceless. The rest of the beach landscape is mostly high grass, and palm tree filled paths.
Opening hours: 24/7 – although the fishing pier can be closed during storms
Address: 10295 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33154
Bills Baggs
Bill Baggs is quite frankly always a good choice. It is located at the tip of Key Biscayne island and is one of the only spot where we can see the sun set on the ocean in Miami. I love it because of its beautiful light house, vast fields of high grass, sand dunes, pier, beautiful palm trees filled path, its tropical trails, the abundance of parking, and finally, its nicely aligned blue umbrellas in the morning!
I try to always photograph there at sunrise (yes, again, what can I say?) because it gets busier later in the day.
Opening hours: 8AM – 8PM (but better calling 7865822673 to confirm)
Parking fee: $8
Address: 1200 Crandon Blvd, Key Biscayne, FL 33149
Crandon Beach
I always say that Crandon Beach is like our little Bahamas of Florida even though I’ve never been! But that’s definitely what I imagine it looks like: white sand, wide beaches filled with beautiful and abundant palm trees. I love that it has a lot of sand dunes and high grass, there providing plenty of diversity for your photos. When the tide gets low, some sand bars get accessible and it’s always so much fun to photograph there. I don’t really have a preferred time to shoot at Crandon, I think it looks amazing at sunrise and at sunset. It tends to get packed on weekends so it you opt for a sunset shoot, I would definitely try doing it on a weekday!
Opening hours: 8AM – 8PM (but better call 3053615421 to confirm)
Parking fee: $8
Address: 1200 Cran6747 Crandon Blvd, Key Biscayne, FL 33149
Jupiter – Coral Cove Blowing Rocks
I left Coral Cove for the end because it is a little further away, in the Palm Beach county. Count a 2 hours drive from Miami to get there. However, you absolutely won’t be disappointed by the scenery. Think black sand, and huge rocks crashing on the beach. It is important to note that this spot should only be accessed in low tide, and should pay close attention to the water level. The rocks can get slippery as the water goes back up. Shooting there during the low tide is safer.
Opening hours: sunrise to sunset – for safety, after sunset, the patrol will ask you to leave
Parking fee: public parking
Address: 574 S Beach Rd, Hobe Sound, FL 33455
