Malibu Engagement Photos
Best Malibu Engagement Session Locations
El Matador Beach
Point Dume
Malibu Creek State Park
Leo Carrillo Beach
Malibu Canyon
Keep scrolling to read more about each location and see some photos that I’ve taken there!
El Matador Beach
El Matador is my favorite beach location in all of Southern California! You can get a lot of variety here by taking photos up on the bluffs above the beach before making your way down to the sand where you’ll find huge rock formations that make this beach so unique.
Point Dume
Point Dume is similar to El Matador in that there are cliffs overlooking the water in addition to the beach itself, but there aren’t sea stacks on the beach. If you want to prioritize cliff photos overlooking the water, I recommend this location! Follow the trail along the cliffs at the Point Dume Nature Preserve and you’ll find some great viewpoints. In the spring, this location blooms with colorful yellow wildflowers.
Client Review from Deepti + Ankit after their Malibu engagement session:
“My fiance came across some pictures of engagement sessions in Malibu that Carrie took and we absolutely fell in love! We knew we wanted pictures by the beach since that's where we spent the early part of our relationship and that's how we met, so we were instantly drawn to all of the photos and galleries. Both my fiance and I like to think of ourselves as amateur photographers and we dabble in landscapes on our travels, so we looked around quite a bit before coming to a decision. From the second we opened up Carrie's website and instagram account to view the galleries, we knew we wanted Carrie to capture our love. Each photograph of every couple she took showed so much depth, whether it was a wide angle or a close up portrait shot. We loved how she made the couple the focus point of the photograph regardless of the background and we absolutely loved how all the couples popped out in all the warm and neutral tones of the background. Carrie's unique and artistic style is exactly what we were looking for and we were so lucky to have found her and to have had such an amazing session with her! Right from the beginning, she was responsive and very helpful and we could tell even before meeting her that it would be a fun session with her. My fiance and I were pretty nervous to have our pictures taken as we don't have too many of ourselves and the ones that we do have are all selfies lol, but Carrie truly blew us away. Carrie went above and beyond to think of unique angles, help us pose naturally and ultimately, create beautiful photographs and memories for us. She made me feel at ease even before the session started and worked with me to come up with a creative vibe for the session. She was so kind throughout the experience and even helped me sort my outfits and offered opinions on what she thought would look the best at each location. She patiently looked through the TONS of pictures I sent her on pinterest and incorporated many poses into our photographs. She honestly made us feel so natural and at ease and truly captured the essence of our love. She was extremely professional throughout the experience - both before meeting her and during the session and was very timely in the delivery of our sneak peaks and our full album. Our families and friends loved all of the pictures, and honestly we are having a very tough time selecting a few for our wedding website and our "Save The Dates" because we truly love all of them and have so many favorites!! Carrie is such a talented photographer and an amazing person. We are so glad and lucky that we were able to have Carrie take our engagement pictures and have these beautiful memories forever. We would highly highly recommend her to anyone without any hesitation and would be lucky to have her take pictures and give us beautiful memories again! Lots of love Carrie, Deepti and Ankit <3”
Malibu Creek State Park
Malibu Creek State Park is perfect for those looking for a more rustic vibe. This location features grassy trails, large oak trees, and mountains in the background. In the spring, you’re likely to find this place full of green grass and wildflowers blooming, but in the fall, it’s usually on the drier side. I personally prefer the look of yellow, dried grass for photos!
Click here to see more Malibu Creek State Park engagement photos.
Leo Carrillo
Leo Carrillo is a dog friendly beach with coastal trails, easy beach access, and cliff areas that overlook the water. I mostly recommend this beach if you want to include your dog in your session, but it’s a beautiful location either way if you want to skip the most popular spots.
Malibu Canyon
Malibu Canyon is what I call the part of the Santa Monica Mountains that you drive through on your way to the beaches in Malibu (depending on where you’re coming from). There are pullouts along the drive with scenic views of the mountains or you can drive up a side road to find a spot a little higher in the mountains. This area is fun to add onto a session on the beach if you have a cool car you want to take photos with or you want to make a quick stop to get some variety in your photos.
Tips and Ideas for Planning the Perfect Malibu Engagement Session
Plan your session to avoid peak times. Malibu is a popular destination for travelers all over the world so many of the best locations here can get pretty crowded, ESPECIALLY the beaches in the summertime. I recommend planning your session for sunrise on a week day to have the best chance of avoiding crowds. During the shoulder months, you can probably plan for sunrise on a weekend and not run into more than a few other people and in the winter months, sunset during the week shouldn’t be too bad. I personally don’t recommend or book sunset sessions on the weekends anywhere in Malibu.
Prepare yourself for the beach. If you want a beach engagement session, keep in mind that it will be sandy, you’ll probably get a little wet, it might be really windy, and possibly a little chilly. Embrace it!! Pick outfits that look good with bare feet and bring layers.
Incorporate an activity or personal interest into the session. This could look like a “picnic” with your favorite drinks and snacks, or bringing along a guitar or surfboard or your polaroid camera. It’s not a requirement to bring props but if there’s something that’s significant to your relationship and you can easily incorporate it, why not?
Rent a cool vintage car! The Pacific Coast Highway is a world famous drive that goes right through Malibu. Renting a cool car (or a jeep if that’s more your vibe) is a fun way to really capture the experience of visiting Malibu. You can take photos at a pull off along the coast, at a beach parking lot, or at a scenic overlook in the canyon.
Book an airbnb! To further tell the story of your Malibu experience, consider booking an airbnb on the coast and scheduling part of your engagement session there. Look for a place that’s bright and open with lots of light and has some fun amenities that interest you. This could be a pool or a hot tub, or even a large kitchen (love making brunch together? let’s capture that!). Some airbnbs even have their own private beach access or large decks with coastal views. A private space would be perfect if you need to plan a weekend date.
