From La Jolla to Anza-Borrego, these are the best spots to photograph in San Diego County — hand-picked by local photographers!
Table of Contents
Best Places to Photograph in San Diego
Within the last couple of months, Scott and I have started exploring more of this beautiful place that we call home. From east county to downtown, these are a few of the best places to photograph in San Diego.
Best Places to Photograph in South San Diego
I usually don’t venture down south to the more crowded areas because I hate traffic, but some of the most spectacular places to take pictures in San Diego are near downtown.
Coronado – Overlooking Downtown San Diego
My vision of Coronado used to be just a place for rich people. During our last visit, it looked different to me. It had less of a yuppie feeling and the views are amazing, especially at sunset.
Point Loma Harbor
Another one of the best photography spots in San Diego is Point Loma Harbor. As you can see, this spot is great for taking photos of the harbor with the city lights in the background. My intention is to head back there when it’s not overcast.
Read more: 15 Best Things To Do In San Diego
Horton Plaza – Downtown San Diego
This Alice in Wonderland-esque mall in downtown San Diego is just about the only mall I will visit. Not to buy things, but to marvel at the unique architecture. Keep in mind, they don’t allow tripods in this mall and security guards will get suspicious and ask you to leave if you look too much like a professional photographer.
Best San Diego Beaches to Photograph
The beaches in Southern California are always a good backdrop for any photographer. My favorite spots usually include huge cliffs that drop off into the Pacific.
Read more: The Ultimate Guide to California’s Pacific Coast Hwy
Scripps Pier
Piers are some of the best photo spots in San Diego — especially Scripps Pier in La Jolla. I like to play around with long exposures, especially when there are people walking along the pier. This photo was taken in Oceanside, California.
Sunset Cliffs – Ocean Beach
Sunset Cliffs was named because of its awe-inspiring sunsets and it’s definitely one of the prettiest places in San Diego. It’s also a great place to bring your camera at low tide.
Tide Pools at Swamis in Encinitas
Another photogenic spot at low tide is Swamis in Encinitas. Surfers flock to Swamis when the waves are good, but at low tide, it’s the perfect spot for those who seek out little sea creatures hidden in the rocks.
La Jolla
Blacks is another great surfing destination, but since I don’t like crowded waves, I will usually bring my camera instead of a surfboard. The photo opportunities are endless here. You can capture the hang gliders high above the cliffs or even catch one of them doing a flip.
I like heading to the south end of the beach at low tide and exploring the way the water hits the rocks. There’s also the Ho Chi Minh Trail for those sure-footed photographers.
Windansea is another must-visit beach in La Jolla. In my opinion, it’s the prettiest beach in San Diego!
Best Places to Photograph in East County, San Diego
San Diego’s east county stretches far and wide with unique spots to capture. We haven’t begun to even scratch the surface of these destinations, but here are a few of our favorites so far.
San Diego Wild Animal Park – Escondido
I’m not a big fan of zoos. Even the San Diego Zoo, which is somehow known as one of the best zoos in the States, makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t like when animals are confined to such small spaces. The Wild Animal Park is a different story. The larger animals are given acres of land to roam around on and it makes me feel a little better about visiting and taking photos.
Cedar Creek Falls – Ramona
Cedar Creek Falls had to be included on my list because in my opinion, it is the most spectacular waterfall in San Diego. This waterfall and swimming hole quickly became one of San Diego’s hot spots, which brought a lot of kids, alcohol and trash. Sadly, the trails leading to these falls are now closed until further notice after the death of a teen in July 2011.
My hope is that these falls will re-open with a ban on drinking and a strict policy of no dogs allowed. Too many dogs have died on this trail because of careless owners and extreme summer conditions.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Another place that is worthy of making this list, which we have not yet had the privilege to capture, is the magical display of wildflowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
There are plenty more spots to photograph in San Diego, like the stunning La Jolla Cove, but if you have limited time while visiting and you want to make sure you get some good pictures of San Diego, these places won’t disappoint.
Plan Your Trip to San Diego
After traveling consistently for over 10 years, we’ve come to trust and rely on a few websites to help us find the best deals on flights and accommodation.
Flights:
- Momondo is the first place we check when searching for cheap flights. It searches hundreds of sites for the best fare and includes both standard and budget airlines. The price calendar feature shows the cheapest days to fly in your preferred month of travel.
Accommodation:
- Booking.com offers savings on hotels, apartments, and villas in 80,000 destinations worldwide. You can browse hotel reviews and find the guaranteed best price on hotels for all budgets.
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sounds like you’re bias against the south san diego area and using traffic as an excuse to avoid the area you deem unworthy.
Lol. Maybe you don’t realize that most of the spots I listed are in south SD. Even if I was biased, who really cares? It’s a blog, which is based on opinion.
What a ridiculous comment haha
Thank you for sharing those nice pictures.
I lived in SO Cal most of my life and always loved going down to San Diego, especially Coronado. So enjoyable and beautiful for taking pictures. I know live in CO and miss the ocean. Thanks for happy memories.
Hi Christy , I will be planing a 1 day trip to San Diego , due to the baseball game , but will be early enough to check out your sites (all that I can within the time ) and take photographies like yours . I love the scenery . Thank you so much for sharing . If you have IG follow me . Gtravel234 ( a Venezuelan traveler in theUS )
That’s great! I hope you enjoy your visit!
Thank you for the kind words and beautiful photos of my home town. It truly is a photographers paradise…and you are right about wanting to hit LJ Cove (and caves). Travel on off times. Jan – March this year have been spectacular.
San Diego is a counted in a most beautiful cities in the world so there are so many tourist are coming for photography. As a my opinion Scripps Pier La Jolla is most popular and best place for photography and specially at the sunset and sunrise time is looking amazing. Then Children’s Pool La Jolla, Centennial Park Coronado, Sunset Cliffs Ocean Beach are also best places where prople should go for photography.
anyone know where is a great place to take pictures in my sweet sixteen dress?
If it were me, I would get my photos taken in La Jolla on the rocks just south of where the seals hang out. Right in front of La Valencia Hotel.
I will be in SD later in December and glad to see this since i will try to find the spots/angles to take the pics. What camera did you use for your shots? I will be using my Canon S95. Thanks.
These were taken with a Canon Rebel T2i. Have fun!
First, may I say that i enjoyed reading through those post. I’m a hobbyist photographer from Philadelphia. I am looking to take a photographic journey of California, with stops in San Diego, LA, and San Fran. If you had 2 days in mid-May to roam San Diego and the area around it for photographs, where would you make sure you got to?
Hi Doug. I would say don’t miss the Coronado view of the San Diego skyline at sunset, Sunset Cliffs and if you like animal photos, then Wild Animal Park. Hope you enjoy your time here!
Can you tell me where you stood in Ocean Beach to get the pictures of the cliffs. What time of the day did you go. LOVE YOUR BLOG!
Thank you, Jennie! Go to the end of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. At the end of the road, turn left and go up the hill, the road is named Lareda. Make the first right and park in the lot. If you go South a bit on the cliffs you should be able to find the spot, but there is tons to explore and get great shots from. This shot was taken just before sunset. Have fun! 🙂
Thanks for this article. I’ve added to our San Diego page of things to do on our 12 Cities tour.
Best places indeed! That last photo of cedar creek falls is just stunning! I’ve never seen an actual fall in my entire life, great to have them seen even on photos, real beautiful! Those giraffes and monkey photos were really cute, great job on capturing such view!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. 🙂
I know you what you mean about exploring the beautiful places closer to home. I live in a gorgeous place, too and only recently have I really gone out and marvel at what’s in my backyard. Its amazing what you can find. Looking at these photos, I’m totally sold on San Diego. What a great place for water photography. Its been at least a decade since I step foot down there and I’ll definitely make a stop before I leave the country next year. I’m bookmarking these suggestions for when I come down.
Great shots Christy! For some reason I have no like no photos from San Diego. Well just snapshots. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I completely guilty of not photographing the actual city you live in. Next time I am back home I’m planning on forcing myself to do nothing but take photos for a couple days instead of my typical boozing w/ friends. hhahaha
But boozing with friends can be so fun! 🙂
Beautiful! My husband & I went to San Diego for our anniversary a few years back and it was amazing!
What amazing photos! I only spent 2 days in SD and didn’t get to see most of these places. I’ve actually been thinking of warm-weather locations I could visit this winter and work remotely from… and San Diego had slipped my mind. Now, it’s on the list!
I lived in Southern CA for about 10 years- 3 of that in San Diego. Your photos really make me wish I was there now!
Sorry to make you miss San Diego! Not to rub it in, but we are having a beautiful summer this year. I hope you are able to make it this way sometime soon!
What amazing photos! San Diego looks like a fabulous place — beach, wilderness and groovy architecture. Looks like a great place to settle for a while.
Wow, beautiful photos of San Diego! I’ve only been there once but not had a lot of time to explore. Would love to see some of these places the next time I go.
Ahh, all my favorite places! That’s sad news about the death at Cedar Creek Falls. Sadly, I’m not too surprised; I’ve seen some people do some crazy stuff off the higher cliffs. Another great spot is a public parking area right next to the runway of the San Diego Airport. From this spot, you have an amazing vantage point of 747s slicing through the skyline before flying directly over your head. The parking lot is located at the convergence of Laurel and Harbor Island Drive (just below the Casbah) in downtown San Diego. I’ve never shot here myself, but I have seen others taking photographs here.
Thanks for the tip, Randy. Scott is interested in getting some shots of the planes. We looked around, but couldn’t find any with good backdrops.
These pictures are insanely gorgeous! Wish I had known about all of these places when I lived in SD.
Thanks, Andi! It took me about 6 years of living here to finally visit many of these spots. That is bad.
I kow San Diego reasonably well and this brought back some memories; some wonderful shots!
Great photos!! Love San Diego and will be testing out these spots next time we are there. Awesome
Didn’t know San Diego was so pretty.
It definitely is. It’s my paradise.
Love all these places- San Diego is one of our favorite places in the world, so easy going, great people and good food. Love the Zoo and all the surf spots. Great list!
Beautiful pictures! I’ve never been to San Diego, but without a doubt this pictures tell me it is a beautiful place! Love the monkey(?) shot, as well as many others.
Thanks! Yep, that is a Colobus Monkey. He is so cute. 🙂
The shots of the harbor and of the pier are my favorites.
If this is your home town, why would you want to leave? Wonderful. I like the photo where the palms foliage head looks like they’re extensions of the yacht masts!
I actually don’t want to leave lately. 🙂 It’s summer and there is no other place I would rather be! Thanks, Jim!
I love the third picture, Point Loma Harbor with the city lights on!
Thanks! That is one of my favorites too. I just wish it wasn’t so overcast that day.
As a native San Diegan I will say, these are great locations. I had forgotten how cool Horton Plaza could be, especially for photography. I’ve shot at a few of these suggestions myself. Now, here’s a secret that you may know about. There is a pedestrian bridge that crosses over the 5 right before the Pacific Highway exit. There’s a hole cut in the fence, right over the freeway portion. Guess what it’s for? Photographers!! The hole is perfect for you to set up a tri-pod, put your lens through the hole and get some great shots of downtown San Diego with approaching planes. 🙂 If you didn’t know about this, then…You’re Welcome!! BTW: Love Your Blog!!
Wow.. that sounds like a great spot, Terri! Thank you for the suggestion! I’m actually not sure which Pacific Hwy exit you are talking about, but maybe I can Google it. 🙂 Thank you!
If you’re heading north on the I-5 from downtown, the pedestrian bridge right before the Pacific Hwy Exit. 🙂 Enjoy!! And, ping me when you’ve gone there and taken pics, I would love to see what you captured.
Will do! Thank you!
Ahh, I know all of these places! When we lived in San Diego our point-and-shoot camera sucked, though (to say nothing of our skills), so our photos from our time there didn’t exactly turn out like yours…. 😛
It looks like you guys need to come back then! hehe 🙂
Would love to visit San Diego with my camera. Love the shots at the pier and the cliffs, and of course you can’t forget to zoo. My kids have mentioned going there next summer so maybe I’ll look into it more.
Hey Matt. My nieces and nephews will be in town this weekend so we will be doing a lot of kid activities and should be writing a post or two about it. If you have any questions when planning your trip, just let us know! 🙂