As a San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer I have mixed feelings about The Palace of Fine Arts. It is by far the most requested destination for our SF City Hall couples. There is no doubt that it is absolutely beautiful and of course historic. Our out of town couples especially like it for it's architecture and past. Located on the outskirts of the Marina District in San Francisco, POFA faces many expensive and amazing looking homes. It's a very safe place to walk around with very little messiness. So why do I have mixed feelings?
It is not that big of a deal, but the fact is that the Palace of Fine Arts is very touristy. Especially during the summer, it can get quite crowded. So much so that you end up having to wait for people to clear the background before shooting. This is not that different from photographing at San Francisco city hall, but obviously it can be tough to go from one touristy place to another. It certainly works fine and we get some great photos there. Over the years, we have learned how to avoid the crowds at the Palace of Fine Arts and even the best times of the day to take pictures there. The photo just below was taken close to the actual Rotunda and was captured just a few minutes before sunset. You can see the low sun angle coming in through the building and lighting up the Bride's veil! These kind of special lighting moments can always be found at the Palace of Fine Arts.
The Palace of Fine Arts is also very popular for Quinceañera photoshoots. On any given day you will find at least two or three Quince photo shoots going on. It's not quite as popular as San Francisco City Hall but it's very pretty with lots of great photo opportunities
