San Francisco City Hall Wedding Photography

After photographing weddings for years at San Francisco City Hall, I have discovered every nook and cranny of angelic light at what is the 5th largest freestanding dome in the world. At least an additional hour, after your ceremony and group shots, is required to get a good combination of photographs that are representative of City Hall. Since reopening after the COVID closure, City Hall, closes at 5:00PM instead of 8:00PM. With fewer hours available for photography, it is now more important than ever to ensure proper time for quality photographs. Things to consider the 2hr packages versus the Basic Elopement 1 hr Package • The best locations (e.g. 4th Floor & Grand Staircase) usually require waiting for other photographers. It is common for some photographers to take extra time, and waiting time can exceed 15 minutes or more in some cases. Note: I always do my best to negotiate with other photographers who are taking an inordinate amount of time. • City Hall is a large space. It takes time moving from location throughout the building. • It takes time to clear areas of people to minimize strangers in the background of your photos • With both the Standard Package and Premium 2.5 hr package, all the photos you received will be free of strangers in the background, even if they need to be photoshopped!

In the chart below, I give a rough idea of the # of photos that you will receive based on the package selected. Although it seems obvious to compare packages and photographers by the number of photos delivered, by far the most important measure is the quality of the photos. Some of my shoots with the least number of photos had multiple award-winning images in the same shoot! I always deliver similarly edited photos for the whole shoot, so you don't have to imagine what the rest would look like if they were edited properly.

There is no sure fire way to maximize light and crowds at City Hall. Since City Hall has shortened their business hours to 8AM-6PM, there are more photographers competing for space Monday through Friday. Fridays and afternoons are typically the most crowded, and midweek is the least crowded. The most important factor in getting the photos that you want is the package selected. The 2 hr and 2.5 hr packages will provide enough time to get the essential shot at that everyone wants from the Grand Staircase and the 4th Floor without strangers in the background. For Mayor's Balcony weddings, refer to this page dedicated to Mayor's Balcony Weddings.

No matter what photographer you pick, make sure that they are skilled at the use of off camera lighting. So that your whole shoot will have the same level of quality as the few places (for example, the 4th Floor) with good sunlight.

Our clients are visually sophisticated. What I mean by this, is that our clients really care about lighting, expression and artistry. Many of our clients are avid, amateur photographers and even other pro photographers or others who work in various cinematic arts. We also get many tech types from Silicon Valley, such as Googlers and Apple employees or those working in startups. The commonality is they have an artistic side and love photography. Finally, I get, many very family oriented couples who are excited to share their photos to other family members around the world.