When Aubrey and Jake reached out to me to take their engagement photos at the Imperial Sand Dunes, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I’ve been wanting to shoot at there for years. However, it’s pretty out of the way and a lot of effort to get to if you’re just going for fun rather than being paid, to be honest! (especially if you’re not into ATVS, lol.)
Most of the time (October-April) you need a permit to access the dunes. Since we took these photos in the off season, we didn’t need one. We just pulled into the first parking lot we saw and started walking right into the dunes (avoiding recreation areas for ATVs, of course.) We all drove from San Diego and it took us around 3 hours.
We were amazed by what we saw just off the road. We didn’t have to walk far at all to find inspiration (peep the sunflowers in the middle of the desert in the photo below).
The main piece of advice I have for couples and photographers wanting to take photos at the dunes is to find a quiet area away from the recreational activities so you’re not in the way. Because I went during slow season, this was easy to do.
When we went, it was relatively quiet and extremely easy to keep ourselves tucked away from the action. We only had to walk for 10/15 minutes. Even with that said, I’d exercise extreme caution when navigating the area as motorized vehicles do appear suddenly.
Realistically this spot is a day trip away for people in both Arizona and California. It offers an incredibly diverse amount of lighting scenarios, landscapes and tones.
The photo above was taken after the sun dipped below the mounds of sand, but right before that, you get a GORGEOUS golden hour glow that illuminates everything in orangey-red hues (see below).
The extraordinary views, the variety and the accessibility of the Sand Dunes during slow season make it hard spot to top. If I’m ever back during busy season, I’ll write another post about how it goes!
You can see more of my work on Instagram at @emilydean.photography.
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