Miami is a marvelous city for engagement photoshoots and is a popular location for destination weddings. With spectacular sunrise and sunsets, pristine beaches, wonderful nature parks, historical museums, and not forgetting the magnificent architecture, it’s no wonder that it’s called the Magic City. We have listed some of our favorite places below to help you choose a location for your engagement session.

Where Can I Take Engagement Photos in Miami – Florida

As a Miami engagement photographer, we get to explore different locations in Miami for our projects. We have our Miami city favorites below, in no particular order. However, please let us know where your favorite spot is and Eivan’s Photo and Video will set it up to deliver professional engagement photos.

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

Located in the Biscayne Bay, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a favorite spot for most couples. Originally built as a private residence, it is now a historic landmark and one of Miami’s top tourist attractions. Vizcaya’s Italian Renaissance architecture and garden layouts are exceptional for the mix of classical European design within a tropical setting. The buildings and structural elements have taken on a rustic charm that adds to the beauty of your engagement photos. The formal gardens offer a variety of natural backdrops and stunning views of Biscayne Bay. The park requires a permit but the parking is free.

Key Biscayne – South Florida

Key Biscayne is a gorgeous location for engagement photos. It offers sunny beaches and two majors parks which have beautiful backdrops. The first of these, Crandon Park’s Zoo Ruins, was once upon a time a zoo, and it is now a botanical garden with peacocks and wide paths that take you round what was once the zoo enclosures. The park has a 2-mile pristine beach that is rated amongst the top 10 in the nation. It also includes a restored carousel that is great for playful photos.

To the south of Key Biscayne is the picturesque Bill Baggs State Park. This location is excellent for romantic engagement photoshoots with beautiful sandy beaches, palm trees, and the iconic lighthouse that makes a stunning backdrop against the blue ocean background. The sunsets over the bay are spectacular and worth waiting for, while the views from the lighthouse are breathtaking. This park also requires admission and parking fees.

Coral Gables Prado Entrance

The Prado Entrance is registered as a historical site and is quite popular as a Miami engagement photography location. The entrance features a distinct design with arches, a reflective pool, fountains, and walkways. Its design is like a piazza, with elaborate Old World architectural details to the structures and its alignment to a central courtyard.

The Prado is also a fantastic location for evening engagement sessions because it has a wide view of the night sky, which makes a fantastic addition to the background of the photos. There is plenty of free parking, and you’ll require a permit.

Biltmore Hotel – Coral Gables

The Biltmore is the perfect location for indoor and outdoor engagement pictures. Located within the Coral Gables, the Biltmore is a historical landmark that also makes an excellent wedding venue. It features Mediterranean Revival architecture, ballrooms and a grand lobby, tall palm trees, swimming pools, courtyards, and lush green landscaping to offer a variety of backgrounds within the hotel area to make your engagement photos unique and captivating.

Matheson Hammock Park

Matheson Hammock Park holds the title of being the first county park in Dade County. It is a scenic park with nature trails, picnic pavilions, and a pristine beach with the Miami skyline in the background. Its most notable feature is a manmade atoll pool that is naturally flushed by the tidal waves of Biscayne Bay. It is the perfect location for a beach engagement session with its stunning waterfront vistas with the city skyline as a backdrop, plus the lush nature trails and open spaces.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Adjacent to Matheson Park is the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The garden is a sanctuary of a vast collection of rare tropical plants, trees, flowers, butterflies, and different types of species. It is an exotic location that provides various opportunities for the perfect Miami engagement photography, with several backdrops of natural greenery, water features, and nature trails. The park requires a permit and admission fees to use the location for photography.

South Pointe Park

South Pointe is a scenic county park located in the South Beach area of Miami Beach. It is a lovely spot for beach engagement photos with a panoramic view of the ocean, Fisher Island, and Downtown Miami skyline across Biscayne Bay for backdrops. With that much ocean view, you can imagine how stunning the sunset will be in the evening for your photos. It is a public park, so you don’t need a permit for photos.

Wynwood Walls

The Wynwood neighborhood of South Beach is a haven for creatives and graffiti artists. Located near the Miami Design District and a short distance from Downtown Miami, Wynwood Walls is a fluid canvas of fine art and graffiti that attracts visitors, locals, and Miami engagement photographers alike. It is colorful, vibrant, and energetic, with lots of murals painted on the concrete walls of aging warehouse buildings that present interesting backdrops for engagement portraits.

The Deering Estate

The Deering Estate is a historical landmark located in Palmetto Bay, South Florida. It is a perfect location for your Miami engagement photo session and wedding photos with historic houses, nature trails with lush greenery, and an old prohibition wine cellar. We love how this location offers a lot of mixed backgrounds from the different architectural styles and textures of the historic buildings, the vast natural grounds with oak trees, and the spectacular views of Biscayne Bay from its palm tree-lined harbor.

Miami Marine Stadium

Developed in the 1960s, the Miami Marine Park is the first-ever purposely built stadium for watching motorboat races. It was, however, declared unsafe after Hurricane Andrew swept through Miami in 1992. Abandoned and left to rot, the stadium gradually became a haven for graffiti artists who have covered every square inch of its concrete with vibrant graffiti art. Why it is a great place for an engagement session is because it offers colorful graffiti art against the ocean panorama. Luckily, it is also not a busy location, and it doesn’t require a permit.

How Much does an engagement photographer cost in Miami?

A typical engagement session can last between 1 – 3 hours, depending on several factors such as the location and the theme of the session. The average cost for a 2-hour session in Miami is $1,000. You’ll also need to consider the admission fees and permit fees that some of these locations will require you to have.

At Eivan’s Photo and Video, we understand that planning for your wedding day requires some financial investment. However, if budget is a concern, you may want to consider taking up one of our wedding packages here that include pre-wedding event sessions. It allows you to have engagement sessions included as part of the wedding package at a considerable discount, and you’ll have a chance to get to bond with our team of highly experienced Miami wedding photographers before the big day.

Our goal is to deliver high quality finished images at an affordable price. Our experienced Miami engagement photographers will help you get the most out of your engagement session and also help you enjoy every moment of it. Check our availability here to book your session with us.

How to Get the Best Engagement Photos in Miami

Miami has some of the most exciting spots for engagement photography with a wide variety of locations, from parks and pristine beaches to historical sites located all around the city. Here are some tips to help you choose the perfect spot for your engagement shots and help you prepare for the session.

• Consider which location best projects your personalities. Beach and park engagement sessions are usually fun, laid back, and adventurous unlike having an engagement session in a formal setting like the Biltmore Hotel. Wynwood Walls and the Miami Marine Park are for the artistic, creative, and nerdy themes, while the historical parks and museums can be for people who love classical elements in their photos. However, you can trust our Miami engagement photographers to deliver the best shots regardless of where you choose.
• When you’ve decided on the theme you’re going for, look for engagement pictures online that you like and create a vision board for the photoshoot. It will help your engagement photographer understand your expectations, and they’ll be able to merge their creative style with it to produce more usable images from the session.
• For most couples, their engagement session is usually their first time having professional photos taken, and it can be overwhelming for them. Our experienced Miami engagement photographer will help by directing the photoshoot with the best poses and backdrops to use within the location.

Finally, you should use this session as a dry run for the wedding day. Engagement photoshoots help you to get comfortable in front of the camera so that the pictures are natural. It also helps to discover the best makeup style for you and the best poses for both of you. You’ll also get to see the photographer’s style, and that will guide your expectations for your wedding photography.