Winter Engagement Photos at Yosemite National Park, CA

Janelle & Tony weren’t exactly planning for having winter engagement photos, since it was already March! But the weather in the mountains is unpredictable, and it ended up snowing a little just before their session!

Pros of Having your Engagement Session in the Winter

For those who love seeing the mountains covered in snow, but are not huge fans of freezing temperatures, Yosemite National Park is the perfect place for your session and/or elopement! From December to early February, it can snow A LOT, and it can be really cold in the Park (like 20 degrees cold). But by late February/March, the temperature starts getting nicer and nicer, and you can already start seeing some signs of spring!

So why should you choose to have winter engagement photos at Yosemite?

• the temperatures are not so brutal by the end of February and the beginning of March
• the Park is generally empty. This session was on a Sunday, and we did not see a lot of people!
• it is absolutely GORGEOUS seeing the massive granite rocks and mountains covered in snow
• sunset is early (unlike summer, when the sunset is at 8:30 pm)! So that means you can still get back to your Airbnb/hotel just in time for a nice dinner!

Tips for your Winter Engagement Session

About 2 days before their session, Janelle emailed me worried they were going to be too cold for their session. The weather forecast was predicting temperatures of 30 – 34 degrees for that day! Well, it ended up being a super nice day, and the temperatures were around 55 – 60 degrees instead, lol!

But, in case the weather forecast was correct, I told her a couple of key tips so they could enjoy their session and stay warm:

• wear warm socks and shoes, especially if your dress is long and your shoes most likely won’t show. You can wear full-on winter boots and be comfortable and warm all day!
• bring a nice jacket, one that you won’t mind wearing for the pictures as well. You’ll be in and out of your winter coat, but the longer you stay warm, the better!
• bring snacks! I don’t know about you, but the cold makes me HUNGRY all the time!
• bring your favorite drink to warm you up! Celebratory champagne, whiskey, whatever you guys love!

PS. don’t forget to pack your tire chains. As I mentioned before, the weather in the mountains is very unpredictable, so it can snow pretty much out of nowhere, and the Park will put chain restrictions in place.

Having winter engagement photos can require a little more logistics, but it’s 100% worth it!

Check out a few highlights from Janelle & Tony’s session below!

Don’t go yet, check out:

• Winter elopement at Yosemite
• Complete Guide to Elope in Yosemite
• How to Pick the Perfect Elopement Dress

Say hello!

Get in touch with us if you have any questions and/or just wanna chat!

We are Stephan & Adriana, California Elopement Photographers, specialized in elopements and intimate weddings at Yosemite.