Desert Engagement Session Arizona | Golden Hour Cactus Portraits

Published February 2018 · Updated April 2026

Engagement Photos in the Arizona Desert

There is something about the Sonoran Desert at golden hour that makes everything feel like it is glowing from the inside out. The saguaros, the wildflowers when they are in season, the way the mountains turn from brown to amber to deep purple as the sun drops — it is a landscape that photographs beautifully and never quite looks the same twice.

I recommend the desert for engagement sessions because it creates an atmosphere that is impossible to replicate in a studio or city setting. Couples are relaxed here. There is space to move, to breathe, to settle into each other without feeling like they are performing for a camera.

Planning Your Engagement Session

An engagement session is a chance to get comfortable in front of the camera before your wedding day and to create images you can use for save-the-dates, your wedding website, or guest sign-in displays. I typically recommend scheduling your session about 4 to 6 months before the wedding. For Arizona desert sessions, the best months are November through March when temperatures are mild and the light is warm. Sessions in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and the surrounding desert typically start about 90 minutes before sunset to catch the golden hour. If you are planning a session, get in touch and we can talk about locations that work for you.

"Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning." – from Carl Sandburg's poem "Chicago"

I love discovering big cities! I've always wanted to meet Chicago, and thanks to the sweetest couple, Alex & Craig, I finally go to. I've decided that Chicago is the perfect combination of New York and Boston. The skyscrapers, bold and unique, are among the tallest in the world. Though it hurt my neck, I loved looking up at them.

For a film photographer, the city is like a playground. The beautiful architecture, artwork, and the water, deep and blue, of Lake Michigan provided the most romantic backdrops for Alex & Craig's engagement pictures.

I wouldn't be fair to the city if I didn't mention the rich and diverse culinary experience. I will be diplomatic and not get into the thin crust vs. thick crust pizza debate. I will say that the food in Chicago is incredible. I absolutely love neighborhood restaurants, enriched with cultural relevance.