Georgia
Savannah’s historic district is a grid of squares — small public gardens at regular intervals, each surrounded by houses, each shaded by live oaks hung with Spanish moss. The effect for a photographer is unusual: filtered, even light almost anywhere in the district, almost all day, which is close to the opposite of how the rest of the American south works in summer. It is less expensive and less booked than Charleston, two hours up the coast, and the two are often considered together. Savannah has the stronger canopy and the more consistent light; Charleston has the pastel architecture and the harbour. The permitting here is specific enough to be worth stating plainly. The City of Savannah requires a permit for professional photography in the squares and parks, including Forsyth Park, and it has tightened enforcement as the market has grown. Wormsloe’s oak avenue — the image most associated with the city — is a state historic site with its own admission and its own rules.
March and April are the best weeks of the year: azalea through the squares, wisteria on the ironwork, and comfortable air before the humidity arrives. October and November are the second window. June through September is hot and very humid with daily afternoon storms, though the canopy makes it more workable than the numbers suggest. Winter is mild, grey and very quiet, and the moss reads strongest against bare branches.
A white two-tier fountain under an avenue of live oaks. The most recognisable frame in the city, and shared with a steady stream of visitors from about eight in the morning.
A mile and a half of live oaks planted in the 1890s, arching completely over the drive. In direct sun the dappling through that canopy is unmanageable; flat light is what makes the avenue work.
Often called the most beautiful street in America, and the claim holds up: brick townhouses, ironwork, gas lamps and a complete oak canopy. Residential, so quiet and early.
Victorian statuary under moss-hung oaks on a bluff above the river. It is an active cemetery with families visiting, which sets the tone for how a session is run.
Twenty minutes east, and the only place near Savannah facing open ocean. The north end near the lighthouse is quieter than the pier and better for portraits.
These come under the Savannah rate: a photographer travels out from the city at no extra charge, and the session is priced exactly as it would be in Savannah itself.
Yes. The City of Savannah requires a photography permit for professional sessions in the historic squares and city parks, including Forsyth Park and Bonaventure Cemetery, and enforcement has tightened as the market has grown. Applications need to be in ahead of the session date. Wormsloe is a Georgia state historic site with separate paid admission and its own commercial photography permit.
Savannah for the tree canopy and the light: twenty-two shaded squares mean filtered, even illumination almost anywhere in the district for most of the day, which is rare in the American south. Charleston for the pastel architecture, the harbour and the seawall. Savannah is generally less booked and less expensive; Charleston has the stronger wedding-venue infrastructure. They are two hours apart, and many couples photograph in both.
Because the oak canopy is almost continuous. In direct sun the light coming through it breaks into hard, high-contrast dapple that falls across faces in patches a camera cannot reconcile — no exposure works for both the lit and the shaded parts of a face. Under overcast the whole avenue lights evenly and the arch of the oaks reads properly, which is the photograph people came for.