California
Engagement session · Napa Valley
In short
Engagement session in Napa Valley starts at $450: 2 hours on location with a photographer who works in Napa Valley, and 60 edited photos delivered to a private gallery within 5 business days.
Why choose Engagement session in Napa Valley?
The single most useful thing to know about photographing an engagement session in Napa is that you cannot simply pull over and walk into a vineyard. Every one of them is private property and a working farm, and stepping past the fence line is trespassing on a crop rather than wandering into scenery. What works instead is a winery that grants access, the public roadside, or Alston Park — which is public land that looks like the private land everybody photographs.
Worth knowing about Napa Valley
The color window people picture is later than they think: the vines turn gold and red in late October into November, after the harvest, not during it. The other great window is almost unknown — mustard flower blooms bright yellow between the rows from February into March, when the valley is quiet, the site fees are lower and the light is soft. It is the best-value fortnight of the Napa year.
What does the session in Napa Valley look like?
- Alston Park, Napa
- Open grassland on a rise with oaks and a view down the valley. Public, and it looks like the vineyards do not let you into.
- A winery with an events program
- Access into the rows, usually for a site fee, arranged in advance.
- Yountville
- Stone buildings and olive trees along public streets, where a handheld session needs no winery’s say-so.
What does engagement session in Napa Valley include?
- 60 retouched photographs
- Two locations, including travel between them
- Outfit change included
- Save-the-date crops sized for print and for email
- Private online gallery within 5 business days
- Print release for personal use
Permits at these locations: Alston Park, Napa: City of Napa film permit required for commercial photography on city property, with insurance and use fees.
FAQ — Engagement session in Napa Valley
Can we photograph in the vineyards?
Only with the owner’s permission. Every vineyard in the valley is private property and a working farm — walking in from the roadside is trespassing on a crop. Wineries with an events program will usually arrange access for a site fee. The public alternatives are the roadside pull-offs, Alston Park in Napa, and the town of Yountville.
When do the vines turn gold?
Late October into November, after the harvest rather than during it — which surprises people who book for September expecting autumn color. The other window is mustard flower between the rows from February into March, bright yellow across the whole valley, when the region is quiet and considerably cheaper.