Let’s talk about the kind of session that makes you forget you’re technically “working” and instead feels like you’ve been swept into someone’s highlight reel. That was Ryan and Gillian’s beach engagement session at Cardiff State Beach in Encinitas—a golden-hour love fest complete with bicycles, sand, and two cute co-stars who could easily steal the whole show (and kind of did). These two rolled up (literally) with vintage-style bikes, surfy-casual vibes, and dogs who were ready to party.

Cardiff Beach Engagement Sessions Are Already Dreamy—Then Add Dogs and Bikes

If you’ve never been to Cardiff-by-the-Sea around sunset, let me paint the scene: soft cliffs glowing peachy-pink, waves catching the last light like they’re in a romance movie, and tide pools that look like they were made for reflection shots (because they were). Now drop two people crazy about each other into that backdrop, toss in some wheels and wagging tails, and magic just happens. I swear, I barely had to direct.

We started with a little warm-up walk down the beach, letting the dogs sniff everything and get their jitters out. Gillian wore this adorable white and yellow dress that played in the wind like it was on its own little joy ride, and Ryan’s casual button-up and casual pants made him look like the guy from a J.Crew ad who also rescues puppies and plays guitar. You know the one.

A lot of couples bring props. Ryan and Gillian brought personality. These bikes weren’t just cute—they were them. The kind of couple that bikes to the farmer’s market on Sundays and laughs a little too hard at each other’s jokes. We staged a few shots of them cruising along the hard-packed sand, tires carving tiny paths into the shoreline.

We grabbed some wide shots with the cliffs in the background and let the dogs wander in and out of the frame, doing their adorable thing. That’s the beauty of engagement photos at Cardiff Beach—at low tide- there’s space to breathe, move, play. You’re not crammed in or performing. You’re just being.

As a San Diego engagement photographer, I’ve done my share of beach sessions, and they’re always gorgeous in their own way. But Ryan and Gillian’s shoot had this rare ease to it. They didn’t overthink a thing. They showed up as themselves—bikes, dogs, sandy feet and all—and the love they brought with them did the heavy lifting.

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Planning Your Own Cardiff Beach Engagement Session?

If you’re dreaming of an engagement session that’s relaxed, playful, and drenched in that just-engaged glow, Cardiff Beach in Encinitas at low tide is a great spot, especially if you live up north of San Diego county. Whether you bring your dogs, your bikes, your surfboards, or just your favorite person, I’ll make photos that feel like you.

Reach out and let’s plan your perfect sunset shoot. Bonus points if your dog has zoomies.
Let’s get sandy, wild, and wildly in love.

Lisa G (Elle G) is a San Diego beach photographer based in Pacific Beach, CA. Proudly serving San Diego’s coastal communities: La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas, Mission Beach, Mission Bay, Sunset Cliffs, Ocean Beach, Point Loma and Coronado. 858-344-1068. To chat about booking your own portrait session click HERE.