Destination Birthday Portraits at Glamis Sand Dunes in SoCal

If there is one session I keep coming back to it’s this one. Christina wanted to celebrate her birthday and started her inquiry with “let’s take pics anywhere in the world.” – A dream client of mine. I was so beyond thrilled about these destination birthday portraits and ready to make her dream location come to life.

We picked the Imperial Sand Dunes in SoCal.

Right by the Mexican border the Imperial Sand Dunes (also known as Glamis Sand Dunes) feels otherworldly. In fact this location is even in the Star Wars franchise! And let me tell you it feels like we were on another planet. It’s the the largest sand dune in California. They extend for 40 miles long and around 5 miles across. Making it the perfect place for those who want to find a private location for portraits to limit distractions.

And it made it the perfect spot for our photo session. I loved how Christina fully embraced the spirit of celebrating herself on her birthday.

She even had these dresses custom made for our destination birthday portraits.

And everything looked perfect!

So if you are wanting to do something similar for your birthday or another special event in your life there are somethings you should keep in mind.

Above all, do your best to research your location. Ask yourself the important questions! Such as does your dream location have a different altitude than what you’re used to? Did you prepare for the weather? Is it a long hike to the spot you want to take photos at? The more prepared you are the better your time will be! The last thing we want is to get to the location of your dream destination photoshoot and realize that we forgot something important!

And almost as important as researching your location, plan your timeline. This is a collaborative affair as I recommend planning the timeline with your photographer to make sure everything goes smoothly. This will help make sure that we maximize our time together.

Let’s take some magical photos in magical places!