Preview

5 Best Places to Photograph the Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, CA
  • Golden Gate Bridge with the full Cyprus trees in the frame.
  • Golden Gate Bridge captured by a Light L16 camera.
  • Light L16 - pinching to zoom in on the Golden Gate Bridge.
  • Golden Gate Bridge and Fort Point captured by a Light L16.
  • This is a great place to snap some shots of local fishermen with the bridge in the background.
  • The amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Batter Lancaster, captured by a Light L16.
  • The gun at Battery Lancaster. Photo: Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.
  • Vertical shot of the tower, captured by a Light L16.
  • The bridge cables provide great opportunities to play with perspective, captured by a Light L16.
  • The Golden Gate Bridge from Golden Gate Overlook, captured on a Light L16.
  • The Golden Gate Bridge from Marshall's Beach.
2 hours
2.2 mi
Guided by Brian
Brian from Light

Overview

The Golden Gate Bridge is a Bay Area symbol, an engineering wonder & the most photogenic structure in San Francisco. As a professional photographer, I’ll show you my favorite angles, vantage points, and teach you a few camera techniques for capturing the ever-changing personalities of the bridge on this photowalk. So whether you're using a DSLR, your phone, or some other camera we'll snap postcard-worthy photos and discuss the bridge’s art deco aesthetic, historical significance, and the reason why its construction nearly failed.

About Your Guide

Hi, I'm Brian! I'm a photographer based in San Francisco. I originally hail from Pennsylvania, but have called California my home for the past five years. A recent graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute with a degree in photography, I now work at Light, the creator of the L16 Camera - which features 16 lenses in one compact frame. When I'm not out shooting with the L16, you can find me on a road trip, traveling, playing guitar, hiking, photographing deep space objects through my telescope, or catching up on the latest astronomy and camera news.

Go on this Sidewalk

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Guide Points

  1. Fort Point

    We’ll kick off our photo walk at Fort Point, the 19th-century U.S. Army stronghold designed to protect the Bay.

  2. Warming Hut Bookstore & Cafe

    If you want a cup of coffee or a snack, this is the time to get it. Head into the Warming Hut—part cafe, part souvenir shop, part historic …

  3. Battery Lancaster

    Find the giant pit in the middle of Battery Lancaster. This once served as the platform for the 36-foot long, 117,000-pound artillery canno…

  4. Golden Gate Bridge: First Tower

    The tower that you’re standing beneath tops out at 746-ft above water level. That's taller than three Coit Towers stacked on top of each ot…

  5. Golden Gate Overlook

    The Golden Gate Overlook offers the most jaw dropping composition of the bridge that relatively few people know of: the bridge's twin tower…

Sidewalk Reviews

  6. 10 Reviews
    6. Anonymous

    Great ideas and wonderful to get the historical notes I had a great shoot -with the L16. So much light to play with!

    Apr 4, 2018

    6. Anonymous

    Apr 2, 2018

    6. Jason E

    Mar 31, 2018

    6. Jason

    Thank you Brian for your photo walk. Really appreciate the composition tips for foreground / background shots, perspective, etc. And Fort Point was awesome to run around. Looking forward to your next photo walk!

    Mar 29, 2018

    6. Myriah

    This was incredible! Thank you for all the helpful tips Brian. The view at Golden Gate Overlook was absolutely stunning and your tips on how to shoot the vertical angles on the bridge were spot on. Are you going to create any other photo walks in SF?

    Mar 26, 2018

    6. Anonymous

    Mar 25, 2018

    6. Julie

    Loved seeing all of the different vantage points of the GGB. The photos in the app from the Light L16 Camera were incredible too. Thanks!

    Mar 24, 2018

    6. Anonymous

    Mar 9, 2018

    6. Anonymous

    Mar 9, 2018

    6. Corey

    I’ve lived in San Francisco for over 10 years and I’d never been to many of these spots. I have a new appreciation for our iconic bridge and a bunch of great photos it it in all her glory. Thanks Light! 🙏

    Feb 21, 2018

About Sidewalk

Sidewalk is an app that provides free, guided walk experiences that can be created by anyone with stories to share about places they know and love.

The app navigates people through a neighborhood walk using GPS turn-by-turn directions, rich imagery and storytelling.