TYBEE
ISLAND
IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
Ashlee C. PHOTOGRAPHY
Also known as Savannah’s beach! I love Tybee and frequent here often in the summertime. If you’re visiting Savannah during our peak summer season, it can get really - I mean really - humid and sticky downtown. The beach breeze and cool ocean is always a nice break from the heaviness of the city air, and we even have our own lighthouse on the North beach (which is my personal favorite area). Tybee is a gem of a place because it’s so small and it has that local beach town feel to it.
If you’ve seen the movie The Last Song, they filmed a large portion of the movie here and even built the Tybee Wedding Chapel, which you can get married in to this day! The main strip of Tybee features a boardwalk, jetties (the big rocks that break the waves), a pier with bright storefronts and benches, and of course the ocean. This area is beautiful and fun but tends to be a little busier in the summertime. If you’re visiting during the months of June-August, I definitely recommend considering the beach for a location so you don’t get too hot! Also - my favorite sushi place ever is here, Raw Ingredients (get the fried sweet potato sushi, trust me).
CONS:
Sand and wind! Don’t expect your hair to stay perfectly in place if you go with a beach session, and plan your outfits accordingly because it can get pretty drafty on the island!
I recommend shooting here at sunrise or the last hour before sunset, otherwise the light is pretty harsh.
TOP LOCATIONS FOR PHOTO SESSIONS
FORSYTH PARK
I find myself walking through the beautiful Forsyth Park around 3 times per week - and trust me, I don’t mind. Full of huge live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, old fashioned street lanterns, and a huge white fountain in the middle, this park makes for one of the best photo backdrops in Savannah. On the South end there’s tennis and basketball courts, and on Saturday mornings there’s a farmers market where you can buy the freshest produce around.
The sides of the park are lined with beautiful historic homes and boutiques, and a cafe that’s a sister restaurant to the Collins Quarter, appropriately called Collins Quarter Forsyth Park, sits right in the middle of the park. There’s a stunning walled garden, specifically designed to be extra fragrant for blind people, with iron gates and pillars and walkways full of the prettiest trees around. In the spring, the bushes that surround the park bloom with pink and white azaleas, and if palm trees are more of your thing, those are there too! If you have little ones, there’s several playgrounds and large fields. Gaston Street, which sits on the North end of the park, is home to a huge mansion and several beautiful homes covered in vines and elaborate staircases. Whatever vibe you’re looking for, Forsyth Park is sure to have you covered.
CONS:
It can be a VERY busy, especially on the weekends and during tourist season.
I can photoshop out pedestrians, however if you’re a little camera shy and don’t like posing in front of people, keep this in mind!
The azalea bushes don’t bloom all year, so if you’re looking for those flowers specifically in your photos, plan your shoots for late February to mid March!
EAST JONES STREET
I figured I’d put this spot next, since it’s only a short walk from Forsyth Park (around three blocks). This street is often referred to as the prettiest street in Savannah. These two locations are actually so close together that if you’re up for a walk, I consider it to be one spot; this way you’ll have some variety in your session.
It’s one of only a few brick streets left in the city, and its houses are all right next to each other, each one seemingly just as beautiful as the last. This location has it all - vine covered stoops, lanterns with real fire, beautiful staircases made of wood or marble, and secret gardens tucked away behind little gates. If you’ve ever seen or read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, then you probably know a thing or two about East Jones. One of my favorite restaurants, Crystal Beer Parlor, is also nearby, as well as the famous Clary’s Cafe!
CONS:
There’s cars on the street, so sometimes they show up in photos unless you’re careful with your angles!
Also - there’s plenty of flags on this street, so if that’s not your vibe keep that in mind!
LAFAYETTE SQUARE
Moving right along on places that are close together, LaFayette Square is only one block up from East Jones Street. If you’re walking from Forsyth Park, it’s about a 7-10 minute walk total. I think I’ve shot more surprise proposals here than anywhere in Savannah; but don’t let its popularity deter you from doing your photos here! This emerald green fountain and stunning oak trees make for a fabulous backdrop to any occasion. A beautiful vine wall is located right off of the square and is one of my favorite Instagram photo backgrounds. There’s also these stunning leaves that fill the gardens in the square, and they add a pop to any photo! The Hamilton Turner Inn is also located on this square, and you can even stay in this historic building today. On the North side, you have the famous Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, which makes for a stunning photo if that’s your thing. If you like waffles, across the street from the Cathedral is a favorite spot of mine, Mirabelle! It’s a cute little coffee shop with gourmet waffles and coffee. *** NOTE: They have painted the fountain black as of 2025.
CONS:
This square is POPULAR, during tourist season be prepared for tours walking through and trolley buses driving around.
Parking on Sundays is also pretty impossible due to the high volume of church goers, so keep all that in mind when planning your shoot.
BULL
STREET
Bull Street is also mentioned in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", and is the center road of Savannah’s Historic District. Full of SCAD buildings, boutiques, antique shops, bars, coffee shops and restaurants, you’re more than likely going to find yourself on Bull Street at one point if you’re visiting! A few of my fave spots on this popular street are
Bull Street Taco (best tacos in town), Henny Penny Café, Stump (my fave plant store!), Two Tides Brewing Co., and more (the list could really go on and on). This street is actually completely intercepted by Forsyth Park, so if you start on the south end and go all the way up to the North End, you’ll pass through the park on your way.
Five of Savannah’s famous squares are also along Bull: Johnson Square, Wright Square, Chippewa Square, Madison Square, and Monterey Square. The photos below were taken as we walked up Bull Street towards the North end from Forsyth Park, passing through a few of the squares. There’s beautiful benches, flower bushes, vine walls, oak trees, fun SCAD buildings, churches with stunning architecture, and more. It’s a perfect place to start a photo session because you’re only a short walk away from such a large variety of amazing photo spots!
CONS:
It’s a looooong street, so if you wanna see all of it, I suggest a car or a bike, unless you really love walking! I normally suggest my clients meet me at the intersection of Bull and East Jones to hit all the pretty spots.
THE STARLAND DISCTRICT
Also located on Bull Street but more towards the South end, is this cute little district. Quirky & funky, this artsy area offers a much different environment than the usual oak trees that come to mind when you think of Savannah. Full of color, murals, and cute local shops, this urban space is the perfect background for anyone looking for a unique Savannah perspective. You'll find many murals, some even painted by amazing local artist and Savannah's infamous JULU. Centered around Bull Street, you’ll find all of the shops I listed in the above section here, and then some. In addition, there’s lots of cute little boutiques and small owned art stores if you’re a window shopper! I always recommend this spot to anyone who wants something eccentric and fresh. This is an area loved by Savannah locals! Places I didn’t mention above that are also super cool and worth checking out include: Nom Nom Poke Shop, Starlandia, Ukiyo (such good ramen!), Squirrels Pizza, Water Witch (tiki bar) and The Vault.
CONS:
It’s not really in the tourist area, so you’ll probably have to drive or Uber here if you’re staying all the way downtown.
It’s about 10 minutes from Broughton Street.
If you want those pretty Savannah oak trees, you’ll need to book a session with two locations as there’s not too many trees in this area.
ORLEANS
SQUARE
One of my absolute favorite squares downtown is this one! This square has a stunning fountain, giant oaks, and some of the prettiest benches the city has to offer. In the spring it’s full of blooming flowers and bushy monkey grass that borders the elegant brick walkways. The houses around this square are also super pretty, and there’s a beautiful neutral wall just off the south end if you’d like some simpler portraits. This square is named after The Battle of New Orleans in 1815, and the fountain in the center was installed to honor german immigrants and to celebrate 250 years of Savannah’s existence. I always push people towards this square because it’s a little off the beaten tourist path being on Bernard Street, so it’s quieter than most places.
CONS:
They dye the fountain bright green in March for St. Patties day, so if you don’t like green, don’t plan to shoot here in March!
This square is off the beaten path, so you may not want to walk here depending on where you're staying.
HOTELS &
BARS
We have several beautiful hotels and bars around Savannah that will allow photographs to be taken as long as we ask permission first. Most of our hotels are decorated beautifully with luxurious furniture, oak bar tops, and huge windows. If you visited Savannah, you know how important the arts are, and this impacts our hotel and bar spaces as well! Some of my favorites are Perry Lane Hotel, (home to The Wayward, Peregrin, and Emporium), Hotel Bardo, The Drayton, The Thompson, and The Alida (also home to The Lost Square).
CONS:
It's a hotel first and foremost, so the guests come first! Many of these hotels are hard to get ahold of for permission to shoot.
Some hotels will charge a fee for permits.
DOWNTOWN
SAVANNAH
This section is a little vague because downtown has a lot of area to cover, and there are pretty much endless possibilities when it comes to taking photos in the downtown historic district. Some of my favorite photo spots include:
The pink walls and beautiful arches of The Olde Pink House
The famous stairs of death which are located just off of Bay Street
Factors Walk - full of fun stairs, vine archways, classic brick, and pedestrian bridges
River Street - lined with historic buildings, a cobblestone pathway, and a view of the famous bridge
Plant Riverside District - Savannah’s newly remodeled river street area featuring modernized buildings, a Savannah mural, and updated cobblestone
Leopold’s Ice Cream - our most famed ice cream shop and a Savannah staple. Ice cream photos are always good idea and make for adorable Instagram posts!
Parking Garage Rooftops - my fave parking garage is the Courthouse one off of MLK boulevard so you can have the bridge in the background!
SCAD Museum Area - not only for students, this area has pretty gardens and beautiful walls to offer as backdrops to your photos
Rainbow Row - ours might be a little smaller than Charleston’s, but it’s still a super cute photo op!
CONS:
I keep mentioning places being busy, but of all the busy places downtown is probably the busiest LOL.
If you don’t feel comfortable being photographed in front of other people I would not recommend most of these locations!
They recently began allowing cars to park on River Street again so if you were imagining those pretty River Street photos, I’d reconsider.
OTHER
SQUARES
There’s 22 squares here in Savannah, so I didn’t want to list them all out individually (because this would be a really long list). However, there’s a few that have been my favorite spots to take photos at, not including the ones I already mentioned above. I have loved shooting at: Chatham Square, Franklin Square, Greene Square, Whitefield Square, Johnson Square, Oglethorpe Square, Pulaski Square, Reynold’s Square, Troup Square, and Warren Square. Almost all of the squares have those beautiful live oak trees that we’re famous for and bloom with azalea flowers in the spring! The link above goes into detail about each square, their locations, and history!
CONS:
Some squares have monuments, gazebos, and other things in the middle that you may find distracting in photos. Just make sure you check what each one has before you decide on a location in case you don’t like the way something looks, or the history* of the square!
