Why Claire and Robert chose Hillcrest Park
Hillcrest Park in Fullerton, Orange County, was new to us when Claire and Robert chose it for their engagement photos. Our first impression was the size of it: terraced lawns, a stairway through the pines, a fountain at the center of a wide lawn, all spread across a hillside. We’re based in Torrance, so we arrived an hour and a half early and walked it before they did.
Before any session, I often find out why the couple picked the place, their history at the location usually provides information about what will make them more relax than the other. For Claire and Robert, the answer was simple: they’re from the area, and Hillcrest Park carried meaning for them. Photographing their engagement somewhere close to home was part of the point.
An afternoon engagement session at Hillcrest Park
We started planning well before the day, texting back and forth about what they’d wear. We settled on lighter tones: soft colors that sat naturally against the green lawns and the dappled shade under the trees, without competing with them.
The session ran an hour and a half. With a park this size, we worked in short loops: drive, park, shoot, move on. We moved from the Great Lawn and its fountain to the Pine Forest Stairs, Hillcrest Terrace, and the grounds around the Hillcrest Recreation Center. Engagement session are typically very relaxed and we are always looking for the genuine joy and love the couple share. Every frame looks like them, because they were simply being themselves.
Hillcrest Park at a glance
Where it is: Fullerton, Orange County. Not the Hillcrest neighborhood in San Diego.
Spots we’ve photographed:
- The Great Lawn and fountain. We’ve worked here twice, for this session and for a wedding first look.
- An open lawn framed by tall palms, where Sayori and Jordan shared their first look
- The Pine Forest Stairs, Hillcrest Terrace, and the grounds around the Hillcrest Recreation Center (Claire & Robert’s engagement session)
How long to plan: An hour and a half covered several areas comfortably, with short drives between them.
Best time of day: Almost any time works. The park has so much tree cover that there’s open shade somewhere at every hour, and each area takes on a different look as the day moves.
Parking: We parked by the Hillcrest Recreation Center.
Park features: Great Lawn with Fountain, Hillcrest Terrace, Pine Forest Stairs, Izaak Walton Cabin, Red Cross Building, recreation trails, restrooms. See the park website.
From Hillcrest Park to Sherman Library & Gardens
After their engagement session, Claire and Robert reached back out to us to photograph their wedding at Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona del Mar the following Spring. Their Wedding day was full of blooms, heartfelt vows, and the same ease we’d seen at Hillcrest. → Read about their Sherman Library & Gardens wedding
Later in the year, we came back to Hillcrest Park for another wedding, when Sayori and Jordan shared their first look on the lawn beneath the palms before their celebration at Casa Bonita. → See Sayori & Jordan’s Hillcrest Park first look
Planning engagement photos in Orange County
If you’re still choosing a place, our guide to engagement photo locations in Southern California covers Laguna Beach, Newport and more. For proposal and wedding venues, see Orange County proposal and wedding locations. The engagement session planning checklist walks through outfits, timing and what to bring.
If Hillcrest Park, or somewhere else that matters to you, is on your mind, we’d love to hear about it.
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