Taking photos at Botany Bay on Edisto Island in South Carolina is a rewarding, unique experience. It’s also one you have to plan for! A Botany Bay engagement session is a little adventure of its own. Expect about an hourlong drive if you’re coming from Charleston. And the most important bit of advice: Plan your session around low tide! You’ll want to look at the tide tables before choosing the date of your session. The beach is not accessible during high tide.
The beach on Botany Bay is very narrow due to erosion from recent hurricanes, so it’s crucial to time your visit with low tide. This can make things tricky for photographers because we generally need lower light for outdoor photos. For Dana and Wayne’s engagement session, they had only one day that worked for both their schedules. Low tide that day was at 11 am, which is not ideal for photography when the sun is out. But we decided to go for it anyway, as they didn’t want to wait till a later date for light, tide and schedules to align perfectly.
The long dirt road that leads to Botany Bay is so picturesque, I knew I wanted to start our photos there. So we pulled off on the side of the road (there’s no parking along this road). Even in high sun, you can get even light here because the trees make a perfect canopy over the road. If you’re able to be there about two hours before sunset, or about an hour after sunrise, it’s probably glorious. I hope to get back there someday soon at a better time of day.
At the end of Botany Bay Road, you’ll turn left into Botany Bay Heritage Preserve, where you’ll park and fill out a parking pass that you’ll hang inside your car. It’s free to get into Botany Bay Heritage Preserve – they just like to know who comes in and out.
You’ll pass several great photo spots before you even get to the beach. It’s a half-mile walk to get to the beach, so it makes sense to take photos as you go to get the most of your time there.
When you arrive on the beach, you’ll be greeted by dead driftwood trees as far as you can see. They are everywhere, and they make for interesting photos.
Make sure to visit Botany Bay’s website to get more details and advice for planning your visit. And always check the open hours – the preserve is closed on certain dates during the Fall for scheduled hunts.
To see more of our engagement photography, check out our Charleston Engagement Photographer page!