The last wedding I shot in San Francisco City Hall was on March 13 2020. On March 17 2020 Bay Area went into a lockdown with SF City Hall being completely closed. Finally on June 7th 2021 the City Hall opened its doors to the wedding ceremonies. There are 2 ceremonies every half an hour (used to be 3) and the appointments are only 9-1. As a result there’s a lot less people in the City Hall which allows for some really cool wide shots that was harder to achieve before. Well… you could, but then you’d get lots of other people in the shot. And i just don’t like that unless the people are part of the story somehow.

Danielle and Thomas live in San Diego. They were planning to visit San Francisco for a while and decided to combine pleasure.. well and pleasure. They got lucky that they were able to book an appointment in San Francisco City Hall somewhat last minute. Did I mention it’s really hard to book appointments now due to the demand. So it was just the 2 of them and a tripod with an iphone that allowed them to do livestreaming of their ceremony.

city hall wedding, sf weddingsBoris PolisskyJuly 5, 2021sanfranciscowedding, sfcityhallweddingphotography, sfchphoto, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallphotography, sfcityhallphotoraphy, cityhallwedding, cityhall, cityhallsfComment

Graduation photoshoot

Graduation is a big deal. Think about it - someone spent a good portion of their life studying towards a career. It’s a bigger deal when it’s graduation from Law School.

When Victor reached out to me he wanted to take some photos after he graduated Golden Gate University. He originally wanted to do the photos inside of San Francisco City Hall, but since it’s closed due to Covid restrictions, I suggested we shoot outside of the CIty Hall instead.

Normally a busy location, we enjoyed a quiet Tuesday afternoon near the CIty Hall area. We took advantage of this quiteness to get some dramatic shots.

Many many years ago I was planning to become a laywer as well. I got my Bachelors degree, interned for several lawyers and was going to apply to Law School. I eventually decided against it to focus on more creative aspects of my life. So this session was personal to me and I wanted to approach it with a concept and have some ideas coming into the session. While they don’t always work and need to be adjusted I find that having concepts before the session is a must.

Victor was such a cool and easy guy to work with. He is aiming to work as a family and immigration lawyer. My goal was to capture the seriosness of someone who works in a law firm already, someone who deals with people who has issues and tries to help them. It’s a tough job because in family law dealing with people’s pain is part of the job and it’s hard to tune off when you go home. And i felt that Victor is very empathetic and caring. So being a family lawyer can definitely weight down on you.

I wanted to show many sides of him. More dramatic, serious and at the same time as a fun, easy going person. We spent 2 hours talking, walking around, running in some cases while taking various photos

Boris PolisskyApril 27, 2021SF City Hall Photosanfranscisco, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, sanfranciscocityhallphotographer, graduationphotography, sanfrancinscograduation, sfchphoto, sanfranciscobayarea, sanfranciscophotography, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallphotography, photography, portraitphoto, portraitphotography, graduationphoto, goldengateuniversitygraduationComment

Alyssa & Kevin

I’m always excited when i get booked for half a day. And it’s not because i’m greedy and here to make money. I enjoying spending time with people and getting to know them. It really is - ask my wife. She’s more of an introvert who has to deal with me always wanting to talk to people, ask questions and have random conversations.

So when i had an opportunity to spend 4 hours with an amazing couple like Alyssa and Kevin I’m beyond thrilled. First off we started off walking on the beach - the weather could not have been better. Then we headed to the City Hall and had time to do both serious and fun photos. It takes a little time for people to open up and be themselves in front of the camera. And I want to get the real, true them out.

Turns out Alyssa loves dancing - so of course i wanted to incorporate that. She has a lot of natural grace and i wanted to capture that as well… along with the silliness of course.

At the end i couldn’t have been happier with the collection of photos we got. There were lots of candid honest moments during the ceremony, very cool group photos and of course plenty of Alyssa and Kevin photos to chose from.

Andrea & Kevin by SF City Hall Photo

Andrea and Kevin are getting married in Aruba in 2019, but wanted to do a session at the City Hall as they were getting their license. They came in on Friday afternoon and although City Hall got filled up with occasional tour groups, it was relatively quiet as the last ceremonies were finished at 3.30. That allowed us room to maneuver around the City Hall and actually achieve a "clean", crowd-less shot of the Grand Stairwell. I have to admit it's quite a rare occasion and even then i had to polite ask a few people to move for just a split second.

It was a gorgeous day and i wanted to take advantage of the outdoors and the sun creating glares and fun shadows. The end result is quite a good collection of photos done within a very short period of time.

Boris PolisskyJuly 18, 2018sfweddingphotography, sf, sfcityhall, sfweddingphotographer, sfchphoto, sfcityhallphoto, wedding photographer, weddingpgotogaphy, weddingguide, photojournalism, photohrapher, professional photography, weddingphotoComment

Aislinn & Philip by SF City Hall Photo

Ailsinn and Philip came all the way from Chicago to get married in the City Hall. No guests, no large parties... just the 2 of them. I served as their witness, photographer and guide around the City Hall for about an hour. Aislinn mentioned to me earlier that her parents got married in the City Hall, so it was a special location for her. She even showed me a photo of her parents on the steps of the City Hall and asked if we could do a similar photo. We did, minus the pigeons that seemed to have made their habitat on the steps years back. Nowdays you don't get to see that. All though it would make for some good photos.

Boris PolisskyMay 29, 2018weddings tips, weddingphoto, weddingguide, weddingpgotogaphy, weddings, photography, photojournalism, photoshoot, photographer, sf city hall photo, sfcityhallphoto, sf city hall, sfchphoto, sfweddingphotographer, sfchwedding, sf, cityhallsfComment

Akiyo & Ryota

Boris PolisskyJanuary 6, 2018sfweddingphotography, sfweddingphotographer, cityhall, sfcityhallphoto, cityhallsf, sfcityhall, photography, photohrapher, photojournalism, professional photography, sfchphoto, wedding, weddingphoto, Weddings, weddings, san francisco city hallComment

Kenzi and Chris

Elizabeth & Jon

Sharvari and Abhiram

Boris PolisskyJuly 30, 2017sfchwedding, SF, sf city hall photo, sfcityhallphoto, sfchphoto, france, sfwedding, sfchphoto sf SF San Francisco weddingguide wedding photographer wedding photography weddings marriage photography professional photography photographer photojournalism city hall sf city hall san francisco city hall, weddingpgotogaphy, wedding, wedding photography, wedding tips, bride, photography, gettingmarried, gettingmarried?Comment

Monday morning with Anh-Thu and Paul

Jamee and Shaun with kids

Boris PolisskyMay 29, 2017sfchphoto, sf city hall, sfwedding, sfcityhallphoto, san francisco city hall, san francisco, weddingtips, wedding, weddingphoto, weddingpgotogaphy, weddingguide, cityhall, cityhallsf, sfcityhallComment

A&S

Thanks for the great shoot! Another successful San Francisco City Hall Wedding!

Boris PolisskyOctober 8, 2016sfchphoto, sf, SF, San Francisco, weddingguide, wedding photographer, wedding photography, weddings, marriage, photography, professional photography, photographer, photojournalism, city hall, sf city hall, san francisco city hallComment

A&L

Boris PolisskyOctober 7, 2016weddings, sfcityhallphoto, sfchphoto, sf city hall photo, photography, professional photography, wedding photography, wedding, wedding guide, wedding tips, getting married?, marriage, bride, City Hall, SF, San Francisco, tiedtheknotComment

K+S

Best wishes to the newlyweds from SFCH Photo!

Boris PolisskyMarch 28, 2016sfchphoto, sfcityhallphoto, san francisco, wedding photography, wedding, newlyweds, photography, happycouple, gettingmarriedComment

J+M

Great time with the local couple, congrats to the newlyweds!

Boris PolisskyMarch 27, 2016sfchphoto, Weddings, wedding, wedding photography, photoshoot, professional photography, portrait, photography, happycouple, city hall, sfcityhallphoto, sfchwedding, gettingmarried?Comment

H+A

Photos at City Hall and on location in SF. Great time with the lovely out of state couple, congrats from SFCH Photo!

Boris PolisskyMarch 26, 2016sfchwedding, sfchphoto, san francisco, professional photography, photography, Weddings, wedding photography, newlyweds, elopement, gettingmarried?, sfcityhallphotoComment

A Wednesday Afternoon

Calm day inside city hall with another lovely local couple. These afternoon shoots make you feel like you've got the building to yourself sometimes!

Boris PolisskyFebruary 26, 2016sfchphoto, wedding, photography, gettingmarried?, tiedtheknot, city hall, sf, san franciscoComment

Must See's in SF City Hall

With such great natural light, San Francisco City Hall offers stunning backdrops for photographers and visitors alike. This article highlights five great spots for taking pictures, and to helps provide people with a sense of familiarity with the building prior to their visit.

* NOTE - NO PARTICULAR ORDER *

1. FRONT OF CITY HALL

A true must-have for anyone getting married at city hall. This sign is located above the middle door of the main entrance on the Polk Street side, and offers the perfect cover to any photo album. This spot is relatively easy to access and usually doesn't require a wait (Except when protests or demonstrations are commandeering the front steps!)

2. GRAND STAIRCASE

The grand staircase leading to the rotunda is one of the first things you'll see once you pass security and enter the main building of City Hall.

This is arguably the most difficult location to photograph since there are often dozens of people trying to get the same shots. However, with a little patience and luck, great shots await.

3. GOVERNOR'S BALCONY

Staring out at the rotunda and the vast beauty of City Hall, the Governor's balcony is a perfect location for couples and group shots alike. While sometimes difficult to secure unattended, it highlights the architectural beauty of City Hall.

4. THIRD FLOOR WINDOWS

These windows are an absolute must for couples visiting city hall. Not only does everyone have a blast here, the photos turn out incredible. Further, since most people avoid exploring the upper levels of city hall, these hallways are usually empty.

5. FOURTH FLOOR

In order to truly appreciate the magnificence and grandeur of San Francisco's City Hall, one must venture up to the fourth floor balcony. Here you'll fine beautiful light for group and couples shots alike.

* TREE GARDEN *

Technically not inside of City Hall, the trees lined up outside the front entrance make for even more great photo opportunities. Living above a massive underground parking lot, these trees offer a great spot for people to capture SF City Hall in a different light.