---
title: "St. Thomas Photographers: Who Lives Here, Session Rates"
url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/services/photographers
description: "St. Thomas photographers for family, proposal and engagement sessions: who lives on the island, what an hour costs, and why Magens Bay shuts before sunset."
updated: 2026-10-21
source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/services/photographers
---

[St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas) · [Services](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/services)

# St. Thomas photographers for family, proposal and beach shoots

A St. Thomas photographer who lives on the island will meet you on a beach or at the villa, and most print the price of a family or proposal session on their own sites. Book the first or last hour of daylight, and not at [Magens Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/magens-bay) for the evening: the park shuts before sunset every day of the year.

Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Updated Oct 2026

## Photographers on St. Thomas, side by side

*Rates and phone numbers as each operator publishes them, or as a recent local source prints them where the operator does not, checked on the day in the last column.*

| Name | What | Area | Rates | Phone | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Tropical Exposure Images](https://www.tropicalexposureimages.com/photography-packages) | Alexa Vitale: proposals, engagements, family portraits, elopements and weddings; morning sessions at Magens Bay and Sapphire Beach. | St. Thomas, St. John and Puerto Rico | $450 for 30 minutes (30 images); $600 an hour (60 images); $1,000 for two hours (100 images); $1,800 for four hours; $2,600 for six; $3,200 for an eight-hour wedding day | — | Nov 2026 |
| [Crown Images](https://crownimages.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=4651216747123297294) | Sage Hammond: family vacation, engagement, portrait and wedding photography; family sessions at Frenchman's Cove and Magens Bay. | St. Thomas and St. John | Portraits from $600, weddings from $700 | (917) 655-7511 | Oct 2026 |
| [Brooke Heikkila Photography](https://brookeheikkila.com/information/pricing/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=1731288350506001226) | Families, engagements, anniversaries, elopements and weddings; publishes a guide to her favorite locations on both islands. | St. Thomas and St. John | Families and couples from $600 an hour (60 to 70 images); elopements and weddings from $800; St. John travel fee | (340) 244-6505 | Oct 2026 |
| [Chelsey Williams Photography](https://www.chelseywilliamsphotography.com/pricing) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=6600418253209072167) | Families, couples, maternity and weddings, from St. Thomas; one location of your choice per session. | St. Thomas, St. John and the BVI | $700 an hour (75 images); elopements $1,400 for two hours; weddings from $2,800 | (704) 890-2240 | Oct 2026 |
| [Kelli Peevey Photography](https://kellipeeveyphotography.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=14067494383908886486) | Engagement, family, honeymoon, elopement and wedding sessions at the location you choose; packages quoted on a call. | St. Thomas and St. John | — | (340) 344-6397 | Oct 2026 |
| [Alexandra Marie Photography](https://alexandramariephotography.zenfolio.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=17008271506290134573) | A fourth-generation Virgin Islander photographing families and Caribbean destination weddings; prices by request. | St. Thomas | — | (340) 690-2062 | Oct 2026 |
| [MEDIABOOST.VI](https://www.mediaboostvi.com/airbnb-photography-virgin-islands) | For owners: rental listing photos, drone stills and a walkthrough video, delivered in 24 to 48 hours; other islands carry a travel fee. | St. Thomas, St. John, Water Island and St. Croix | $395 up to 2 bedrooms; $795 for 3 bedrooms or more | (340) 489-1220 | Oct 2026 |
| [Mango Media](https://www.mango.vi/photography/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=7990060366263145723) | For owners: real estate and rental photography, Matterport 3D tours and drone work; quoted from a brief, photos back in about 48 hours. | Yacht Haven Grande, Charlotte Amalie | — | (340) 725-1347 | Oct 2026 |
| [Palm + Pixel](https://www.palmpixelvi.com/) | For owners: real estate photography, drone and property video, and guest guidebooks for vacation rentals; quoted on request. | St. Thomas and St. John | — | — | Oct 2026 |

## Beach or villa: choosing where the session happens

The photographers here work across the island and quote for one location. Their own portfolios lean on a handful of beaches: Magens Bay on the north side, [Sapphire Beach](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/sapphire) and [Secret Harbour](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/secret-harbour) on the East End, Frenchman's Cove and Pretty Klip Point on the south shore. The East End beaches are open sand with no gate, so the hour is yours to choose.

The villa is the quieter frame and often the better one. A terrace over the water gives a proposal privacy and a family a place for the toddler to nap between frames, and nobody walks through the shot. Tell the owner before the photographer arrives.

## Magens Bay photo sessions: the gates and the crowds

The evening never works here: the park closes before the earliest sunset of the year. The morning depends on the month. In midwinter the sun is up only minutes before the gates open, and a first-light session catches most of the soft hour; by June it rises more than an hour before opening, by our calculation, and that hour is gone. A sunset proposal falls outside the park's public hours, so ask the Authority before you plan one.

[The gate hours and the entry fee](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/magens-bay) are on the Magens Bay page, with parking. The beach fills when [cruise ships are in port](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/cruise-port); check the Port Authority's schedule before you pick a day. [Lindquist](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/lindquist), the Authority's quiet park beach near [Red Hook](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/areas/red-hook), has closed for sargassum in recent summers; check its status before you plan a session there.

## Light and heat: which hour to book

Book the first or the last hour of daylight. At midday the sun stands almost overhead, the light goes flat and hard, faces squint and small children wilt, and the session spends its time hunting for shade.

An evening session needs a beach or a terrace that faces west, because the sun sets west-southwest in winter and west-northwest in summer. [Honeymoon Beach](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/honeymoon-beach-water-island) on [Water Island](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/areas/water-island) and [Brewers Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/beaches/brewers-bay), beside [the airport](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/airport), look toward it, and Secret Harbour, which opens to the southwest, catches the winter sunsets best. The [sunset times by month](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/guides/st-thomas-sunset-spots-overlooks) are on our sunset page; last light comes 21 to 24 minutes after the sun goes down, and the photographer will want to start an hour before.

## What a St. Thomas family photographer charges

Four of the six portrait photographers here print their prices. Tropical Exposure Images starts at $450 for 30 minutes and 30 edited images, enough for a proposal and a few portraits after. Brooke Heikkila and Crown Images start family and couples work at $600, and Chelsey Williams charges $700 for an hour with 75 edited photos. Kelli Peevey and Alexandra Marie quote on request.

Ask what the hour includes: how many edited images, the online gallery, and whether a crossing to St. John costs extra.

## What a St. Thomas wedding photographer charges

Two photographers print a full wedding card. Tropical Exposure Images runs from $1,000 for two hours to $3,200 for an eight-hour wedding day, from getting ready to the reception, and Chelsey Williams charges $1,400 for a two-hour elopement and from $2,800 for a wedding. Brooke Heikkila starts elopements and weddings at $800, and Crown Images weddings at $700. Kelli Peevey and Alexandra Marie quote on a call.

The lower figures are starting points for a small day. Ask how many hours the price covers, whether a second location or the crossing to St. John is extra, and when the gallery comes back. The venues, the planners and the license are on [St. Thomas wedding venues](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/weddings), and a ceremony at Magens Bay keeps to the park's hours like any other session.

## For owners: photographing a villa for its listing

A listing photographer is a different trade from a portrait photographer: wide interiors, the view from the pool, a drone frame that shows where the house sits on the hill. Three St. Thomas studios do it. MEDIABOOST.VI prints its bundles: $395 for up to two bedrooms, with 25 to 45 photos, drone stills and a walkthrough video, and $795 for three bedrooms or more. Mango Media at Yacht Haven Grande and Palm + Pixel quote from a brief.

Shoot in the dry, bright months if you can, with every light in the house on and the pool topped up. When the pictures are back, [list the villa with us](https://virginislandvilla.com/list-your-villa), and guests who like what they see write to you directly.

Villas on St. Thomas

Every villa on the island is listed by its owner on [St. Thomas vacation rentals](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/vacation-rentals). See rates and dates, then write to the owner.

## Questions about photographers on St. Thomas

### How much is a photographer in St. Thomas?

For a family, couples or proposal session, $450 to $700 for 30 minutes to an hour with the photographers who print a price. Elopements and small weddings start at $700 to $1,400, and a full wedding day runs to $3,200 at Tropical Exposure Images.

### Do you need a permit for a photo shoot at Magens Bay?

The Magens Bay Authority charges a fee for a wedding or vow renewal, set out on [St. Thomas weddings](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/weddings), and publishes none for a portrait or proposal session. The territory's Film Office lists a separate Magens Bay location application for commercial shoots, so ask your photographer whether they clear it, or call the Authority at (340) 777-6300.

### What time is best for beach photos in St. Thomas?

The first hour after sunrise or the last hour before sunset. Through the year sunrise falls between 5:42 am and 6:54 am and sunset between 5:42 pm and 7 pm, so check the date. At Magens Bay only the winter mornings fall inside the gates; the park shuts before every sunset.

### Can a photographer come to our villa?

Yes. Most of the photographers listed here price a session for one location of your choice, and a villa terrace counts. Ask the owner first, and say how many people and how long.

Sources: [Magens Bay Authority](https://magensbayauthority.org/passes/) (checked Oct 21, 2026) · [U.S. Virgin Islands Film Office](https://www.filmusvi.com/support-services/permits/) (checked Oct 21, 2026) · [Virgin Islands Port Authority](https://www.viport.com/schedule-seaports) (checked Oct 21, 2026) · [NOAA](https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/) (checked Oct 21, 2026)

Every listing is free: an operator can ask to be added or corrected through [our contact page](https://virginislandvilla.com/contact).

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