Weddings, portrait sessions, and expert guidance
Cinematic Salt Flats Photography
Planning To Visit The Salt Flats?
When is the best time of year to go?
The Bonneville Salt Flats are unforgettable in every season. The real question isn’t when is it best, but what kind of experience you want to have.
WINTER (December-February)
Cold. Gorgeous but so cold. There is a chance to see standing water, but it also comes with the coldest temperatures and possible storms every now and then. Most often the salt is dry and textured.
SPRING (March-May)
Milder temperatures with more unpredictability. Breezes and passing storms happen every now and then, making this a beautiful season for cinematic storms and movement, and the best chance of flooding! Most often the salt is damp and calm.
SUMMER (June-September)
The most consistently dry and accessible season. Summer is typically warm, bright, and comfortable, with cracked salt patterns and wide-open horizons. Flooding is uncommon, and conditions are usually ideal for longer sessions and creative freedom.
FALL (October-November)
Warm days, cooler evenings, and cinematic shifts. Fall often brings comfortable temperatures with a mix of dry flats and occasional moisture. Breezes and fast-moving weather can roll through, creating dramatic light and skies. Fall and spring here are very similar.
Expert Salt Flats Photography in Any Weather
Ideal Weather
On bright calm days the Salt Flats offer a quiet, endless canvas, and these photography sessions are about refining light, enjoying our time, and artistry.
Flooded Salt
When the Salt Flats flood, they transform into a natural mirror and these images are about scale, symmetry, and creating art in one of the most surreal landscapes on earth.
There has to be no breeze for the water to be reflective, which is more likely at sunrise.
Wild Conditions
These images aren’t in spite of the weather… they’re because of it.
This is where the Salt Flats turn raw and unpredictable,and where experience, adaptability, and vision transform wind, storms, and shifting light into cinematic art.
Blue Hour
Blue hour and nightfall on the Salt Flats open the door to moonlit skies, sculpted light, and creative techniques that turn darkness into atmosphere.
The best part about hiring me is…
My Editing Skills
People in the background? Gone. Hair out of place? Fixed. Salt on your skin? Gone.
Every image is carefully edited to protect the way the moment felt. From subtle refinements to more involved retouching, details are handled with care so nothing pulls focus from your story.
Editing is the part of my work I’m most deeply invested in, and it shows. My work has received multiple editing awards and has been recognized among the top Photoshop artists worldwide. All of this is already included, for you, because this level of care is simply part of the experience.
You are safe with me.
Use the sliders below to view a few real edits.
Planning a Wedding on the Salt Flats
From permits, vendors, and logistics, to light, weather, and flow.
Depending on the salt flats location, group size, and set up, you may or may not need a permit. Because there are different zones and guidelines, the easiest way to know what applies is simply to reach out! I’ve done many different types of weddings on the salt flats and can help you plan what fits best for you.
A Salt Flats wedding lives and dies by timing. Light changes quickly and weather and wind can shift.
I’ll help you build a timeline from deciding whether a first look makes sense, to choosing the best window for your ceremony, to planning how the evening flows so it feels calm, intentional, and unrushed.
You don’t have to figure out vendors alone either. If you’re dreaming of florals, decor, chairs, arches, or a styled setup, I can connect you with vendors who are experienced with this location.
If you need an officiant or other wedding professionals, I also have trusted contacts I’m happy to share, people who understand the Salt Flats and know how to support a day like this smoothly.
Packages
Cinematic. Timeless. Salty.
Bonneville Salt Flats Travel Fee $100
Rainier
30 minutes
$500
25 curated images
1 location
1 outfit
Vesuvius
60 minutes
$700
50 curated images
1 location
2 outfits
Everest
90 minutes
$900
75 curated images
1-2 location
2-3 outfits
Mauna Kea
2 hours
$1,000
100 curated images
2-3 location
3-4 outfits
Ways to Personalize Your Salt Flats Session
Creative ways to celebrate, play, and make the session truly yours.
A car
Incorporating your car instantly adds personality, movement, and a cinematic edge against the clean lines of the Salt Flats. Just be sure to wash underneath your car as soon as you can to protect your vehicle.
Sparklers
Sparklers add a sense of celebration and play to a Salt Flats session, turning it into something that feels like an experience rather than just photos.
Horses
Bringing a horse into your session instantly transforms it into something cinematic, timeless, and unforgettable. Whether rented locally or part of your own story, it adds a sense of freedom, movement, and magic that turns the experience into true art.
Night life
Staying after dark opens the door to moonlit skies and star-filled horizons that most people never experience out here. These sessions create imagery that feels less like a photoshoot and more like a moment you lived.
Light Play
This is where the Salt Flats turn into a creative playground! Using light to sculpt mood, energy, and atmosphere is one of the most fun parts of a session, and often where the most unexpected images are made.
Smoke Bombs
Soft plumes of smoke bring color, motion, and energy into the minimal Salt Flats landscape. It creates a fun, interactive experience while adding an artistic edge to your images.
What time of day is best?
Definitely 100% sunrise or sunset. Even blue hour is preferable. In the middle of the day this desert area is bright, has harsh light, and is less flattering and colorful.
What if there is water?
You will want to bring a towel and water bottles to rinse your feet off. Don’t wear your favorite shoes, the salt likes to get into the lacing of shoes, but it washes off of clothes no problem. I’ve even had a bride not wash before the wedding day and you couldn’t tell!
Where can I change?
While it is a rest stop, the bathrooms have been gross at best and closed at worst (which is most of the time) there are porta potties, but for changing clothes everyone just changes at their car or out on the salt flats. There is enough space no one notices out there.
The Two Main Salt Flats Areas
There are two primary areas of the Bonneville Salt Flats, and each offers a very different experience and visual result.
The Westbound Rest Stop
This is the most accessible and well-known area. This location is easy to meet at, requires only a short walk to reach the open flats, and has restroom access via nearby porta potties. Vehicles are not allowed to drive on this portion of the flats. This is where you will find that bright white salt with a natural cracked texture. This is my favorite area, and where most of my weddings and photography sessions are held. Don’t worry about crowds or cars, I just edit them out!
The Bonneville Speedway
The Bonneville Speedway offers a completely different look and sense of scale. This is the area where vehicles are permitted to drive onto the speedway, allowing access to wider, more remote stretches of open space. The surface here is typically smooth rather than textured, and is a mix of sand and salt (and tire tracks) rather than the pure white look. There are also typically less people here.
I also have a few backup locations for those that are really hoping for the reflective water look depending on the location.
Hello, I’m Megan Kelly
Your elopement photographer + Planning consultant
You already know this but
Two is better than one!
I approach your photography session as an artist and storyteller whose job is to give you both an incredible efficient experience and imagery that feels like artwork.
I photograph with two cameras on me at all times, each with a different lens and purpose.
One captures wide, cinematic scenes and atmosphere.
The other is a telephoto lens that allows me to quietly step back and zoom in close, creating intimate and emotional images without interrupting the moment.
With the added flexibility of multiple cameras, the session flows naturally and the variety of images can happen quicker. I move seamlessly between perspectives, creating a gallery that feels layered and complete, expansive and cinematic, then close and emotional, often within seconds.
For a better view at how your day might look: