How To Get Awesome Family Photographs On The Beach

Surrender

The first ingredient to beach family photos is to surrender. Surrender to your expectations of how you think it should go. The beach is never predictable! It may be super windy, and your hair may be all over the place. It may be overcast, or drizzling. The waves may be too big to get your feet wet. Your kids may want to run wild and free and not pose for photos (duh). This is how I capture the authentic moments, your kids being kids. The most important part to having good results with your family photos on the beach is to allow whatever happens, to just happen! A great life lesson as well! The beach is literally inviting you to surrender to its beauty, and to BE FREE. So let your hair blow wild, let your kids run free, get dirty and wet, and embrace the what is!

family running together in delray on beach

Bring Snacks, Lovies, and Beach Toys

Lets admit it, snacks make everything better!! Bring snacks and drinks for your kids. They will last longer, and be happier! This is especially important for the younger ones! Bring your little one’s “lovey” or comfort object. This not only is helpful for your child to feel more happy and safe, it is important to document! You will thank me years down the road, for grabbing those cute shots of your little with his/her comfort object. Thirdly, beach toys are always a bonus to have on you! Boogie boards, surf boards, shovels and sand castle buckets make for great documentation and story telling.

boy playing with red shovel on the beach

Styling Matters

Styling assistance is always included in my sessions. If you want awesome beach family photos, I highly suggest coordinating with your photographer to help you style your session. For beach photos, I suggest going one of two directions. First direction is the real life beach vibe. For these, you’ll wear your typical beach attire, bathing suits and all. This will give your session more of a documentary feel, of your real life family day at the beach. The other way to go, is to dress up (a little). Causal but cute!! We will pick a color palette, and go from there. Long flowy dresses (especially on mom) make for beautiful artistic shots because the dress usually picks up in the wind, or flows freely when you run or spin!

kids running around their parents on the beach

Let Your Photographer Help Style Your Session

Yes that would be me :) Styling matters!! I will help you style your session, if you will allow me! I do this because It makes a difference! Whether its a bathing suit kind of session, or you want to dress up, choosing clothing that compliments the tones and vibe of the beach, is important to having awesome family photos on the beach!

Don’t Direct Your Child

A lot of my awesome shots of children come from observing them being themselves. The beach gives me a great opportunity to do this. It is important that while Im shooting your child, that you don’t tell them to look at the camera, or smile. If I want them to look at me or smile, I have tricks that will guide them to do so, and to do it authentically! However, its important to not interrupt me shooting your child doing whatever they are doing, as this is sometimes where I get my artistic and creative shots!