Shooting a sunset beach session with your San Diego family and maternity photographer, requires some extra considerations, so we thought we’d write a blog for clients to reference!
- For anyone considering booking a session at the beach, it’s important to come prepared to get your feet and ankles wet and sometimes depending on circumstances, even more! Beach photos look best when people are as close to the water as possible, so this means you will typically be standing in it a bit as waves come in and out. Being this close allows the beautiful reflective shoreline to show, and eliminates all the tracks, footprints, and other unwanted debris from the photos.
- We advise against wearing white. I know a lot of people think white works well, but from a photographer’s perspective, it’s not ideal. It tends to absorb colors around it and also has a tendency to lose detail in photographs. Creams are a MUCH better choice, but in all honesty, solid colors photograph the best. That being said, creams are much easier to work with, so it’s a fine choice!
- The beach is loud, often windy, and sometimes cold (depending on the season). This is important to consider for younger kids. If you think they will be uncomfortable or distracted by this, it would probably be a better choice to stick to a rustic setting and save the beach for when they’re a bit older.
- Parking near the beach is less guaranteed and predictable than our rustic locations, so always allow an extra 10 minutes just in case!
- We only do beach sessions at golden hour. This is when the light softens and you get the beautiful colors at sunset. The best light is within 30 minutes of the sun setting, so this is important to bear in mind for people with kids and strict bedtimes (depending on the time of year).
- Not all beaches are created equal. We have select locations for where we shoot at for a variety of reasons (parking, crowds, size) etc. We ask clients to trust us when we recommend specific beaches as many factors contribute to this, most importantly the tide! A lot of San Diego beaches become too narrow or even vanish in higher tides! We have chosen our locations for multiple reasons and this helps to guarantee the best photos and experience for everyone!
All the above being said, these are just considerations, and this is your shoot! We wanted to write this so clients can be prepared and think about some of these things that they wouldn’t consider otherwise!
