Beach Family Photos | A Family Portrait Session

I am so so very excited to share these gorgeous beach family photos with you all!!! The Moores decided to be very brave and have their session with their little ones at true “golden hour.” Because the sun sets so late in the day in the summer, golden hour can be a gamble with toddlers! If you have a toddler or have ever known one, we all know they like to go to bed nice and early! But armed with the right treats at your session, anything is possible! Lol! And it is SO WORTH IT!!! And if you aren’t as brave as them, you can always schedule your beach family photos for late September when the sun sets much earlier but it’s still somewhat warm!

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What to Look for in a Beach for Beach Family Photos

As a photographer located in Scituate, I am often asked about beaches for beach family photos. Luckily, there are so many beautiful beaches around us! So, I have some tips to share today. Firstly, I love looking for a beach with tall grasses. Those tall grasses reflect the sun and create a beautiful diffused light in the background for many shots. The grasses can also provide a gorgeous visual interest in your photos. Secondly, look for a beach with fences. I love the look of an old wooden fence in the background of beach pictures! Thirdly, make sure you check the tide for certain beaches! Some beaches almost disappear or COMPLETELY disappear at high tide!! Lastly, look for a beach with soft, beautiful sand. There are a few beaches around here that have kind of orange-y sand. This sand will reflect orange onto your subjects’ faces and it will create a color cast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Family Portrait Sessions

I get so many questions about family portrait sessions! I would love to answer some of your most burning questions here!

What should we wear for our beach family photos?

When a client books a session with me, I send out my portrait style guide which lays out all of my best advice for what to wear! I always suggest a long flowy dress or skirt for moms. This is because long flowy dresses are extremely flattering in photos. Long flowy dresses also allow you to squat or kneel down much more comfortably than if you were wearing a short dress! These types of skirts and dresses also create gorgeous movement in your photos and can be amazing in walking or twirling photos!

When is the best time of the year to take our beach family photos?

My favorite times of year for beach family photos are June and September. I particularly love September for young families because the sun sets pretty early, which is great for early bedtimes. September also is a much cooler month, temperature wise! Family photos can be a WORKOUT, you are constantly picking up children, spinning them around and throwing them in the air! Often times you are running after them! You can see why I would suggest a cool evening for photos with young children haha!

What happens if it rains or is cloudy the day of our session?

If it rains the day of your beach family photos, we will of course reschedule! We live in New England, so rain is quite common unfortunately! Luckily, I am usually able to reschedule you within a few days of your originally scheduled date. If it is cloudy, I am also happy to reschedule. Many families choose to go ahead with their shoot even if it is cloudy weather! It’s up to you!

What day of the week should we take our family beach photos?

I mostly offer weekday sessions and avoid weekends. I definitely suggest a weekday for your family beach photos! Weekdays are much less crowded at the beach. In addition, if you are traveling to me, you will avoid any beach traffic if you have your session on a weekday.

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My Best Tips for Family Beach Photos!

As an experienced Scituate photographer, I am often asked for my best tips. Here are my top FIVE tips for your family photos!!

Tip # 1: Schedule a full session rather than a mini session

If you want those epic pictures that you see on Pinterest and dream about, I recommend a full session. A mini session is very short and will only capture a few different poses. A mini session also cannot capture all those gorgeous and different lighting scenarios. If you just need one quick shot for a Christmas card, a mini session is great! If you want pictures galore and epic shots, a full session is the way to go!

Tip # 2: Carefully plan your outfits

The way you are dressed makes a HUGE difference in how your pictures will look! I guide my clients through how to coordinate everyone’s outfits so that they compliment one another and photograph beautifully. In addition, I offer a client closet to my clients! I have a selection of gorgeous dresses for moms to wear for their beach family photos in a variety of sizes.

Tip # 3: Moms – get your makeup done!

I highly recommend having your makeup done for your photos!! It’s the first thing I schedule after I schedule my family photos each year! My go-to makeup artist is Shauna at East Coast Primped. She’s amazing! I’d like to add- I am very good at doing my own makeup and happen to be a bit of a makeup expert lol. But I still have a professional do my makeup for photos because they know how to apply makeup to look flattering for a camera.

Tip # 4: Prepare your children (and husband) for success!

For your beach family photos, you will want to make sure you get your children and husband on board! Well ahead of your session, begin talking it up with your children. I like to suggest to my clients that they tell their children that Miss Christina will be taking their pictures. When I prepare my toddler for photos, I tell him we are going to have SO much fun! I don’t tell him he will need to smile at the camera or say “cheese.” I do tell him I will have treats for him :-). As for your husband, just tell him to play with the kids and try to enjoy them even if they’re being crazy! Let me tell you, Jimi (the dad from these photos) should train other dads in how to have a great photoshoot LOL. I didn’t even need to tell him anything, he spend the whole hour trying to make his kids smile and laugh!!

Have the *right* expectations (not low expectations!) for your beach family photos

For your beach family photos, don’t worry too much about having a lot of pictures of everyone looking at the camera smiling! I will make sure (or try REALLY hard) to get at least a few of everyone looking at the camera. If I think there’s an opportune moment, I will yell to everyone to look at me! But for the most part, just expect to have gorgeous candid moments of you being present with your family. I always tell young families that I honestly a little bit prefer the chaos of those shoots to photos with older children. You get the best, most special candid moments when there are little kids involved!!

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Booking Your Own Beach Family Photos

Are you looking to have beach family photos taken? If you would like to book your own session with Christina Runnals Photography, I would be honored! First, go to my website to find out all the details! You can find out about my packages and pricing as well. Then, go to my family booking page to easily book your session. If a date you are hoping for is not available, just select “other” and write in the date you would like. I may be able to squeeze you in!

For your family session, do keep in mind that it’s always best to contact me as soon as possible to schedule! My calendar for the year does usually fill up by mid-summer.