Archive for the ‘Family Beach Portrait’ Category
Full of Light
May 21, 2013Kids on the Beach
May 21, 2013I have always loved photographing kids, but I feel like my relationship with them has gotten better now that I have one of my own. Or perhaps it’s just the way my editing has changed so that I leave in some of the not so “picture perfect” images and keep them because they help tell a story. Either way, bring on the kiddos! I want to photograph them more than ever.
Miller Family Beach Portraits
May 14, 2013
Quoted in Coastal Living Magazine
December 12, 2012I was very flattered to be interviewed recently for an article that just came out in Coastal Living magazine about family beach portraits. I’ve got to admit that one of the perks of being a photographer here is that I have the opportunity to “work” on the beach photographing families from all over the world who come to vacation here in Charleston, SC.
The lovely Melissa Bigner wrote the article. You may also know her as the editor of Charleston Weddings Magazine. She’s always a gem to work with!
Grab the December 2012 copy of Coastal Living and come on down to Charleston soon! Here are a few of my favorite family beach sessions at some of your favorite vacation spots in case you need ideas!
Sisters on Folly Beach
Family at Wild Dunes
Baby Love on Sullivans Island
Kiawah Beach House
Seabrook Family
Family Portraits on Kiawah
November 29, 2012When you have a family that lives around the world, but comes together for a Thanksgiving vacation, you are wise to have a photographer come and photograph all of you!
I had so much fun meeting this wonderful family to photograph the 4 generations that came together for the holidays out on Kiawah. I hope these photos being back wonderful memories for years to come!
I had to sneak this photo in the post as it’s one of those “behind the scenes” shots. I love taking beautiful portraits of kids, but what you get to see is the edited version. Here’s what it’s really like at a family portrait session! My goal is to find order among the chaos.
Sisters on Folly
November 19, 2012It’s an annual tradition that I photograph these sisters on the beach. We’ve been doing this for close to 10 years now, I’ve lost count.
I think these are some of my favorite ones yet, though I loved last year’s set too. You should check them out if only to contrast the difference a year makes. You see, last year they were little girls. This year, they are tweens.
Major kudos to their mom who makes sure this happens every year with out fail. It’s a ton of work getting 3 girls ready for a photo shoot and she had to drive 5 hours to get here. But I think it was worth it!
Baby Beach Portraits at Wild Dunes
October 8, 2012This sweet little five month old had her photos taken on the beach at Wild Dunes with her parents recently. It was an overcast day and perfect for her porcelain skin and red hair. She is an absolute doll and a total heart breaker!
13 months old
September 21, 2012This little cherub makes me smile from ear to ear. He has grown so much in the past year and when I saw him this time, he was his own little person happy to chat and walk down to the beach on his own. It’s amazing how much babies develop in their first year!
After getting some shots of him looking dapper, we let him do what babies love best- play in the water!
Wild Dunes: Family Beach Session
September 17, 2012It’s the end of summer and the number of people vacationing at the beach is dwindling… which is why it’s the perfect time to go out there for a family beach session! The breeze is cooler and the sun sets a little earlier too, meaning your little ones don’t need to stay up as late while we wait on the “good light”.
I was totally charmed recently by a family visiting out at Wild Dunes. These two boys were brilliant, well behaved and a lot of fun to photograph. I told them to bring bathing suits in case they’d want to do a few photos at the end of the boys in the water. Kids always gravitate to the water anyway, so why not?
The Family Beach Portrait
September 8, 2012Hello! I thought I’d send you a little check list for your upcoming family beach portrait along with a few tips on how to get the best photos possible out of your session.
What to Wear:
There are some families that have a long tradition of wearing white and khaki or for their beach photos and if that’s your family, well then you can skip to the next section.
However, if that’s not your thing, here’s what I recommend…It’s nice to coordinate within the family. You may choose to all wear blue/green tones or perhaps the women wear color and the guys wear white shirts. It’s almost easier for me to tell you what not to wear and show you a few images of what works.
• It’s ok if one person wears a bold pattern, but if everyone does, then it’s a bit overwhelming. You could always use the colors out of one piece of clothing and everyone else where’s something that coordinated with that.
• Stay away from logos and text on shirts.
• Don’t worry about shoes, I’d say that 99% of people do not wear them in their beach photos.
• Jeans on the beach in August might send you into a heat stroke in Charleston. Save that for the winter.
You don’t have to be afraid of color!
What to Bring for Kids:
This checklist depends partly on how old your children or grandchildren are, so pick and choose to your liking.
• Wipes for runny noses, spit up, sand and the like.
• Baby powder. This is new to the list as I’ve learned it helps get sand off of babies and kiddos like magic.
• Diaper bag with diapers just in case…
• Any special toy that you might want included in the photos
• Other fun options that allow for some great candids (though their not necessary) are bubbles, kites to fly, sand toys or other games or activities to keep the kids (and adults!) busy and unaware of the camera.
What Do We Do?:
I usually like to start with getting a group shot of everyone. It’s a great way to get the photo shoot started and check one of the most important photos off our list! Next, I usually take photos of various combinations of people. If there are multiple families involved, I get shots of each of the families or groupings of the kids. Other great combos are shots of each parent with the kids, grandparents with their grandkids, just the kids, etc. I like to let these flow as they will so that no one gets burned out.
Kids need room to run and play in between and I’ll grab candid shots of them while we prepare for the next group. I like to give them the space to do their thing without being instructed to “smile” or “look at the camera”. Often the best expressions come naturally and without cajoling. This is where having bubbles or kites or a ball to kick around come in handy.
One other thought… If you want to , feel free to bring the kids (and your?!) bathing suit and we can do a few photos of them in the water at the end of the session. Kids always end up in there anyway, so you might want to take advantage of it.
I hope this helps! Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions. Leigh@LeighWebber.com
