Ultimate Guide: Preparing For A Beach Photo Session

Welcome to our Ultimate Guide on Preparing for A Beach Photography Session.

Photoshoots are meant to be fun. Let us help you prepare for a beach photography session to take the stress out and let your natural smiles flow freely and consistently through a beach photoshoot like it’s a walk in the park (I mean it basically is a walk through a park just with a photographer happily guiding you through some poses and maybe playing some fun games with the kids)

Follow these simple guidelines for wardrobe, planning, and coordination and your session is likely to turn out amazing.

•         Accessories- Keep jewelry and accessories to a minimum. Avoid anything that might need to be adjusted constantly.
•         Keep it Simple- Stick to solid colors or low key florals/patterns  – we want to avoid too many clashing patterns or having the outfits be too 'busy".
•         Compliment your figure–don’t wear clothes that are too tight or loose, or clothes that may draw attention to your insecurities. Consider cap or quarter sleeves to draw attention away from arms. Wear something you feel confident in.
•         Wrinkle Free & Try it on- Please make sure your clothes are wrinkle free and stain free. Please have everyone try on their clothes and walk around in them to make sure you will not have any wardrobe malfunctions. 
•         Shoes- please wear shoes that are easy on and easy off, that you can wear without socks and also coordinate with your wardrobe. The parking lot or boardwalk can be hot, and we also have sandspurs, so there are times you’ll wear them. But you will also be walking barefoot in the sand or water at some point too so we like the flexibility of being able to quickly go from shoes to barefoot.
•         Hair & Grooming- there is wind on the beach so please do not wear hair styles that have a lot of hairspray, gels, etc. hair looks best when it can move freely with the wind. Having your hair down always works best for the girls/ladies. Men, please shave the morning of your session and haircuts are best the week or two before.  
•         Dress in long skirts- There is just something about a long flowy dress that photographs so beautifully, and you will have so much fun wearing one! The beach is windy and shorter dresses tend to "fly up" when by the water. Tight dresses will dramatically limit poses and movement. There are a lot of seated poses, so we strongly discourage them. For more freedom or a sexy leg, consider a long dress with a slit.
•         Coordinate your clothing–stick to a color palette of 2-4 colors. Start with one article of clothing and pull colors from that for everyone else to wear. Avoid everyone wearing the same color tops or bottoms, mixing it up helps prevent people blending together in the photograph. We also recommend considering color palettes that can coordinate with your home if considering hanging the images in print or canvas.
•         Staining Snacks- please make sure your family eats 1-2 hours before the session to avoid anyone being “hangry” but please avoid any food or snacks that will stain the teeth or mouth area.
•         Things to pack & things to leave behind- We want to carry with us the absolute bare minimum. Pack a SMALL bag that can fit baby wipes (please make it a travel pack), a few bottles of water (you can freeze them in advance to have them stay cold during the session), and 1 cell phone & 1 set of keys. The photographer's assistant will have a backpack to carry your things needed during the shoot.  You can also pack a bag to be locked in your vehicle with an extra change of clothes (bottoms can get wet and sandy during beach sessions) and dry towels. If you are not comfortable with leaving purses and phones locked in a vehicle, please leave them at your home or hotel room. There is quite a bit of walking so please be sure to get a good night's sleep the night before and keep activities the day of light. 
•         Let the Photographer take charge- we truly understand wanting your child/ren to smile for the camera, but we ask that you only call for their attention if the photographer asks for your assistance or instructs you to. By calling your child's name it will take their eyes off of the photographer and can even overwhelm them, especially if there are several people calling their name at once. 
•         SUNBURNED SKIN- IMPORTANT!  People do burn easily here, please wear ample sunscreen leading up to your photography session as there is a charge to edit out sunburns due to extensive time for retouching in post-production.  Please DO NOT use spray tan before your session. If you need more tanning it is easier in post-production. 

See the gallery below for some great examples of past sessions where the outfits have worked out great.