You have decided to have your Clearwater Beach Portraits taken, YAY! Now you might be thinking more about the specifics surrounding your beach session. One of the most frequent questions people ask me as a beach photographer is, what time of day should we schedule our beach portraits? Read below to discover my best tips when it comes to this question.
choose one of two times
When photographing on the beach, there really is only two times that are best when considering the lighting. Early morning sunrise session, or Golden Hour evening session right before the sunset. Living on the west cost of Florida, I am quite biased to the Golden Hour sunset session time. This is a time where we capture not only blue skies, but there’s a pretty good chance we will get a gorgeous sunset or at least sunset colors.
As for the morning session, these are great for those summer months when the sunsets just too late for the little ones. If you have children under the age of 4, this might be the perfect option for you. We will meet bright and early, within one hour of sunrise. Yes, it may be brutal to wake up that early on vacation. But the beach is quiet, the lighting is pristine and hey we may even see some dolphins!
but not this time
A time that I will almost never shoot at? Mid-day. Y’all! This time of day on the beach is too difficult for many reasons.
One, during the summer months, the sand gets really hot! This makes a session very unpleasant and can deter us from getting those barefoot on the beach looks. Not only the sand, but temps can get up to 100 degrees. This makes for sweaty looks.
Second, the sun is way way WAY too harsh. There is no easy way to pose everyone with out constant squinty eyes. Blue/hazel eyes have even harder time adjusting to the sun at this time. Third, the beach is crawling with people. This will make posing and overall composition difficult. My suggestion, if we could only meet at this time, would be to take the session off the beach and locate a great park around the area with shade trees, or plan on doing something fun like sunglasses, swimsuits and playing in the water.
your clearwater beach portraits and vacation timeline planning
If you are like most of my clients who travel from all over the United States to vacation on Florida’s beautiful west coast, there is something to be said about your timeline.
Schedule your Clearwater Beach Portraits at the beginning of your stay. I typically suggest the first full day/night. This will allow us some give and take incase of inclement weather. There is nothing worse than waiting until your last night here for your beach photography session, only to get rained out and having to cancel! To have a backup night is really important especially during these rainy summer months.
Sunscreen PSA:
Also, I would hate to see you show up for our session having horrible sunburn/tan lines. Please for the love of all that is holly, wear sunscreen, at least before your session on your face, top of feet, chest and arms. Any piece of skin that may be showing for your photos. Hey, after our session you can get as crispy as you want. My camera won’t be in the room for that.
Many a clients want to achieve a “base tan” before their session, and I can tell you very confidently that 10/10 of them are red burnt for our portrait session. Listen, I get it. That’s why my editing style leans on warm tones so that my clients look great on the beach. But what doesn’t look great is distracting tan lines. I’ll gladly remove these tan lines, but it will cost you. What is very cheap is a bottle of sunscreen that you reapply!
(Sorry for that rant, I have since stepped off my soapbox)
A NOTE ABOUT RAIN
Now that I mentioned it, lets talk about it! If you are not from Florida, peeking at the weather radar can be a bit disheartening.
During the summer, it will say the chance of rain will be 50-100% every single day! But not to fear. While it does rain almost every day, it is typically late morning or between 4-6. Which leaves us plenty of time for our sessions at night. I actually do not look at the radar until the day of our session. And even then, a few hours before. Living here for over 10 years I have learned how to read a radar and cloud coverage, as well as storm fronts. I trust in my gut about the conditions, and will only cancel or reschedule if I truly believe we will get rained out.
There have been sessions where I have sat in my car, on location in downpouring rain only for the skies to break and clear up right before session time. Florida weather is fickle. Know that I have only the best intentions and want the best possible settings and outcomes for your beach session. I will not photograph when there is lightning present or if the sky just goes black, or in the rain. (Hello camera gear!) But other than that we will go forward with your designated time and day.
you have questions, i have answers!
My sessions can have lots of questions, so I’ve created a client favorite, my Portrait Session & Style Guide. Because of this guide, clients feel prepared and ready to have fun during our session without worrying about little details.
I also send out a pre-session questionnaire so I get to know you and your family better!
For more information, you can read other blog posts for more tips. If you are ready to get more information and want to schedule a session with me, fill out my contact form and I’ll send you everything that goes into making a fun, stress free Clearwater Beach Portraits session!
