Siesta Key Beach Portraits - What to Expect at your Beach Portrait Session

The trick to a successful beach portrait session is to squeeze a whole lot of photos into a very short period of time. Because most people want their beach portraits taken at sunset (And why not? It's beautiful!), we have limited time and rapidly changing light to work with.

Here's how we make it work:

We start our beach portrait sessions about 45 minutes before sunset. Since the sun is still a bit too high and bright at that time, we take families down to the beach for a "stroll." Although it probably feels pretty cheesy at the time, these photos look great and feel like "candids" even though they are set up more like posed photos. We think they make great casual family portraits.

As the sun dips slightly lower in the sky, we turn to the dune grass. Usually these photos do not have the sun in the background because it's still not low enough. We take a variety of posed family portraits sitting and/or standing in front of the sea oats. Sea oats make a great backdrop and look great with the outfits we typically recommend for beach portraits.

As the sun approaches the horizon, we bring the family back to the shoreline. Usually these photos are taken in a standing position, with the sunset in the background. 

We hope this helps clarify the timeline of events for a typical beach portrait session. If you have other questions about Siesta Key Beach Portraits, please read our Beach Portrait FAQ or contact us with your specific questions!

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