The beach is a popular place at which to schedule family photos. It truly is a stunning location that lends itself to relaxed and connected family photos, but it can also be a challenging location to shoot at. Contrary to what many people think, there is a limited window of time during which the lighting is ideal at the beach. Furthermore, there tends to be a lot of activity at the beach, so scheduling a sessiont here requires some strategic planning. Here are a few things to consider before scheduling your next beach family portrait session.

family dressed in pale blue and pink on th ebeach st sunset in front of dunes seated and embraced

What is the best time of day for a beach family photo session?

Most people don’t realize that lighting at the beach is not ideal during most of the day. When it comes to photography, too much sun can create unflattering lighting. For most of the day, the light is too harsh at the beach and there is no shade available to filter the light. The best time to take outdoor portraits is when the sun is low in the sky. This is typically at sunrise or as the sun sets in the evening during golden hour. At these times of the day, the lighting is soft and creates beautiful lighting conditions for portraits. If the weather happens to be overcast, this is also great lighting, but it may be hard to predict if the weather being overcast.

mother embracing toddler children dressed in slate blue and pink beach sunset dune

dad playing with toddler children on beach at sunset flying airplane with them and racing them laughing

Weekdays are always best

As you know, the beach is a popular destination here on Long Island. This is especially true on the weekends and crowds can make it especially difficult to capture intimate family portraits. For that reason, I prefer to schedule all beach sessions on weekday evenings. Not only will the beach be less crowded, but chances are that you will also have more availability during the week. Sunset is late in the Summer, so there is no need to even take a day off from work. Although I can’t guarantee that the beach will be desolate on the day of your session, I do choose locations that tend to be less crowded during the week.

parents racing piggy back with toddlers on their back laughing beach at sunset

family kneeling on a jetty with toddler kids and beautiful cloudy bleu sky behind them

What months are best for beach family photo session?

Well, that all depends on your personality, family dynamic, and goals for the session. I start schooting on the beach mid May and go all the way through October.

July & August are great months if you want to have guaranteed warm weather for your session. I also feel that the beach tends to be less windy during these months. The downside is that weather can be erratic at sunset and thunderstorms can roll in last minute, but this also means there is a possibility for a rainbow!

September is great if you are looking for a tail end summer session, with just a touch of fall weather. The beaches will be nearly during this month. The weather tends to be gorgeous and the sun starts to set very close to the ocean during this month. Even better, sunset is earlier so for those of you with little ones, this would be the best month to schedule your session.

May & June are also great months to schedule your session. The weather is cooler in May, but there still tend to be less people on the beach. This is also true in June, especially the earlier part of June when school is still in session. I find the sunsets are amazing and soft in these months and I can start a little earlier at select locations with higher dunes. The downfall is that sunset is super late in June and the start time can be too late for families with toddlers.

October is gorgeous on the beach. The sunsets are stunning and the beaches tend to be empty at sunset, even on the weekends. It can be chilly and windy at sunset. I will always tell you to dress in layers for a beach session during this month. If you are not fond of chilly weather, like myself, then you will want to stick to one of the aforementioned months.

Recent Family Photo Session in July at Point Lookout, NY

I had so much fun with the family featured in this blog post. Their session took place on a late July evening. The night was quite simply a 10/10. There was little to no wind, the weather was absolutely perfect with no humidity and the sunset was breathtaking. We played lots of games and I love every single on of the captures from their session, but here are a few of my favorites.