Pick the Best Time for your Summer Beach Session

What’s the best time for a summer beach session?

How to pick the best time for your summer beach session

A sunrise photoshoot sounds pretty magical. But it’s actually not that great for lighting. Plus, who the heck wants to wake up, get dressed, and start getting photographed before 6am?! Definitely not me! Ha.

Instead, we offer three timing options for beach sessions. Here are the pros and cons of mid-day, sunset, and golden hour beach sessions. Check them out and decide what’s the best fit for you!

Mid-day Session
This can be anytime from 8am to about 5:30pm depending on the month. Mid-day sun is the most vibrant and energetic light. Sometimes, with our busy schedules it’s the only time of day available to book—and that’s totally okay!

Things to know: It can get very, very warm, so you might get a little sweaty. Plus, if you or anyone joining the shoot has sensitive eyes they might squint or water, even with the sun at your back. Sometimes, with the very bright midday sun, it’s hard to capture the water or pretty horizon behind you.

Why it might be for you: These times usually get booked because of little one’s sleep and feeding schedules—or because they’re most convenient work-wise. If you want gorgeous beach photos (the backlight will make you look positively glowing!), and don’t care about getting sharp details in the ocean or horizon line, this can definitely work for you.

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Evening Session
This is by far our favorite and the most popular time to book, when the sun begins to set and sits low in the sky. It’s that even, beautiful light that most closely looks like an overcast sky that we all love so much! (Blog post about photoshoots on overcast days coming soon!)

Things to know: This has been known to be a “witching hour” for little ones, right around dinner time or bedtime. Luckily, it’s nothing that a snack or bribe can’t fix—but you know your kids best.

Why it might be for you: It’s the gold standard for beach sessions and you can’t go wrong with an evening session. The light is near perfection, there’s usually no bright sun to make you squint, we can capture you in front of the water or anywhere on the beach, and the heat from the day will be subsiding while still keeping your feet warm in the sand.

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Golden Hour Sessions
These are truly magical. There’s a very small window just before the sun goes down to capture this perfect golden blanket of light.

Things to know: Golden hour sessions are scheduled a little later than evening sessions to catch the full sunset—including golden hour. As with evening sessions, this might be during bedtime or dinner. It can sometimes get chilly just after the sun bows out for the day. You’ll want to make sure to bring a photogenic blanket with you in case we need to wrap you in it. We will lose light right after the sunsets, so we’ll work together to pinpoint the best timing for your session depending on the month you book. FYI, golden hour isn’t actually an hour-long as the name implies!

Why it might be right for you: That signature golden light is unlike anything else. It feels like magic when it happens. You’ll usually be able to start the session with some evening light photos, just before golden hour starts, and then add some bonus moments of sunlight after it ends for a dynamic session.