Long Beach Island Portrait Photographer
2021 was a fantastic year for beach portraits on LBI. I’ve been a Long Beach Island portrait Photographer photographing families and children up and down the 18-mile stretch for my entire professional career.
For many, LBI is a special place to be for many families. Often, my clients have been visiting Long Beach Island for three or more generations. Unlike other shore towns, it’s a quiet place, making it an excellent place for family vacations. Whether it’s Barnegat Light, Loveladies, Harvey Cedars, Surf City, North Beach, Ship Bottom, Beach Haven, Holgate, or the obscure High Bar Harbor, the island is a special place, the excellent place for family portraits.
Long Beach Island Portrait Photographer and Large Groups
Long Beach Island attracts multi-generation families. Many of the homes on the island are big, which makes it ideal for three generations of family to all vacation together under one roof. Because of logistic reasons, most families are rarely all together at the same time unless they are on vacation. As a result, many of these families decide to have a family beach portrait taken. It’s often the only opportunity that most large families have a chance to have a picture taken. Most of my family portrait sessions are of large groups.
With that being said, after I photograph the large group, I’ll photograph the different combinations. Some examples are the whole group, each family, just the grandkids, the grandkids, and the grandparents, each couple, the men and boys, the women and girls, and whatever other combination makes sense.
How Long Does the Session Last?
Since the sessions are typically one hour before sunset, the sessions are that long because of lighting. Regardless of the number of people in your group, this will be enough time. Most children, and many adults, won’t want their pictures taken more than an hour. There will be breaks for some of the people with the large groups during the session. One of the things that I’ve learned as a Long Beach Island portrait photographer is that getting all of the youngest children done first is wise. As a result, the families with the youngest kids will be finished first.
The structure of your LBI beach portrait session is simple. We will photograph the most important grouping (I know they are all important), usually the largest group. The big groups typically consist of grandparents, children, grandchildren, and often the family dog! The typical sized group is generally from fifteen to thirty-plus people. There’s no need to worry; there’s nothing that I haven’t seen before!
Be Cool, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Before the session, just be cool. Getting ready for the session is often hectic with so many people and so few bathrooms; never mind throwing a bunch of children into the mix. Children and some adults don’t do well with bad energy, so if you are relaxed, the children will also be.
At times, even an adult can be the difficult one. You never know what somebody or someone’s marriage is going through. I understand this and am patient with everyone. As a Long Beach Island portrait photographer, I need to be photographing families every evening from June until September.
Schedule your LBI Beach Portrait
To schedule your LBI beach portrait session, contact me by calling (732) 306-6550, email rob@rwilsonphotography.com or fill out the form below. I can’t wait to see you and your family on the beach!
