Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach Engagement Session Treasure Island Florida Candid Portraits

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Engagement portrait session on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThis past Saturday I photographed one of my family members professionally for the first time!  My cousin whom I have not seen in over a decade due to living in different parts of the country moved down here to the Tampa Bay area.  She got engaged and contaced me about an engagement shoot on Sunset Beach in Treasure Island Florida.  I said sure, sounds great, you bring the romance and I will take care of the rest!

Candid portrait during an engagement shoot with my cousin on Sunset Beach Treasure Island - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame right front & SB-600 to rear frame rightThey did their homework and had several photo ideas they wanted to try out, which is fine with me as I am always looking for new shot ideas myself.  It was a frigid day, actually the coldest of the year, but they dressed Florida style anyway and were real pros!

Sun melting engagement photo on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightAs requested, they brought the romance allowing me to make candid portraits like the one above.  I wanted to have the sun melt through the couple in this shot adding to the impact of the overall image.

Dramatic sunset background engagement shoot on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: see setup in photo belowBesides being cold, it was incredibly windy, but at least Mother Nature also provided a classic dramatic Florida sunset to use as a background in the photographs.  I prefer there to be clouds in the sky as well, as I feel it adds more interest than if the sky were cloudless.

My unique two strobe setup for making my signature sunset portraits on Treasure Island FloridaI remembered to make a quick shot of my strobist setup this time.  As you can see, I use two speedlights in my off camera flash technique for sunset portraits.  There are just diffuser caps on the strobes as it was far too windy for an umbrella or anything like that.  

Getting a kiss from their dog during our candid portrait session - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightMy cousin and her fiance brought their dog, Bear, who was a good boy and watched patiently until it was his time to be in front of the lens where he immediately started dishing out big kisses!

Engagement shoot in Florida, but wedding in Rhode Island! - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightMy cousin, like me, was born in Rhode Island and will have her wedding actual up in the Ocean State.  It was great to reconnect with her, and her mom (my aunt) made a surprise visit too!  It was a real reunion and a very fun engagement portrait session.

Family Beach Portraits at Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Demiduk Family

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Watching the sunset as a family on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left rear & SB-600 to frame right frontOnce again I had the opportunity to photograph a client I already knew as DSLR Photography Lesson student Kristin booked a Family Beach Portrait session for Sunset Beach on Treasure Island.  As I have mentioned before, it is always a plus to photograph people you are familiar with, and of course as a pro photographer it is flattering that a client would give you repeat business.

Baby Naomi was in constant motion when not being held close by her parents!Kristin's nearly 2-year old daughter was a very talkative little girl, and as one might expect a very active one too.  I usually recommend that parents hold their child as the best means of keeping them in the frame!

Having family fun in front of tall beach grass on Sunset Beach Treasure Island FloridaThe whole family had a lot of personality which made it fun to photograph them as they were never at a loss for smiling in front of the lens.  A willingness to get a bit sandy allowed us to make the above shots in front of Sunset Beach's tall grass dunes.

2-year old preparing to be a ballerina - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 to frame center right & SB-600 to rear rightUsing a mound of sand that was the remains of a castle, Naomi practiced her ballerina moves as I framed her with the dusk sky out over the Gulf of Mexico.

Gliding down the shore black & white family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 500 1/400th natural lightKristin has two more photography lessons with me where I will help prepare her to be able to make her own family beach portraits in the future!

Treasure Island Sunset Beach Florida Large Family Group Portraits Lemle Family

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Young family and baby candid beach portrait on Treasure Island Sunset Beach St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightI returned to Sunset Beach on Treasure Island in St. Petersburg Florida once again this time for a large group family beach portrait session.  Normally I work with no shotlist on family beach portrait shoots, but due to there being six adults and two children composing three family groups and three generations I did ask the client to provide one to make sure we got all the pairings desired.  The shot above features another new pose I have not done before.  I asked the family if they were willing to get a bit crazy and they say yes for sure so with the will to lay down on the sand there, we were able to make this shot which was my favorite of the evening.

Large group family beach portrait on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/160th - Strobist: SB-800 to left & SB-600 to rightThe key to reducing and even better eliminating shadows when making a large group family portrait on the beach is to have the family not stand in a concave line as seems to be everyone's natural instinct, but rather a convex or at least straight line so that the people for example in the far right of the above image do not cast a shadaw on the people next to them.  I start by setting up a shot like this by having the person in the center be the anchor, and then placing everyone else around that person.

Another vivid sunset on Treasure Island St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightWhen working with essentially three different groups with the every present sunset as a countdown timer, the photographer has to work even more efficiently and try to provide as best as possible variety in the shots, but of course an entirely different image cannot be made for each group each time within a 60-minute session.  This was really my first time to work with this many pairings on a family beach portrait session and I was pleased with the variety of shots I was able to make, though as you can see there was only time to work with one camera and lens where I usually shoot with at least two and sometimes three lenses.

Tall beach grass family portrait on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThis is the same grass location as her sister's family, but a different pose makes for a very different feel in the final image.  I also shot from a different angle and a bit wider.  Luckily, Sunset Beach's tall grass has survived well despite the recent tropical storm.

Large group family beach portrait walking at dusk - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/80th - Strobist: SB-800 in front & SB-600 to front rightThis semi-complex group walking shot was made on the first take which was great as you can see the sun was already below the horizon and light was fading fast.  My advice for this type of shot is for everyone to start walking with the same foot forward, while holding hands and continuing to walk even after I take the shot to maintain a natural look to the image.

Treasure Island Sunset Beach Florida Family Portraits Vivid & Dramatic Sky Poe Family

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Mother Nature provided a very dramatic sky for the Poe Family Beach Portraits on Sunset Beach Treasure Island St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightVisiting all the way from Nebraska, the Poe Family were worried about the weather for their candid family beach portrait session.  I told them on the phone in the morning that is is impossible to predict what the weather conditions will be like eight hours from now so do not worry.  As you can see from the above shot, the rain did not fall on the beach, but the fact that there were storms all around provided for a very dramatic sky background for many of our family beach portraits.

A sister and her two brothers vivid sunset beach portrait on Treasure Island Sunset Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 in front & SB-600 to right rearThe youngest and I share the same name which he told me with some great excitement when we met.  It is good to know parents are still choosing it as a name.  For this shot I tried to compose just so that the remaining sun appeared to be resting on his shoulder between his other two siblings.

My favorite shot of the session as it tells a story the most - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/80th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe father requested this shot having seen an example of it with another family on my website.  I believe I first came up with the idea for this type of shot last summer.  For me to not be able to see the subjects' faces allows the viewer to wonder even more what the subjects might be thinking of as they look out upon the horizon with all the Sea and Heavens before them.

Mother & Daughter candid beach portrait on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightI did not have to say anything to neither mother nor daughter for this shot.  I just placed them within my two speedlights, went back to be able to fit them within the frame and as I turned around they were already having fun so all I had to do was then push the shutter and voila!

Hands on to show the family bond on Sunset Beach treasure Island St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 behind subjectsThe sun itself was really only visible once it dipped below some clouds just above the horizon.  From experience I knew this would be the case and I had everyone ready to take advantage of the little time we would have with the sun in such conditions.

Husband and wife romance novel cover shot on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 behind rightIn our hour and a half portrait session we made a great variety of shots, which is always my goal as I do not like to shoot a similar shot and always provide the client with very different images, not merely just variations of the same shot.  In this session the shot list ranged from of course all the family members, to each individual child shot, to husband and wife and then each parent with one of their children.  It was a full session!

Family Beach Portraits at Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Stanton Family

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Visiting from Alabama the Stanton Family on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D80 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/125th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame rightAll day it was overcast.  Then at 5:30pm it rained.  However, by our family beach portrait session time of 7:50pm the skies were clear and the sun emerged providing an excellent backdrop for the Stanton Family's photographs on Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg, Florida.  I have mostly been pretty lucky with weather regarding sunset photo shoots.  The streak continued yesterday.

Sisters having fun on Sunset Beach, Treasure Island - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left @ 1/2 power & SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame rightI do not think I have ever seen kids remain as dry as the sisters above did when so close to the water's edge!  They were fun to photograph as they readily showed their sibling affection for each other.  I had my speedlights set in place to light them and dialed in the best shutter speed to pull in the remaining light from the sunset sky.

Father and daughters on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame rightTheir father joined them for a sunset portrait of their own.  He did a good job of corraling them as there were starting to become more active!  I just made sure no one jumped in front of the setting sun as I was composing the shot.

Mother and daughters on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame rightOf course mom had to get in for a photograph of her own with her daughters.  With the setting sun as a constant deadline, it is important to have your lighting and camera settings dialed in so that you can quickly and easily move in new people for the next shot when shooting a sunset portrait session.  You can note that I used exactly the same settings for the above three shots:  f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th and the same strobist settings as well.  I believe I did not even change the speedlight positions either since both the mother and father got to the same eye level as their daughters.

It was a very fun family beach portrait session that went as smoothly as any I have ever photographed before and it was good to continue my lucky streak of avoiding rain!

Family Beach Portraits Sunset Beach Treasure Island St Petersburg Florida

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Vivid family sunset beach portraits on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/250th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightIt was great to see the Martineau Family again, who I first photographed back in the summer of 2010.  They were once again visiting from Pennsylvania with their three children.  We met at the same beach on Treasure Island, Sunset Beach, my favorite beach in all of Florida.  This is a great place for family beach portraits, and also skimboarding!

Pulling light from the sky long after the sun went down - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 640 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 to left & SB-600 to rightI was looking forward to seeing how much the children had grown in the past two years.  The most noticable growth was of course with their youngest, and the fact that he could now talk and his favorite words appear to be "alligator golf."

Cartwheel sunset beach skills! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightBeing a Thursday evening in late April Sunset Beach was mostly free of tourists and locals as well so we pretty much had the entire half-mile strip of beach to ourselves.  The only passersby were some water birds.

Family running on the beach having fun - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 500 1/500th natural lightLast time we made a very similar shot to the one above with the family running and laughing down the shoreline.  The biggest difrerence this year was that it was a cloudless sky, whereas two years ago a storm was just upon to fall on the beach providing a dramatic cloudy sky for a background.

Siblings having fun on the beach - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/80th Strobist: SB-800 to left & SB-600 to rightThe cloudless sky helped me be able to make shots well after the sun went below the horizon and still pull some color out of the twilight sky.

Family beach portrait watching the sunset - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 to left SB-600 to rightI was very glad to be able to continue to be the Martineaus family photographer on their Florida visits and I look forward to their next visit!

Treasure Island Sunset Beach St. Petersburg Florida - why we live here

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Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg, Florida - my favorite beach - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 2 sec tripod mounted with cable releaseIt seems to me Florida is a very specific place to live.  It is warm and its extremely long coastline is all beach.  These two things are why we live here.  Being a specific place to live, it lacks certain things, most notably mountains and four seasons.  Instead of mountain views there are amazing sunset and twilight sky views that fluctuate in color throughout the year.  Intesad of four seasons there are essentially two, the humidity season (April through September) and the dry air season (October through March).

I value being able to go swimming at the beach in February.  I like wearing shorts 362 out of 365 days per year.  I pay a price in sweat for those things though.  Therefore, in the remaining days of the dry air season, I savor each one, like today.  

Why do you live in Florida?