Why is Summer the Best Time for Family Portraits?
Summer Family Portraits in Laguna Beach
Sunshine, long days and sandy toes. Summer is the season families here stop rushing — school is out, relatives are visiting, and nobody is negotiating with a four-year-old about a jacket. It is the easiest time of year to get everybody in one place, in a good mood, in good light.
We have photographed families along this coast since 2002, and summer is the season we book the most. Here is why it works, where we shoot, and what to think about before you book.
Why summer is the best season for family portraits
The golden hour actually lasts an hour
In June and July the sun sets around eight, and the light in the ninety minutes before it goes down is the best light of the year here — low, warm, soft enough that nobody is squinting and nothing is casting a hard shadow across half the family. In December that window is twenty minutes and it is over by four-thirty.
Everyone is already in vacation mode
A family that has just come off the beach photographs differently from a family that has just come from work. Shoulders drop. Kids stop performing. The pictures we like best are almost never the posed ones.
No coats, no layers, no arguments about clothes
Light fabrics move in the ocean breeze, bare feet look right on the sand, and you are choosing between two dresses rather than negotiating outerwear for six people.
July and August are when the relatives come. Those sessions cannot be rescheduled to a more convenient month — the month is the point.
What you get from one session
Every photograph on this page is from a single family's session, on one evening in Laguna Beach.
That is how we shoot. The whole family together first, while everyone is fresh and the light is at its best. Then the siblings on their own. Then mom and dad, which is usually the first photograph of just the two of them since the wedding. Then each of the children individually.
You are not booking a session for one photograph. You are booking it for the set — and it is almost never the big group shot that ends up framed on the wall. It is the one of your daughter on the rocks, looking like herself.
Nothing about that is an add-on or an upgrade. It is simply what a session is, and it is why we plan the groupings before the day rather than working them out on a beach with the light going.
Where we photograph summer family portraits in Laguna Beach
Every beach along this coast photographs differently, and the right one depends on the size of your group, how far anyone can walk, and what time we start.
A sheltered cove just north of Main Beach, with tide pools and dramatic bluffs. Quieter than Heisler at sunset.
The stairs down are steep, which keeps the crowds thin. Not the right pick if anyone struggles with stairs.
Bluff-top lawns and the whole coastline behind you. Easiest access of any location we use.
The pirate tower makes it the most recognizable backdrop in Laguna. Check the tide before you commit.
Further south, wider, far less busy. Good for larger groups who want room to spread out.
Little Corona del Mar Beach
A sheltered cove reached by a paved path rather than a staircase, which matters if anyone in the group would rather not take stairs down to the sand. Tide pools and Arch Rock at the south end, and cliffs that cut the afternoon wind. Best at low tide, when there is more usable beach.
Newport Pier
Wide flat sand at McFadden Square with the pier running out behind you — a strong graphic line that most beach sessions don't have. Easier parking than the Laguna coves and plenty of room to spread out. The dory fishing fleet is on the sand in the mornings if you want something with local character in the frame.
The Balboa Fun Zone
Not a beach session at all. The Ferris wheel, the ferry, the arcade lights along the boardwalk — colorful and nostalgic, and it photographs best in the evening once the lights come on. Worth considering for families who want something with more life in it than a sunset on the sand, or who have done the beach version already.
Planning your summer session
The questions families ask us most before booking a summer beach session.
What time of day is best?
Golden hour, almost always. In midsummer that means starting around 6:30 or 7:00pm, with the best light in the last forty minutes before the sun goes down.
The exception is a family with very young children, where seven in the evening is a losing battle. For those we shoot early — around 7:30 in the morning, when the light is nearly as good, the beaches are empty and the children are at their best rather than their worst. Very few families choose it. The ones who do never regret it.
What should everyone wear?
Agree on a palette, not a uniform. Three or four colors that sit near each other, with everyone pulling from the same range. Matching outfits photograph as a Christmas card from 1994.
Light and mid-tone colors work best against the sand and water here — soft whites, oatmeal, dusty blue, sage, warm neutrals. Keep bold patterns to one person, skip logos, and avoid anything stiff. The breeze is what makes beach portraits look alive, and fabric that won't move fights it. We send a full styling guide once your date is booked.
When should we book if we want holiday cards?
Summer, and then the whole thing is handled before anyone else starts thinking about it. Shoot in July, choose your images in August, and your cards are done. For reference on this year's cutoffs: November 20 is our last session date that guarantees holiday card delivery, and December 20 is our last shooting date of the year.
What does a summer session cost?
Sessions begin at a $300 session fee, with collections from $1,795. We'll talk through locations, timing and who's coming before the day, so nothing is being decided on a beach with the light going.
Summer weekends book months ahead — particularly July and the first half of August, and particularly if you need a specific week because family is in town.
Wondering What to Wear for your Laguna Beach Session? Check out this blog post for more information: What to Wear Blog Post
