Planning for your winter family photo session on the beach - Torquay
I’m sure there’s a few out there that might asume winter would be too wet / miserable / cold / cloudy for an outdoor family photography session here in Torquay.
But I’m here to tell you that is just not the case!
There is LOTS to love about having a winter family photography session on one of the many beautiful beaches down here on the Surf Coast - it’s just important to plan for it properly. And I’m here to help!
Read on for a few of my tips when planning for an outdoor family photoshoot during the cooler, winter months 👇
Sunrise sessions are perfect for all those little ones who think it’s reasonable to wake up before the sun comes up…Thankfully in winter, sunrise is a much more achievable time to be leaving the house!
Choosing a kid friendly session time
One of the best parts about having family photo session during the winter months is how much more convenient the session start times are! Because all of my sessions are scheduled to coincide with either sunrise or sunset (which is when the light is most flattering), this can be quite late for families with young children in the height of summer (think 5:30am or 8pm in December/January).
In autumn / winter though, the start times for sessions are much more reasonable (starting anywhere between 4-5pm or 7-7:30am).
Usually the decision to have a morning versus an afternoon session is a pretty easy one for most families - you’re kids are either up at the crack of dawn or they’re not 🙈
Personally, my favourite time of day to shoot down here on the Surf Coast is at sunrise - the beaches are quiet, the sun rises over the water & it tends to be less windier than later in the day. The flip side to this being of course that it is usually cooler in the mornings. Needless to say, if you’re uncertain - let me know and we can chat about what would best suit your family! ⠀⠀⠀
Dress for the weather & embrace those cuddles!
2. Dress for the weather
Of course there’s no getting around the fact that it’s probably going to be colder during family photography session in winter compared to if you have a session in summer.
But cold does not = miserable.
Clouds do not = gloomy photos !!
Hands down one of the most important things to do is ensure you dress your family for the weather!! It seriously does not matter how cute your kids outfits are - if they are cold that will be what makes your photos gloomy and miserable! Because cold kids are VERY rarely happy kidsb 😅
So embrace the cooler weather, get out your chunky knits, your beanies, layer up & stay warm! On the topic of staying warm, that leads nicely onto my next point …
3. Get cosy or get moving!
Cooler weather makes getting snuggly and cuddly photos feel soooo much more natural and easy - even for kids that aren’t super cuddly, it’s often just the most obvious way in the moment to warm up - and it makes for such beautiful photos.
On the flip side, if cuddles aren’t working for your little one, get moving & play together to warm up. Spinning around, tickles, playing chasey, exploring rockpools are great ways to keep connected & keep warm!
4. Be prepared
Despite kids generally not loving being cold. They also seem to have an inability to correlate getting soaking wet with then becoming freezing cold 🤦♀️ So another thing that is probably VERY likely to happen during your session - no matter the weather - is that your kids will make a beeline for the water. They might start off just dipping their toes in.. but 70% of the time, they get a little wetter than maybe even they expected! In these cases, it is SUPER handy to have a few spare things in the car -
Making a game of your little one trying to get wet makes for much more fun photos than spending the entire session trying to keep them away from the water!
a towel (to dry off that child that swore they wouldn’t go in the water)
a change of clothes (something that you would be happy with them wearing for some of the photos, depending on how quickly they get wet!)
A blanket (again, it helps if this is something you’d be happy to have photographed - as sometimes bundling your little ones up in a blanket can make super cute photos too!)
If your kids are super insistent on getting wet, trying to force them away from the water is probably going to create a bit of tension. I’m not saying you should let them go swimming, but making a little game of it with them and relaxing about them getting splashes of water on their clothes will make for much more relaxed and joyful photos!
Would you like to find out more info about booking in your own family photo session?
If you’d like to enquire about having your own family photography session - please get in touch. I’d love to chat more with you about it!
I am currently taking family & newborn photography bookings in Torquay, the surf coast & Geelong area up until the end of the year, so it’s never too soon to enquire - especially if you have a particular date in mind for your session as I can book out a couple of months in advance, especially in peak season!
