Portrait Investment & Info

Our beach sessions are designed to be relaxed and comfortable. Sessions are scheduled around sunset, and we do a variety of different photos, tailored to your individual group. No two session are ever the same, and we love that!

What To Expect

extended family sessions

Extended families come in all sizes, each with their own unique dynamic. We have a tried-and-true workflow that allows us to capture a variety of different groupings, covering al the branches of the family. Each session is tailored t o your family group, and how we cover it depends on your group size and the breakdown of family units.

To capture your family in its entirety we start with large family groupings and branch out from there. Grandparents w/ their “original” children. Grandparents w/ the grandkids. Just the kids. Etc. Once the large groupings are covered, we move on to capturing each individual family unit. These sessions aer designed to fit multiple groupings into our standard 60 minute session time, and you should expect it to feel like several “mini sessions” all together as opposed to each family having a “full session”. We start each session up i n the dunes for more structured groupings before we head down towards the water’s edge for more casual/candid photos.

what to expect

Single Family Sessions

Our sessions era designed to be fun and relaxed, and Single Family Sessions offer a little more freedom to explore and change up our posing as we’re able to devote the entire hour to capturing just your family.
With every session, the first half of our time together is typically spent up in the dunes and is geared towards getting those faces smiling at the camera in more structured groupings, while the second half focuses no more relaxed candids down near the water’s edge.

As a momma of two little ones, I know all too well that sometimes kids just aren’t having it…and that’s ok! We do our best to get those smiling faces, but sometimes find we just have to resort to more candid and organic moments. We like to keep things moving to avoid littles ones getting bored in the same spot for too long. When all else fails, getting up and moving around is key!

Session Investment

Session fees include your session, image editing, private online download gallery, and high-resolution digital files.

  • $550 • 1-5 People
  • $650 • 6-10 People
  • $750 • 11-15 People
  • $850 • 16-20 People
  • $950 • 21-25 People

What To Wear….

02. Avoid Bright Colors & Graphics

The beach is light and bright, and the sand works as a giant reflector. While most anything goes, we do find reds & oranges to be the least desirable color for beach portraits. We also suggest avoiding clothing with large graphics or writing as it draws the eye into your clothing and away from the people.

Our editing style is considered “Light & Airy” and for this reason many of our clients opt to choose colors that are soft. You will see a lot of pastels – light blues, greens, tans/creams, etc. These colors are a perfect compliment to the natural scenery on the beach.

Your clothing should reflect you, so really, anything goes. Think outside the box! Long gone are the days of everyone being “matchy-matchy” in jeans and white shirts.

01. Choose Complimentary Colors

Opt for clothing within a complimentary color pallet, and have everyone work within those shades to provide a cohesive look without being overly matching. This is especially important for large family groups to avoid having any one person be the main focus. It’s OK to incorporate a little pattern & texture to help break up the colors and bring a little dimension into the photos.

03. Sit, Stand, Walk, Play

Our sessions are a mixture of posed and candid. At some point everyone will be sitting, standing, walking, kneeling, and playing on the beach. It’s important to choose clothing you feel comfortable doing all those things in, and something you aren’t afraid to get sand or water on. Make sure you’re choosing clothing that appropriately hides your undergarments, and that you don’t have to fuss with.

You may be wondering…

Once a date has been selected you will receive an electronic booking link via e-mail. You will select your session from the options listed, and submit your contract & session fee. Once submitted you’re on the books and all set.

Our sessions take place at Coquina Beach in South Nags Head. At this time we do not service the Northern Beaches, though we do sometime have limited availability for Hatteras Island. Travel fees may apply.

Our weather changes quickly, and so we try to give it as long as possible before we make any adjustments. We watch the hourly closely the day of your session, and if we feel we need to make adjustments to our start time we will reach out the primary contact to touch base. Usually we’re able to work around the weather by bumping our start time up a little.

If we have a full rainout, we will work together to move your session to another day. We take a limited number of sessions each week to allow us the flexibility to move/adjust as needed.

We always try to get a little preview on our socials within a couple days of your session. The full gallery is delivered within 3 weeks of your session via digital download.

I wish I had an answer for this one! 😉 In reality, kids are kids. They have good days and they off days, and we do our best to keep everyone entertained. We encourage talking to super young kids about how much fun it’s going to be, and not put too much pressure on them to perform. Sometimes they sit perfectly and smile, and other times they’re distracted by everything they see outside. We ask parents to trust the process, and sometimes that means pivoting to more casual/candid photos and prompting kids to interact with each other and mom and dad.

Due to high demand for portrait sessions during season, we do not offer stand-alone mini sessions. We do typically offer a single day of mini sessions during the late fall. Those sessions are scheduled back-to-back on a predetermined day.