If you’re a beach-lover, and you want better portraits of your family–welcome! This is post #2 on Better Beach Photos of Your Family. Today’s tip is actually one of my personal favorites.
Today’s Tip: WEAR FORMAL CLOTHING FOR YOUR PORTRAITS.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to wear khaki and white on the shores of 30A.
The portrait above features my two favorite girls ever. Several years ago (2007) we were in Destin, FL, and my photographer buddy Britney Fullgraf came with her son to visit. As I was photographing her boy, she was working behind me with my family. I turned around, saw this moment, clicked the shutter. As I type, I’m looking at this oil-painted portrait framed in my office. Fifteen years as a Photographer, and this is still in my top-5 favorite pieces.
But getting back to the point–formal clothing. There are 2 reasons why the clothing works so well here.
- The color. The dresses coordinate beautifully together (thank you, Sheree) and with the water.
- The “surprise” factor. When people see this for the first time, they’re shocked to see formal wear on the beach. It grabs attention.
What about the boys? Here’s the family portrait that Britney created for us:
Photo by Britney Fullgraf
So you love the idea of formal wear on the beach, but wonder how to pull it together. I offer this suggestion:
START WITH MOM’S DRESS.
Oftentimes, the biggest challenge is finding the dress that mom loves for herself. After you have that established, then look into other girls’ clothing. Finally–the boys. Clothing for men/boys is usually fairly straightforward, so it’s easy to coordinate the gentlemen to the ladies, not vice versa.
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What say you? If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, leave them below.
And if you’re looking for someone to create a family heirloom portrait for your family . . . I’d appreciate the opportunity. As always, learn more at RAMSEY PORTRAIT ART.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing.
Yours,
mr. bill