Indian Rocks Beach

Indian Rocks Beach 12 Person Candid Family Portraits in the afternoon

in

Baby in the air on Indian Rocks Beach candid family portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power frame left & SB-600 @ 1/2 power frame right rearIt was an unusual family beach portrait session for me in two regards.  First, it was a large family of 12 people out on Indian Rocks Beach.  The more people the bigger the challenge of course.  Secondly, the client requested a 4pm start time since there were very young children in the shoot who could not stay awake for a more traditional sunset shoot which that day would have been until 7:50pm.  This latter condition though led to a new style shot I had not tried before (above) that I really like having one parent hold the baby in the air with the other parent looking on behind.

Afternoon on Indian Rocks Beach large 12-person family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightIn order to fight the power of the afternoon sun and still have the water in the background, I had to set my speedlights to 1/2 power to fill in the light on everyone's faces and also carefully angle everyone to get as much blue in the sky as possible.  That along with basically four babies in the photo made for a bit of a challenge!  I was very pleased with the result though.  It came out better than I thought possible for a middle of the afternoon portrait in direct sunlight.

This family told me they make this same photo year after year - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThey told me that they all make this same pose year after year and having many photos over time showing it.  I am glad to contribute the 2013 version of it!

Candid kids playing on Indian Rocks Beach - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th natural lightGetting all the babies close together was a no-go even with parents sitting them right next to each other, so leaving them to their own devices I had to do some moving myself to make this candid shot.

12-person family walking down Indian Rocks Beach candid portrait photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/500th natural lightA big action shot with 12 people on Indian Rocks Beach which was at least not crowded at that time of the day on a weekday afternoon!

Holiday Inn Harbourside Indian Rocks Beach Florida Wedding

in

Holiday Inn Harbourside Indian Rocks Beach Wedding Portrait - SETUP: f/11 ISO 200 1/250th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame right & SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame left

People often ask me, "how do you get your photography jobs?"  Usually I stumble around with various answers, but from now on I will definitively say that first and foremost bookings are from referrals or the result of in-person networking.  Through joining NPPF (now FCCP), a Meetup.com photography group, I got to know the organizer Jeff Donald.  Marc (pictured above with bride Eileen) is a member of FCCP and was seeking a wedding photographer with short notice.  Jeff referred him to me, I was still available, so voila, a wedding booking!

For the above photo we all braved the mid-day Florida heat to make for me what was my favorite shot of the day.  It is always worth it to make the extra effort to get a particular shot.  While the couple had their wedding lunch I went to scout locations and found this to be the most natural and scenic one on the grounds of the Holiday Inn Harbourside in Indian Rocks Beach.  Even though it was around 1pm and the shot had to be done in direct sunlight, my 2-strobe technique managed to produce surprisingly satisfying portrait results.

Eileen and her new wedding ring - SETUP: f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted using Nikkor 105mm VR f/2.8G macro lensHaving significant wedding photography experience is key in knowing what shots work, and especially for establishing what I think of as "go-to" shots like the one above.  I first came up with the idea for this shot at Bianca's wedding in summer 2010 (see similar image).  

First Wedding Dance at Holiday Inn Harbourside Indian Rocks Beach - SETUP: f/5.6 ISO 800 1/10th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted using dragging shutter technique with zoomWhen making the type of "dragging the shutter" type shots like the one above, it is of course good to have lights in the background to enhance the effect of the technique.  The more lights the better, but if you can only include one or two it will still make a big difference.  Marc & Eileen had two kettle drum (?) players at their reception and they mostly played island themed songs which suited the harbor front location well.

Indian Rocks Beach Wedding Photography - SETUP: f/11 ISO 200 1/250th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame right & SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame leftThe "under the veil" shot is another one of my go-to shots (see last photo here), but of course it is used by many wedding photographers.  We were all very hot by this point (me visibly so!), but I wanted to make sure to get this shot before we returned indoors as I hope in twenty years Marc & Eileen will think to themselves, I am really glad we made the effort for that veil shot as they look at a print of it on their wall.