Madeira Beach

Madeira Beach Florida Sunset Beach Portraits with Paula & Family

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All smiles for this family on Madeira Beach during their sunset portrait session in Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 @ 1/2 powerIt had been awhile since I had a sunset family beach portrait session on Madeira Beach, so it was good to meet Paula and family there recently, although once facing the Gulf of Mexico, pretty much every beach on the Pinellas peninsula looks the same!  The family-in-a-row was a new style photograph for me.  I am always looking for new ways to photograph families on the beach and adding as much variety to a family's set of shots as possible.  I like this in-a-row composition and will definitely be adding it to my already existing set of shots.

Sisters all stacked up on Madeira Beach during a fun family beach portraits session - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/640th - natural lightAll three sisters stacked themselves up and were bookended by their parents.  I encourage families to physically interact as much as possible to add a natural and fun look to shots.  The more you come into physical contact, the better the results is typically how it goes.  Just standing stiffly side-by-side is something I try to avoid at all costs.

Family togetherness on Madeira Beach in Florida during a sunset portrait session - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/500th - natural lightI wonder if in 20 years these sisters will remember what they were laughing about in this moment.  I hope they can.  That is the potential power of a still photograph.

A beautiful sunset on Madeira Beach Florida for family portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 @ 1/2 powerFor me personally (and as a photographer), I prefer there to be some clouds along the horizon and in the sky in general for sunset portraits.

Sisters jumping on Madeira Beach during a family beach sunset portrait session in Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 @ 1/2 powerI think these three sisters jumped the highest I have ever seen for a jumping photograph of this nature.  Madeira Beach and mother nature provided a very nice backdrop for this family beach sunset portrait session.

John's Pass Madeira Beach Large 12-person Family Beach Portraits Florida

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Just the adults from a John's Pass Beach family portrait session - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe weather was fine all day as I made my way to the beach at John's Pass to meet a 12-person family all from Canada for family beach portraits.  However, once on the beach there were storm clouds everywhere to the south, west and north, but none passed over until the shoot was finished.  Lucky again!  In this shoot I really tried to stress avoiding just having people line up side by side (the picket fence look) and asked for more hands on interaction, like in the above shot.  I placed the man in the pink shirt on the sand first, and then had everyone else stack on top of him.

Sisters having fun on Madeira Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThese sisters needed no prompting to take up a more fun pose on the beach.  The challenge with them was getting them to do something not too crazy with each other!

Just the boys during this Madeira Beach family portrait session - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightOnly the guys in this shot and the best way to keep two active boys under somewhat control is to have them under wraps!

All twelve family members walking down Madeira Beach at John's Pass Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/500thThe whole 12-person family walking down the beach.  Overlap by someone walking too fast is a concern in these shots, so I instructed everyone to walk at the same pace and not get in front of each other.  By the second take they had gotten it down.

Cousins all stacked up on Madeira Beach family portraits Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightNothing like a small stack of cousins as the kids when on their own in front of the lens seemed to be more willing to smile and stay put.

The whole family portrait all 12 on Madeira Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThis was actually the first shot of the evening, everyone together in a large group shot by the sea grass.  Even in this type of shot I encouraged some overlap getting everyone to sit as close to each other as possible to show more emotional connection between the family.

Madeira Beach St Petersburg Florida Family Photography at Sunset

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Family Beach Portraits on Madeira Beach Florida at sunset - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame right & SB-800 @ 1/2 power in frontI met Lisa and her family visiting from Georgia at their condo on Madiera Beach in St. Petersburg Florida for a candid family beach portrait session.  There were never any worries about the weather all day, which is rare for July, but I did not know what the beach would be like on that particular stretch of Madeira either.  Thankfully, there were not that many people and there was some sea grass to use as a background that blocked out the adjacent condos.  

Three generations in this Madeira Beach family portrait in Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThough there was no rain this evening, there were plenty of clouds along the horizon to make for a dynamic background over the Gulf of Mexico.  I personally like a lot of clouds in the sky as opposed to a cloudless sunset only background.  I chose to convert this particular portrait to black & white to add even more impact.

Sea Oats background on Madeira Beach family portraits in Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/10 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightA willingness to get on the sand allows for a wider variety of shots, and the above style photo has been my go to first photo for beach portait sessions letting the sun go down a bit (it's too strong to shoot against an hour before sunset) and making use of the existing flora.

Madeira Beach St Petersburg Candid Portrait 3 Generations Family Photography at Sunset

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Father holds his baby girl in the air at Madeira Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power beside camera & SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame rightI returned to Madeira Beach Florida last week for a family beach portrait session at sunset with a three generation family.  There has been very unpredictable rain this July here in Florida, but two early day rain showers allowed for a nice clear sky with plenty of clouds for an ideal backdrop.  I made use of that great sunset in the above photo of a father holding his baby girl high up in the air.  I have made this kind of shot a few times before (see here), but I tried a new strobist lighting position that produced the best results yet.

Black & White family beach portrait on Madeira Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightI like clouds in the sky for a beach portrait session, and all the ones in the above shot in my view add drama to the overall family portrait.  I framed this shot very carefully, so that the viewer would have no idea of the line of hotels just outside the left edge nor all the people walking down the beach just outside the right edge.

Baby Girl at sunset on Madeira Beach Florida candid beach portraits - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 somewhere near the baby as she was roving aroundToward the end of the session we let the baby loose for some truly candid shots, as she never even looked my way once.  That was actually fine with me because I like the results of her looking perhaps at her own reflection in the water or maybe just the sparkle of the setting sun?

Gathered around sunset family beach portrait Madeira Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50m @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThis is a new-ish pose I like for a group of five adults (plus baby ok too) with one person anchoring the entire pose and everyone wrapped around.  Just lining people up like a picket fence makes for a mundane beach portrait to me, so I am always trying to not take the easy way out and encourage the clients to get in the sand and of course interact with each other to produce more personal beach portraits.

Sisters sunset portrait on Madeira Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe same for this shot above of two sisters.  They were just going to stand next to each other, until I used the trusty Posing App to suggest a more sisterly bonding look for the photo.  When this photo is looked at by the sisters twenty years from now, if they were just standing side-by-side, that would evoke no physical feeling, where this photo in contrast will hopefully make them remember what it felt like to hold their sister in their arms.

Photography Tip - take the camera back out of the bag

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Madeira Beach twilight sunset - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/4 ISO 800 1/60th handheld

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I had just finished an hour-long portrait session on Madeira Beach and already packed up my camera and all photography gear.  My hand was on the back hatch of the Lexus to close it shut.  Yet I could see through the windshield a beautiful twilight sunset . . . but I was tired.  All my camera was already back in its bag.  I just had to close the hatch and get in the comfortable driver's seat and head home to shower and dinner.  Then I told myself in my mind what anyone who thinks themselves a photographer should think: 

  • Don't be lazy, a REAL photographer would make the effort to get the shot 

I took my hand off the back hatch, pulled my camera bag to the edge, opened it, took out my Nikon D300, took the lens cap off and was now once again ready to shoot.  You may note one lingering laziness, I did not use my tripod.  I handheld the above shot, but at 1/60th a second that is not hard to do if using proper DSLR holding technique.  

After taking about a dozen shots of various composition, I felt satisfied that I had both not been lazy and got the shot I wanted.  The portrait session was for my client and my business, the last sunset silhouette shots were just for me.  Even if you have already put your camera back in your bag, do not hesitate to take it back out and get a shot if you see one.  That's what a real photographer does.

DSLR Photography Lesson #2 with Malissa at John's Pass Village Canon 7D

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Malissa waiting for a great blue heron to show its head at John's Pass Village - DSLR Photography LessonFor my second DSLR Photography Lesson with Malissa (1st lesson) we met at John's Pass Village on Madeira Beach.  We started out having a review session on the four primary settings one needs to know how to set for making any given photograph.  This time Malissa brought a notepad and took detailed notes as I gave default settings to use for photographing children's sports, how to get a good exposure indoors, etc.  

After our chat we walked down the long row of shops along the main street of John's Pass Village looking for a good palm tree to photograph to send to one of Malissa's friends who lives in a much colder climate.  This was a chance to show the decision making process for which lens to use (wide or long) and what surrounding foreground elements to include, or not include, in the composition.  

We later had a chance to try some wildlife photography as there are many birds hanging out on the boardwalk and this time some dolphins playing just around the pilings also!  I suggested that Malissa zoom in tight on a great blue heron sitting on a rooftop, as showing it standing on metal would take the viewer out of nature thinking.  So if you can see only bird in the shot, even if you have to compose its feet out of the frame, that is much better than letting some humanmade object intrude.

John's Pass Village on that afternoon provided us with a very good variety of subject matter to practice shooting with.  Now with this second lesson of knowledge and her notes I look forward to seeing some of Malissa's improved action and nature shots! 

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    • Madeira Beach St Petersburg Candid Portrait Family Photography at Sunset

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    Madeira Beach St. Petersburg Florida - Bliss Family watches the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico

    Over the winter I made a couple of visits to the section of Madeira Beach across from John's Pass Village.  I noted that it may make a good location for a future family beach portrait session because of its long stretch of empty beach, seawall and most of all the newly completed drawbridge.  Well, now that temps are in the high 70s the beach was no longer deserted and the seawall was covered with anglers.  However, it remained a good location as the drawbridge was mostly free of people.  

    Carie recently took a DSLR Photography Lesson and said how she was also interested in family portraits.  I am always very pleased to be able to provide multiple services to the same client.  I met Carie and her family (three kids, one husband) on a warm Saturday evening at the aforementioned Madeira Beach spot.  Carie herself ended up suggesting what turned out to be my favorite shot of the evening (see above).  This is the second family portrait session in a row where this has happened (see first here).

    I was very conscious of reflections during this candid family portrait session.In a candid family beach portrait session I take a few photos of the whole family together, stationary first, then set everyone loose to do what they like on the beach.  Carie's daughters took up a fascination with sailing a leaf down a tidal pool.  Decades ago I first learned how to skimboard in such a section of water.  

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1600th natural light - Madeira BeachCarie's family were great shoreline walkers maintaining a nice even plane (important for keeping everyone in focus) and perfect spacing between each other.  I told them to walk at a good pace too, as it would make for a more natural positioning and final image.  If one walks slowly, motion gets more deliberate and less pleasing to freeze in a frame.

    I wanted a turn myself! -- natural light Madeira Beach 15 minutes before sunsetThere has to be no greater joy for a child than to be tossed up into the air by their father!  Florida's pale blue evening sky always provides a pleasing background for a photo of any subject matter.  

    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/125th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4th power on light stand to frame rightI always like to get one photo of just the parents, which was a quick operation this time as Carie's son is very active and would not stay long in the care of his two big sisters.  The Gulf of Mexico was its typically calm self that evening.

    Up on the drawbridge over John's Pass!Above is the very last shot of the portrait session.  I saved the drawbridge for last, after sunset, thinking the sky will then produce some great color and Mother Nature cooperated with a range of purples to oranges.  

    I had a very good time photographing Carie and her family and trying out a new beach location.  Thanks Carie!