ALl the fun on their Annual Family Getaway
Wow! This was a fun session to say the least. And what a great idea - book the airBnB and then book the family photo session. I absolutely LOVE how this family gallery has come together. The combination of full sun, sun flares and then the beautiful, gentle pastel tones of sunset. What a stunning way to honour your family legacy.
I am here for it!
EVERY SESSION HAS A BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END...
We started the session off at the AirBnB accommodation where this beautiful family were staying for their annual Coolum/Peregian get away. We were treated with an incredible whale performance from the balcony before we set off down to the beach. This session was held at the end of October so getting close to the end of the whale migration but boy oh boy these whales were waving, splashing and having a good ole play not too far from shore.
We then made our way slowly through the beach track and popped out on the dunes. Of course an impromptu dance off was the way to go at this point with parents joining in and watching on with delight.
the middle
Whilst I will be the first to admit it, there were points throughout the session that the boys weren't having a bar of it. And look - this happens! I have a bunch of tricks up my sleeve that if the kiddos aren't vibing with something I suggest then I simply move onto the next thing. It isn't a time for the parents to stress and worry and encourage the kids into it. Trust me when I say you will get photos that are much more genuine and true to your fam when we roll this way.
For example, we looked for shells, got the soccer ball out, had running races, spun around and played games where the parents had to chase the kids and anything that wasn't working was quickly subbed out for the next activity in mind. I always like to burn some energy for the little ones in the first half of the session and it is generally pretty easy to do so by following their lead as they are always keen to explore their surroundings.
After all that activity we turned the excitement levels down a notch with my aim to get some more snuggly and detail shots of the family connections with one another. First up, we headed for the dunes (always careful at this time of year when our slithery friends are on the move) and found some beautiful native flowers nestled in the sand. A gentle invitation to prompt the eldest boy to pick a flower. When my aim is to slow the session down I like to provide prompts to involve the senses. Here are some examples and you can interchange flower with shell or anything you find given your surroundings.
What colour is the flower?
Does it smell?
How many petals does it have?
Can you show mum or dad?
Will we get mum or dad to smell it?
Have you got a pocket you can keep your treasure in?
IF you do happen to be at a beach and you find a shell my absolute favourite prompt during the calm part of the session is to ask if they can hear the ocean in the shell and to then hold it up to mum or dad's ear. Cue cutest photos ever.
We then sat down for a family snuggle and spoke about favourite songs. Check out the pure joy from the youngest below when we landed on 'Happy Birthday'. Once the kids got the wriggles we moved back to the sand and practiced some letter writing and drawing. Not before stopping for some epic portraits of mum and dad on the dunes. Love the power of negative space in imagery.
The End
At the very end of the session I set up my underwater camera housing and we splashed in the shallows together for the last 20 or so minutes of the session and gosh I am so glad I did. I generally always reserve this activity until the end of the session because wet kids = cold kids which = unhappy kids. It turned the whole session around and the post swim cuddles were divine. See what I mean below.
Now, the details:
Timing: Golden hour - we kicked this session off at 4:45pm at the end of October
Location: North Peregian Beach
Weather: Light NE wind and a small amount of cloud cover
Gear: Canon R6 + Canon L series 1.4 35mm lens PLUS Aquatech underwater housing with 65mm lens port using my Canon 5D Mark II + Canon USM 1.8 50mm lens
