style your family photo shoot

We are Family

It’s not often that we can have a family photo as it’s either Andreas or myself taking the photos! Setting up a tripod for a photo with the little one can also be challenging and we are always after a much more spontaneous look, rather than a posed one. Thank goodness that we have Klaus! Klaus is a friend with a passion for photography. He’s still in the hobby phase of it. He puts up with our demands and produces some gorgeous images for us which we are proud to share with you all. Being the perfectionist that I am, I edit the photos myself. I’m sure that Klaus would have done a great job too : ).

If you haven’t guessed already, the beach is our ultimate location for photography. With the simplicity of the beach as our backdrop, we can make our subjects the focus. There are so many gorgeous beaches around Melbourne to choose from. This time we chose the other end of Black Rock Beach, the quieter end which is to the left when heading down towards the carpark. The rocks were a nice feature for our photos.

Use a photoprop

Andreas had shot a wedding the previous day and came home with this huge balloon. We just had to use it! Funny how a single balloon makes the photo shoot fun. It would have been great to have a whole bunch of them – but at $40, we’re happy to go with the one we received.  You could use a sun umbrella or a beach tent. For the kids, simple things like a bucket and spade make great photo props. Building a sand castle is a great activity for a family to be photographed doing together and the sandcastle would be the ultimate photo prop for a beach photo shoot! Don’t be afraid to get a little wet and walk in the surf!

My 13 year old daughter was very co-operative, to put on a pretty dress rather than her usual cut-off denim shorts. What’s it with those denim shorts? It’s all that teenagers are wearing nowadays. I might have to do a feature on them soon. The little one is just happy to be digging in the sand. I personally love the feel of the sand between my toes and to walk in the sea. For Andreas, a family photo is just wonderful. We’re going to try and make it a yearly thing (see our last years shoot here).

Style your shoot

The tones chosen for this shoot were black, white and blue. When dressing for a family photo shoot, we don’t want colours or patterns to clash. When wearing clothing with patterns, we consider the location of the photo shoot. Barefoot is the way to go with beach shoots. We did shoot a wedding couple on the beach where the bride strode along in her heels!

The bird print shirt worn by the little one was just perfect. I’m wearing a silk dress from David Lawrence with a Jigsaw belt. My daughter is wearing a lace dress from Valley Girl. Andreas is wearing a H&M shirt and the little one’s bird shirt is a Target number. Both my men rolled up their denim pants which gave them a beachy look.

best family photography Melbourne

baloon at the beach - girl holding big balloon at the beach - photo prop

couple at the beach

dancing at the beach

family fun at the beach - simplicity

beach styling

beach

family photography

beach photography - big balloon

Melbourne family

three of us - family photo with photo prop

boy at the beach with balloon