Starting with family photos under the Manhattan Beach Pier

We started with family photos under the Manhattan Beach Pier, with the daughter holding some flowers. Look at that laugh!

Using a Tent in Family Photos

Here is a tent that they made for the family photo session, for their cute little baby boy.

A most unique Manhattan Beach sunset

Here is the instagram post that day of Judy shooting this family:

That post is taken with her cellphone, so you can see what we had to start with. Oh and Judy was super duper pregnant with Hayden at that time.

We had them walk it out along the beach waterline.

And how cute are these mommy daughter family photos!?

More Manhattan Beach Family Photos

As the sun set under the clouds and smoke in the background, we got more remotely lit family photos with sun fading away.

And here are some super cute daddy daughter photos.

We went back to our little picnic setup with the blanket, tent, and stuffed animal toys.

And more family photos of everyone all together before wrapping up the shoot.

Family Photos – Manhattan Beach

Here is a great example of Manhattan Beach family photography in Los Angeles County, but also a great example of how a good photographer can take advantage of a unique situation. The sunset that day was very unique due to the huge wildfire happening in Orange County that day. The smoke drifted out over the ocean, giving a soft haze that the sun would diffract through. We saw other family photographers that day that didn’t use any light to take advantage of that unique scenario. This leads to images with a white background (like the ones seen above of the family walking along the beach), which has a place and makes for good photos. But the difference between a good photographer and a great photographer is in that ability to adapt and capture that moment and setting.

Make sure to look around our blog for more examples of Manhattan Beach family photos, along with family photography with sunsets.

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Starting Maternity Photography at Victoria Beach

We started with some maternity photos in the “swash zone,” or where the water comes in and out of the beach.

Because of how beautiful the clouds already looked before the sunset even started, we busted out our remote lighting early in the pregnancy photos to get that dramatic and unique look.

Maternity Photos in Laguna Beach Tidepools

We then captured them standing in tide pools at Victoria Beach, getting the light reflection in the still water along with the green from the algae. We advise each person to be careful to not disturb the wildlife, while also pointing out the sea animals in the tide pools. We find that with an understanding and love of a natural environment comes a respect for it.

Beach Sunset Maternity Photos

And the sun started to set with a strong yellow hue…

…that was surrounded by dramatic clouds and a blue sky.

And here is where the sunset really starts to come in, where the horizon and the layers of atmosphere soften the intensity of the sun.

Here is the half-disk sunset as it finally dips below the horizon.

They brought one of the baby toys to pose with it.

Along with other props like letters and the name of their baby, Penelope.

We ended the maternity photos with a blue hour (after the sunset) photo with a backlight.

Laguna Beach Maternity Photography

This is a great example of how we handle a beautiful Orange County sunset during a Laguna Beach maternity photography portrait session. Victoria Beach is one of the best beaches for pregnancy photos and is also the most common one that they issue photography permits for. Our expecting mother wore a light green or turquoise maternity dress, which was light and airy along with comfortable (very important for our pregnant mothers). Make sure to look around our blog for more examples of maternity photos with pregnant mothers.

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Starting the Maternity Photos with a Stuffed Toy

We started the pregnancy photos with a stuffed animal for their little baby girl.

Here are pregnancy photos of our pregnant mother holding a pink parasol umbrella, wearing a two-tone white and red maternity dress.

San Dimas Maternity Photography in a Field

This serene and natural field surrounded by trees framed our loving couple perfectly.

Maternity Photos by a San Dimas Stream

We then took them to a nearby stream for more pregnancy photos. We always worry about the safety of our pregnant couples, so we brought a safe bug spray without deet.

Changing her Maternity Dress

And then we got more maternity photos next to a fallen tree or log. She switched her maternity dress to a more muted pink and turquoise dress.

And the name of the baby girl … ABBY! A convenient anagram for baby.

They also brought the printout of the sonogram as a prop for the maternity photography portrait session.

Maternity Photos San Dimas

This is a San Dimas maternity photography portrait session at Walnut Creek Park. Our pregnant couple brought lots of props and accessories, including a baby elephant stuffed animal, wooden blocks that spell the baby’s name (Abby), a printout of the sonogram, and a pink parasol umbrella. Our pregnant mother wore a two-tone white and red maternity dress for the first half of the session. For the second half, she switched to a pink and turquoise maternity dress. When changing outfits, we always recommend timing it correctly and accurately, since we’d rather be taking more pregnancy photos than waiting for clothing changes. More than one change during a session is not recommended due to time restraints. San Dimas is our hometown, and we offer discounted prices for sessions done here locally.

Please look around to see many more articles of maternity and family photography on our blog. We have all of our articles tagged and organized, so you can narrow down your searches, for example, to only photo portraits of pregnant families. Judy is great with capturing and working with pregnant mothers and families, especially since we have been pregnant ourselves (we have two beautiful daughters).

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