On Sunday, I offered to shoot an updated portrait for my sister and her family. We talked about styles and locations and decided a walking shot on the beach would be the most suited to the families ’style.’ I did a location scout the day before around the bays in Wellington. The best choice in terms of proximity and rugged beauty was Breaker Bay.
It was a great choice except for a few details- firstly, it was also the postponement date for a mass nude photo shoot! Breaker Bay is like Baker Beach in San Francisco, it is the cities unofficial nude beach. Their were people walking past in the background in long shots. Also distracting were the nudists finished with their shoot who decided to go swimming next to where were were when they were done with their shoot. Quite distracting for young boys having women stripping off naked and jumping into the waves.
We managed to get past those details- walking further on into a deserted section. The sand was soft which made for a difficult walking shot- the Kiwi’s soldiered on and did really well despite this challenge. Because it was family and the kids all knew me so well, it was difficult to do more of the formal portraits I normally like to do. The teenage element meant that uncool cheesy poses were abandoned in favor of natural shots. This is more stressful for a photographer, but when these types of shots work, they are really good. Here are some of the better ones from the shoot:
A casual walking shot with some of the rugged rocks of Breaker Bay in the background
Of all the kids in the world, this one I would never get sick of photographing!
A rare posed moment - good to at least try and get some while the guys are co-operative...
This moment happened as the family were prepairing for a walking shot- a big wave came in and the youngest to noticed it and looked over to check it out.
All the elements coming to gether in a walking shot- makes for a natural family portrait in the setting 5 mins from where the family live.
