Angelsea Urban | Urban Studios

When you choose a piece of art for your walls, whether it be a painting or frame or tapestry, you are careful to be sure the textures, colors, and sizes will conform to your personal taste in your home. All the more reason to carefully plan the same for your custom family portraits.

“Where should we go for the photoshoot?” is always an important question when planning your experience.  Ideas such as the beach or the park are wonderful, but my goal with this blog series is to show the subtle differences in common locations so that you can choose a location that works perfectly for your family photography experience.
Key questions to ask yourself:

1. Where will these portraits be displayed? 

Will they be in the family room? What color is the room? What style is it? Rustic? Cottage? Industrial? The purpose behind capturing the photos should be for intentionally cultivating the relationships and preserving them through photography, but they are ultimately meant for display, so thinking about where they will be showcased is a key component.

I recently had a client execute this in the most perfect way. They have a sea glass green colored casual family room where they envisioned their family portraits to one day hang. We planned their session at the beach, earlier in the day to get the correct colors. When they received their final product order, including a series of large canvases, they blended perfectly into their room, picking up the colors from the sand and ocean, matching the walls, curtains, decorative bottles and sailboats. 

2. Is there a place or activity that is special, sentimental or significant to the people that will be in the photographs? 

Is your favorite family past time to go the beach? Do you spend every Sunday at the park? The boardwalk? And if so, do you want that location to have a voice in this event – or do you simply want to incorporate the colors or textures? Do you envision your children frolicking in the sand? Picking flowers? Throwing leaves?

You and your family will always be the focus and priority of the photography experience. The activities and memories shared during the session will be directly affected by the location you choose.

PART 1: THE BEACH – Daytime vs. Evening

For Part 1 of this series, this week’s post will focus on one of the most requested locations in my area, the Jersey Shore, or most specifically, Long Beach Island, NJ. 

There are two collections of images below. Both are taken on Long Beach Island, NJ. The major difference is time of day. The first collection is taken earlier in the day. This decision produces portraits that give the Atlantic Ocean a slight Caribbean effect. The water looks lighter and clearer based on the position the light is coming from. The portraits from a session at this time of day have more subdued colors, and mostly pastel tones. Wardrobe consideration should match this theme, lightly colored, pastels, white and neutrals. Cloudy days don’t have a huge effect on this look, and the colors are pretty consistent whether clear or cloudy. The black & white portraits from this decision produce a “light” tone based mostly on shades of light grey and white. The sand converts to a light grey and the waters, a medium grey. The finished black & white portrait is soft, neutral and subdued.

The second collection of images, also taken on Long Beach Island, NJ were taken just before and during sunset. This produces dramatic portraits with strong colors, highly saturated images with a stronger contrast. The waters turn a deeper blue as the sun sets, until it reflects a deep orange. Wardrobe consideration would be neutrals, whites, pastels, and denim. In Long Beach Island, on the oceanside, there will be no “sun” in your sunset portrait, only the colors produced from the sunset. If you would like the sun directly in your portrait, we would go to a bayside beach instead. On cloudy days, you might be little disappointed – you will likely see colors similar to the “daytime” portraits instead of a dramatic sunset portrait. However, the weather at the Jersey Shore is very unpredictable. If there is a day of high heat and humidity, there might be an even storm that follows. Evening portraits are usually scheduled and chances are they pass just in time for a dramatic, post storm gorgeous sunset. The black & white portraits for this session might have slightly more contrast due to the darker captured colors, but ultimately the sand will convert to a light gray and the waters a medium grey. The finished black & white portrait is neutral and subdued, but blends in seamlessly into the color collection.

I hope this information was helpful to clients and photographer friends making these decisions this summer. Feel free to pass along and check back next week for Part 2: The Park

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East Coast Fine Art Lifestyle Family Portrait Photographer Angelsea Urban 

Angelsea Urban is a photographer and entrepreneur helping women use their creative gifts to nourish their homes and cultivate their businesses through practical stewardship. Her unique photography work focuses on Redefining the Family Portrait Experience by telling the story of  family through personalized foundations while creating a space to strengthen family bonds throughout the experience. Angelsea has helped the careers of photographers, restaurateurs, musicians and general small business owners through teaching, workshops and consulting. Her ministry work focuses on fostering creative gifts in women entrepreneurs to prioritize family and discipleship. She has photographed for families, brides, Bravo TV, NFL Films, and more and has been featured on multiple blogs and magazine print for her work in photography and in business. Angelsea teaches and photographs the United States, and resides with her husband of 17 years, their two children, and their barely 3 pound Yorkie near Long Beach Island, New Jersey.  

To book your session with Angelsea Urban, please visit www.angelseaurban.com

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