Frequently Asked Questions

Two things you can count on at the beach: WIND and sand!! Your hair will blow around! Read the section on photoshopping... 

If you don't want sand in "certain places" during a sitting picture, cover it up. If you don't want your bra or tan lines showing, cover it up!

Soft colors and solids photograph better.  Soft colors look great on our white sand beach! Coordinate; not match.  Stay away from bright yellow, red & orange. NO THIN STRIPES! On performance material polo shirts.

In the summer months, men should wear an undershirt. Sweat stains are gross! 

Young ones should practice smiling and giving gentle hugs BEFORE the session! No choking hugs or takedowns (but those can make fun pictures!!)

Young ones should eat before a sunset session (but not in the same outfits for photographs). 

BRUSH TEETH! 

If your little girl is in diapers and wearing a dress, she needs bloomers.

If your baby is drooling, keep a bib on until the session and bring a cloth. 

Consider an afternoon nap (for kids, grumpy men, or those who need to sleep off the beach buzz).

Come prepared to get sandy and wet (Baby powder is great at removing sand, towels, and a change of clothes).

PLEASE, please, please do not give your child treats during the session. Save those treats and rewards for after the session. 

Drinks and snacks are a good idea for young ones and "adult" drinks for the big kids! Bring a cooler! No glass on the beach, please.  

Make a list of configurations (who with whom). We will pose the configurations in different poses. The list is for you, not us. 

FUN!! Come relaxed! If you need to have a glass of wine/beer/margarita, have one (or two or three).  This is your session so let’s make it fun!  We promise to make it as fun and painless as possible. Please tell the men in your session to contain their excitement about the photo session! :)   We want to laugh and have a good time at the photo session and we expect y’all to have fun, too! We will have races, jump, collect sea shells, and investigate starfish! Your kids are going to play in the sand and that is okay! Your kids are going to be silly and that is okay. We are witty, a little sarcastic for the adults, and silly. We know potty humor makes kids laugh. We will joke about farting and birds pooping to get your kids to laugh. You should be silly too! If you are tense, your kids will be tense. RELAX and have fun! This is not a studio session and we like natural, candid poses. Happy and natural photographs well! We will capture your personality and will encourage you to laugh and play. Our sessions are a fun experience. We want your session to be an enjoyable part of your vacation!   

Our style is classic and natural. We like natural colors. You will not see us using “moody” editing and unnatural filters. We want you to cherish these images for years to come and not regret having some unnatural editing on your images.   

Included in the package are general color correction and/or brightness. If you are at a beach of our choice, we'll remove people/objects. We do not Photoshop your hair in every photo to make it look like you are in a studio (because you’re not!). You are on the beach and there is WIND. If you want perfect hair pictures, beach pictures are not for you. We’ll try and place you in the best position possible to minimize the wind but again, you are outside (WIND). Unless you are bald, you will not have perfect hair on the beach (there will be WIND and humidity). We will not switch heads, remove seagulls and seaweed, change backgrounds, etc. These are beach pictures. If you choose to have your session on a crowded beach with buildings, we will not remove those items. We will not edit out tan lines. Since you know you are getting pictures made, wear sunblock (reapply!) paying close attention to those sunglass tan lines on the men!!  If you do not want tan lines or bra straps showing, wear a shirt that covers them up. It is best to book our session early in your stay and use SUNBLOCK!! Our white sand and clear water will make you burn even under an umbrella. 

We can do extra edits for a fee of $25/image.

The best tip we can give parents is to relax! We know sunset can be past some children’s bedtime but it is the best time for photographs unless you want a sunrise session. We will meet one hour before sunset.  That is the only time for beach pictures unless it is VERY overcast (can't predict the weather). The white sand and water will cause a harsh glare and squinting. You do NOT want squinting pictures!! If you want an earlier session and shade, there are a few parks around the bay. We will do sunrise sessions but in the summer that means meeting around 5:45 AM.

Try to be rested, especially children (and grumpy men). A nap and a full belly can do amazing things for children (and grumpy men)! Bring some beverages/snacks if you have a sunset session and your children might get hungry. If you decide to go eat before your session, please do NOT have the children (and grumpy men) wear the outfits for photographs! Yes, you can bring more than one outfit for the session but remember you have purchased a time-limited session. There is no place to change clothes on the beach unless we hold up a towel.  

Practice smiling with your child! If you have multiple children, practice giving gentle hugs and not choke holds. If there is a specific pose you want your husband or significant other to do, show him a picture of the pose.  If you want your children posing together, go ahead and break it to your son that he will have to hold his sister’s hand and sit next to her :)

Wear loose-fitting clothes. There will be some sitting poses.  Do not wear tight short skirts unless you like the feel of sand you-know-where...  Do not wear outfits where your bra strap is showing (unless you are okay with this). If you do not want tan lines, wear something that covers them up. The traditional white shirts with khaki bottoms are very popular because it is easy to have everyone match but it is very overdone. Color looks GREAT on the beach. It is much easier to coordinate (everyone wear a pastel top and khaki bottom) the outfits than match. Stay away from loud, bright prints. I can definitely help you with outfits! Ladies, don't wear a lot of makeup. Apply lightly. Beach shots should be natural.  Your hair will be blowing around in the WIND (yes, there is wind at the beach...). It does not matter how much hair spray you wear. If you want your hair to behave, shave it off… Just kidding! Consider wearing your hair pulled back.  

The short answer is no. Why? In a 30-minute session, we shoot 300+ images. We do this to make sure we get the best possible shot of every pose. We have to account for blinking (wind!), hair blowing (wind!), folks not looking at the camera (men are worse than kids!), etc. Multiple that by having 5,10, or 20 people in your session... Yeah, there's a lot that goes into getting a good picture. We do you the favor of taking out all those pictures where someone is blinking, the duplicates, where Dad is not looking at the camera, and test shots. In today's digital world, we can take many more pictures than when we used film, but the pictures (files) are HUGE.  An unedited picture would be in RAW format. You would not be able to see the pictures in RAW format unless you have a way to convert the files. Sorry, but all pictures taken are not a part of your package. 

You do not "own" all images taken, we do. And, we will use images in advertising. 

What!? It never rains at the beach... Ha! 

The weather here can change in a minute. A 50% rain chance is a typical Summer forecast. 

Canceling a session is a game-time decision.

If it is raining when we arrive at your scheduled session, we will discuss canceling/rescheduling. Rain earlier in the day will not cancel your session. The most beautiful sessions have been after raining. If your session is canceled because of inclement weather, we will do our best to reschedule (makeup could be a sunrise session).  If your session can't be rescheduled because of weather, your deposit will be refunded.

We are NOT going out on the beach if lighting is in the area or if it is raining. 

Restaurants - 

• Cobalt ($$$) - on the water
• Cosmo's
• Luna's
• Avenue Pub - on the water
• GTs on the Bay - kid play area, on the water, outside seating, live music
• Coastal ($$$) - on the Gulf, breakfast - dinner, live music
• The Gulf - all outdoor seating, on the Gulf
• Doc's Seafood - no frills/good seafood. 2 locations
• The Hangout - OK food. Pirates & Princess breakfast, on the Gulf, dance on tables. 
• Big Fish ($$$) 
• FloraBama Yacht Club - outdoor seating only, on the water, live music, and famous Flora-Bama across the street. 
• OSO in Bear Point - on water, live music
• DeSotos (in Gulf Shores) 
• Sunliner Diner - Breakfast in Gulf Shores
• Ruby Slipper - Breakfast
• BuzzCats Coffee & Sweets- Breakfast and ice cream
• Brick & Spoon - Breakfast

Exercise - 

Hugh S. Braynon Backcountry Trails

Anchor Down Crossfit

Glow Yoga

Bike rentals: https://www.infinity-bicycles.com/  and https://beachbikerentalsorangebeach.com/ 

Recreation Centers - 

Bodenhamner Center in Gulf Shores

Orange Beach Recreation Center

Fishing and water activities - 

Eagle Express Charters  - Deep sea charter

Wahoo Watersports  - Deep sea charter and pontoon rentals

Orange Beach Parasail

Happy Harbor Marina - Pontoons (and more) rentals

Orange Beach Boat Rentals  

Dolphin Cruise - 

Cruise Orange Beach

Sunny Lady 

Gulf State Park Nature Center 

Gulf State Park Pier 

The Wharf - Shopping & restaurants. Family-friendly nightly events include a street dance party, fireworks, a movie theater, a Ferris wheel, concerts, and more. Summer  - weekly family events. 

Alligator Alley - Go early in the day (HOT!). Make sure you stay for the alligator feeding  

Tanger Outlet Mall 

The Gulf Shores Zoo 

OWA - Amusement park, indoor waterpark, and shops in Foley  

Minor League Baseball -  Pensacola Blue Wahoos

The Factory - (indoor trampolines) in Gulf Shores. Wednesdays are half-price. 

Waterville USA -  Outdoor water park 

Naval Air Museum - in Pensacola. Check to see if the Blue Angels are practicing!

Child Care Service - Have an adult night out! Contact Cassie Pullman @cassiecares1

Grocery Delivery Service - Shipt, Instacart, and WalMart delivery in the area. Most stores have pickup services.