“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” – Ansel Adams
Booking summer Family Portraits and High School Senior photos on the beautiful beaches of Cape Cod!!
They’re all yours for a week or two, that’s cause for celebration in and of itself!
Booking a Cape Cod Portrait Session
Cape Cod beach portraits by Sarah Jane Thornington of The Studio by the Sea are taken the hour or so before sunset, or at sunrise, June through October. Those times of the day are when we find the perfect light for portraiture and helps us to create a portrait you will always treasure.
When you’re ready to book and have checked your dates and found out about all we offer, we ask for a $375. deposit to hold the date for you, the session fee. For senior portraits it’s also $375., the session plus a $100. deposit. We can accept payment online, in person, through the mail, whatever’s easy and works for you. Once your date is booked you’re all set. All of our portraits are by appointment only, and although we book months in advance, please don’t hesitate to call if you haven’t pre-booked. You never know, we may have had a cancellation or might have a rain date that wasn’t used.
What to Expect from your Session
We work with you to find out what it is you’re looking for. In general, our clients choose us because our family portrait sessions include some beautifully and naturally posed family photos, and different groupings within the family – maybe just the kids, each children alone, whatever combinations you may want. We also always take some more storytelling or interactive images of your family enjoying being together, capturing the relationships within the family. These storytelling images may include sandcastles or writing in the sand, or kites, or whatever will make your portrait perfect for you. The interactive portraits are always some of my favorite images from the session, they are the ones where the true love between you all really shows. I love capturing smiles and laughter that’s created by simply being together and enjoying each others company. Photographing life.
In multi-generational portraits we take each individual family, and the grandparents with their grand kids the cousins together, and if it’s a celebratory anniversary, the happily married couple! We always take some where the emphasis is on each other rather than the camera, and again those images where you’re laughing and hugging and talking and just being silly and enjoying the togetherness are incredibly special.
Our senior portraits are all about you, the senior. Choose a location you love, bring props, or don’t, wear ballet shoes and dance in the ocean, bring your football jacket, bring a ball or instrument, or pet… Dress formal or casual. Whatever you like. Whoever you want to show the world you are at this moment in time. There’s no one else like you in the whole world, let’s celebrate that. Let’s celebrate you. All of our senior sessions include a yearbook photo if you can use it in your yearbook.
Cape Cod Weather
Everyone on Cape Cod says, if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute… for a reason. It’s a quirky place we live. Because of knowing what happens here, we don’t cancel our sessions until 3:00 pm on the day of the session for weather related cancellations. The light after a storm or rain can be some of the most spectacular. We do cancel for rain, thunder and lightning, or extreme wind. Bright sun, filtered sun, fog, overcast, cloudy, sunny, partly sunny, are all gorgeous conditions and we can create beautiful portraits for you. If the weather doesn’t cooperate on your scheduled day, we can try to find a mutually agreeable alternate date, find an alternate location or if we’re unable to reschedule or relocate, we will refund all fees paid. Cancellations by the client, not due to weather, made within one month of the session date will not be refunded.
Once you’ve booked your Cape Cod portrait session
We’ll chat about what you’re looking for, and give you ideas about clothing, and all sorts of things, we’ll walk you through the entire thing. Some of our clients get photographed every year or two, some it may be their first time, and we understand there are a lot of things you want to know. We’re always here to help.
For clothing, you should start by deciding where your portrait is going to hang and make sure that the style and colour of your outfits go with the décor. We recommend earth tone clothing at the beach, tans, whites, pinks, light blues, pale yellows and greens, etc. (unless of course you’re matching a specific colour scheme and then the skies the limit) and prefer longer sleeves and pants, capris are great for the women, pants for the men, please try to avoid mini-skirts! Solids are generally best in large groups for the majority, though a bit of pattern looks great, these guidelines are especially for the adults. Props are great for more storytelling type portraits; props you might consider; your dog, sand pails and shovels, toy boats, kites, tea sets, etc.
Viewing of your beach portraits can be done here at our Main Street, Hyannis studio the day or two after your portrait, viewing sessions will be scheduled at the time your session is booked and are available during weekdays only, late afternoons/evenings are reserved for the beach sessions and weekends for portrait sessions. This will be your viewing and ordering session, so all decision makers should be present. Or, we can of course, show your images online if we aren’t able to go through them together.
Call or email the Studio anytime with questions, or for additional recommendations.
isn’t it time for your Cape Cod family portrait?
The Studio by the Sea, Cape Cod Beach Portraits
508.775.2552 hello@thestudiobythesea.com
