Oregon Coast Family Photography

I’ve helped many families plan a session at the Oregon Coast and I’m never not amazed by the pure scenic beauty. The textures of the grassy dunes, the mountains, the forested beaches; truly a photographers dream. Wide open spaces like this are the perfect space for kids to run around and be themselves. It’s easy for me to spot opportunities for families to intereact with eachother and capture those wonderfully candid moments.

Planning a Familiy photoshoot at the oregon Coast

Location

I work closely with my clients when choosing the best beach location for their family session. The best coastal locations have a variety of scenery (i.e. forest and beach). Most of my sessions are less than an hour long and it’s great to get different backdrops throughout our shoot in such a short period of time. Thankfully the Oregon coast has many beaches with beautiful dune grass hills and forests next to the ocean.

Low tide

Scheduleing our session at or near sunset is a must when shooting at the Oregon Coast. The light in the last few hours of the day will give your family photos a lovely, lumious glow. Low tide is another factor that can make for gorgeous photos on the beach. Some of my favorite Oregon Coast beaches for family photoshoots are only accessible at low tide. I always look up the Oregon Coast tide chart before scheduleing a session and try to pick a date where the low tide mark syncs up with the sunset.

Time of year

The best time of year for family photos at the Oregon Coast is in the Summer months from June to September. This is when the weather is most predictable, although, I always like to plan for a “rain day” in case we have to reschedule. That being said, the coast is typically warmer than Portland in the Winter months and there can be beautiful sunny days at the coast January – May as well! If you’re heart is set on having your family session at the coast in the winter months, we can find a good weather window and make it happen!