Q:  Why Sunrise?

A:  There are MANY benefits for shooting our beach portraits at sunrise but I will name a few here.  

• The beach is not crowded.  Without having to dodge other beach goers, your gallery of images will more likely include gorgeous pull back and wide-angle shots of the setting.  Sunrise also allows for more variety in your poses because we have more flexibility with the background.  Sure there will be the occasional surfer or shell searcher but one or two people can easily be removed from your images during post processing.  Crowds are much more difficult to work with.
• If you have little ones, they are generally in a much better mood in the mornings as opposed to the late sunset time of summer.  Meltdowns commonly increase the closer we get to bedtime after fun days on vacation.  Now husbands are another story.  Break the 6am news gently.  ;)
• Painterly Skies.  Need I say more?!  The sunrise skies on the NC coasts just can't be beat!
• Less humid (Your hair will thank you!) and typically there are less pop-up showers or thunderstorms at sunrise very the storms that arise fairly commonly in the afternoon at the beach.  
• You will beat the breakfast crowd!  Ok, so maybe that's just one of my favorite perks of sunrise sessions, but we will finish our shoot around 6:45-7 which means you will have your pick of eating at those usually PACKED restaurants :D  AND, you have the rest of your day to do whatever you want on your vacation instead of taking up one of your limited evenings for pictures.  
• I could go on and on but I think you get the point.  Sunrise ROCKS!

Q:  What do we wear?

A:  Ok, this is a tougher one!  Remember, not everyone has to match perfectly.  Think of your entire group as one big outfit and coordinate 2-3 colors within your pieces.  To get started, think about the colors that you see at the beach (sand, water, sky.....ie whites, browns, tans, khakis, blues, greens, corals, etc.)  These are grouping jumping points and will match well in the setting.  Pinterest is a great tool to search for family beach portraits and see lots of good examples for colors that harmonize together within a group.  As far as footwear, most go barefoot, but if you are wanting shoes, I recommend cute sandals as opposed to socks and tennis shoes.  Most of all, make sure you are comfortable.  We will do a variety of poses from standing to sitting so make sure you try on your outfits and move around in them before hand to make sure they are a good fit!  If weight is a concern, avoid tight fitting clothing and sleeveless.    

There is typically an ocean breeze most of the time near the water.  Consider this with your hair!  Bobby pins are always great to have on hand, and a half up/half down style for long hair can be a good idea.