Shooting a Lakeside Maternity and Family Session at Golden Hour in Raleigh, NC
North Carolina is blessed to have so many beautiful outdoor settings, from the mountains to the coast. There are tons of parks, lakes, and other natural areas that are fun to explore and enjoy. This mama reached out and said she really wanted a water backdrop for her maternity photos. At first, I was at a loss. Water? We are two hours west from the closest beach. Luckily, the many lakes in the Triangle area (Raleigh - Durham - Chapel Hill) gave us plenty to choose from. However, shooting at bodies of water can be tricky. Here are some things I took into account when choosing this location.
Since the sun would be setting over the water, there were three options to try and compensate for the light. One, you could have harsh lighting with no filter from trees. Two, you could bring your own off camera flash to compensate for your clients having their backs to the sun. Or, three, which is what I chose, I took the images right at “golden hour.” Golden hour is that hour of time before sunset where the sun is low in the sky with flattering, soft light.
The first location I went to on this lake was a very open space, which is fine, but I was looking for at least one tree I could use to filter the light. I drove a bit more and found this little area with exactly one tree I could use. It is still early spring so there is not a lot of leaves on the trees yet, so I was happy when this tree provided just the right amount of filter. Later in the evening, the sun went behind the line of trees in the background and gave me even more filtration for that beautiful glow.
You want to be careful any time you are shooting near bodies of water with children. Their son was 5, so I wasn't too worried about him, but if you are working with toddlers, you would need to make sure everyone is keeping eyes on the littles at all times. There was a dock in the background, and we tried to shoot some photos there, but the sun was just too harsh. Not to mention that the dock was super rocky and I didn’t feel safe having the whole family on it (and honestly, I was afraid I would fall in without being able to pay attention to all my surroundings as I was shooting).
All in all, this was such a beautiful maternity session. It was a bit windy on this particular day, but, I think it added a bit of dimension to her dress as it moved it. Movement always makes a photograph more interesting, in my opinion. If you are interested in a lakeside maternity or family session in Raleigh, NC, please reach out!
