Ready for Your Panama City Beach Family Photos?

If your family is visiting Panama City Beach this August, don’t let the summer heat scare you away from creating photographs of the trip.

The key is simply working with Florida instead of fighting Florida.

Choose the right time.

Dress comfortably.

Bring water.

Arrive early.

Let the kids be kids.

And let the sunset do what it does best.

Spedale Jr. Photography LLC specializes in family beach photography, senior photography, couples, and sunset portraits in the Panama City Beach area.

If you are already coming to the beach, you might as well take a piece of that sunset home with you.

Book your Panama City Beach sunset photography session with Spedale Jr. Photography LLC.

Is August Too Hot for Beach Photos in Panama City Beach?

The short answer?

No—but I definitely would not recommend standing your family on the beach in the middle of the afternoon.

August in Panama City Beach, Florida, is hot. There is no magical photography trick that makes Florida forget it is summer.

But there is a huge difference between photographing a family under the blazing afternoon sun and photographing that same family as the sun begins dropping toward the Gulf of Mexico.

That last stretch of daylight can completely transform the beach.

The harsh white light softens.

The sand begins losing some of its heat.

The sky starts picking up yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and sometimes those dramatic Florida storm clouds that make a photograph look almost painted.

That is why I am such a believer in sunset beach photography.

The Secret Is Timing

One of the biggest mistakes people make when thinking about beach photos is assuming that more daylight means better photography.

It does not.

At midday, the sun is high, bright, hot, and unforgiving.

You can get deep shadows around the eyes, squinting, shiny skin, uncomfortable children, and a beach that feels more like a frying pan than a portrait location.

Near sunset, everything begins changing.

The sun gets lower.

The direction of the light becomes more flattering.

The Gulf and sky begin reflecting color.

Most importantly, your family is not trying to smile while being cooked by the Florida sun.

For most of my beach sessions, the light immediately before sunset is where the magic begins.

August Heat Is Another Reason Shorter Sessions Work

A family photo session does not have to turn into a two-hour production.

Especially with children.

In fact, sometimes the longer you photograph a young child, the fewer genuine expressions you get.

There is usually a window where everyone is fresh, excited, listening, laughing, and enjoying themselves.

That is the window I want.

For many families, a professionally planned 15- or 30-minute sunset session can produce plenty of beautiful photographs without exhausting everyone.

I would rather have 15 great minutes with happy kids than 60 minutes where the last 40 are spent negotiating with a four-year-old who has officially resigned from the family.

Parents know exactly what I mean.

Dress for Florida, Not Pinterest

This is an important one.

An outfit may look incredible online.

That does not mean it belongs on a Florida beach in August.

Choose lightweight, breathable clothing.

Think:

• Linen
• Cotton
• Lightweight dresses
• Loose-fitting shirts
• Comfortable shorts or pants
• Clothing that allows children to move

You can still coordinate the family without everyone wearing identical outfits.

Soft whites, creams, blues, tans, pastels, and natural colors generally blend beautifully with the sand, water, and sunset.

Most importantly, wear something you can actually breathe in.

If Dad is wearing three layers because somebody found an inspirational beach photo on Pinterest, Dad may not be feeling very inspirational after ten minutes.

Bring Water

This seems obvious until everyone is rushing out of the condo trying to get to the beach before sunset.

Bring water.

Especially for children.

You do not need to drag a giant cooler through the sand.

A couple of cold bottles waiting nearby can make a tremendous difference.

Let everyone get hydrated before we start so we can spend the session making photographs instead of searching for the nearest drink.

What About Humidity?

Welcome to Florida.

Humidity comes with the territory.

For hair, I recommend planning for movement instead of fighting it.

Beach portraits should feel like the beach.

A little wind moving through someone’s hair can actually make a photograph feel alive.

For makeup, lighter and more natural usually works extremely well for family sessions. Heavy makeup combined with Florida humidity can become uncomfortable quickly.

And if you wear glasses, your photographer should be paying attention to reflections from the sky, sun, flashes, and surrounding environment.

Those little details matter.

What If There Are Clouds?

People sometimes arrive at the beach, see clouds and immediately think:

There goes the sunset.

Not necessarily.

As a photographer, clouds can be some of my favorite things to see.

A completely empty blue sky can be beautiful.

But clouds give the setting sun something to illuminate.

That is where you can suddenly get layers of orange, pink, red, purple, and gold stretching across the sky.

Some of the most dramatic beach photographs happen when the weather looks questionable earlier in the day.

Florida skies have personality.

Sometimes a boring afternoon turns into an unbelievable sunset twenty minutes later.

What About August Thunderstorms?

Afternoon thunderstorms are simply part of summer along the Florida Panhandle.

They can appear quickly.

They can also disappear quickly.

That is why I do not automatically assume a session is ruined because the weather forecast shows a chance of rain.

Florida weather forecasts during summer can make it look like it will rain every day.

Sometimes it rains miles away while the beach where we are photographing stays completely dry.

Other times a storm rolls through, cools everything down, clears out, and leaves behind an incredible sky.

Safety always comes first, especially when lightning is involved, but a cloudy forecast by itself does not mean your beach session is doomed.

Arrive Early

This may be one of the easiest ways to make your session better.

Do not plan to pull into the parking lot at the exact time your photography session begins.

Beach traffic happens.

Parking takes time.

Kids suddenly need bathrooms.

Someone forgets something.

Shoes disappear.

The GPS occasionally decides your vacation needs an unexpected tour of Panama City Beach.

Give yourself extra time.

I would much rather have a family arrive early, relax for a few minutes, and walk onto the beach ready to have fun.

Don’t Make the Kids Practice Smiling

This may sound strange coming from a photographer.

But please don’t spend the entire day telling your children:

“You better smile tonight.”

By the time they meet me, they may already hate photography.

I want genuine expressions.

Laughing.

Playing.

Walking together.

Parents interacting with their children.

Brothers and sisters being themselves.

Those little in-between moments often become the photographs families love the most.

Your job is to bring your family.

My job is to photograph them.

August Can Actually Be Beautiful

Yes, August is hot.

Yes, Florida is humid.

Yes, there may be an afternoon thunderstorm.

But August also gives us warm Gulf water, long summer evenings, dramatic skies, beautiful clouds, and some spectacular sunsets.

When everything comes together, the beach changes completely during those final minutes of daylight.

The heat fades.

The sky catches fire.

The Gulf reflects the color.

And for a few minutes, Panama City Beach becomes one enormous natural photography studio.

That is the moment I am waiting for.