Let the Fall Season Begin on Panama City Beach

During the Fall I find myself shooting a lot more families.  Summer is so stinkin’ hot that those few out-of-towners that brave the melting heat for some family pictures are relative few.  The locals tend to start calling right at the end of September in to October.  First of all they know the weather is going to be slightly cooler and secondly they know the beauty of a fall sunset on our beaches.  Oh, and if you are a local and didn’t know that fall sunsets are the best please let me preach some more.

We were treated to perfect fall conditions this last Sunday at St. Andrew’s State Park.  There were just a couple people walking the shore, very low wind and hardly a cloud in the sky.  We started our session with the sun a little too high so I had us hiding behind a dune.  Mom was so excited “It has been so long since we had family pictures taken”.  I believe I saw her tear up once or twice watching her girls smile and laugh for me.

The sun started its final decent and we quickly moved from one spot on the beach to another getting those most important family pictures.  I even heard Dad “This is actually fun.  I am really surprised”.  Coming from the man of the family that is really nice to hear since they are always the hardest to get in the picture mood.

We all watched the final slices of the sun set and talked about how lucky we are to live in such an amazing place.  I highly encourage those of us locals who haven’t been to the beach in a while to head down to St. Andrew’s about an hour before sunset.  Bring a blanket to sit on, stand on the pier, have some snacks and watch a Fall Sunset on Panama City Beach.

I have to give a little behind the scenes on the above picture trio. Using one of my new child photography tips, I asked the girls what their favorite cartoon character was. Each named a character from Bugs Bunny and so I proceeded to remind them of some funny scenes and even got mom and dad in on the act when needed. Not only do I get genuine laughs out of the kids but it breaks the ice with the parents. The image on the right happened after I asked the girls to stand and give each other a big bear hug. They stumbled down the hill cracking up the whole way. Priceless.