All the Way from Austria: A Carmel River Beach Family Session

Vacation family photos in Carmel are most of my summer, and this evening was one of my favorites. This family flew in from Austria, we met at Carmel River Beach for the last hour of daylight, and everybody kicked their shoes off and made a whole evening out of a gray sky.

If you’re planning vacation family photos in Carmel while you’re visiting, this is pretty much how it goes. You’re here for a week, you have one open evening in the middle of it, and you want photos of your people in the place you’ve been talking about all year.

Their kids were not too cool for it

Both of their kids are at the age where a family session can go sideways fast. Nobody rolled their eyes at me. They walked into the water, they ran down the sand holding hands with their parents, and the whole thing turned loud and happy about four minutes in.

I love this family. Warm and funny from the first minute, and nothing in this gallery is anybody performing for me.

Christoph and Barbara got a few minutes of their own

I almost always pull the parents away for a little while. The kids wander off to do their own thing, and Mom and Dad get to be a couple again for a few frames. These two danced. He dipped her in the middle of the sand with the lagoon behind them and neither of them cared who was watching.

What a gray evening actually does for your photos

We didn’t get the orange sunset. We got a low ceiling of clouds sitting over the water, and I was so happy about it. Overcast light is soft and even, so nobody is squinting into the sun and no harsh shadow is cutting across a face. The colors go quiet and a little moody, which is my favorite way to photograph this coastline. I said the same thing after a foggy couples session at this beach.

If you’re visiting in summer, plan on some version of this. The marine layer comes and goes on its own schedule and it doesn’t care what your calendar says. Come anyway.

Why Carmel River Beach works so well for visiting families

At Carmel River State Beach you get the ocean on one side and the river lagoon on the other, plus a stretch of rock above the sand for a completely different look, and all of it sits within a few minutes of walking. Nobody’s hiking a tired kid down a cliff. There’s a parking lot at the end of Carmelo Street, so you can pull in, walk down, and start.

It’s also five minutes from town, which matters more than people think. You finish at last light and you’re sitting down to dinner in Carmel-by-the-Sea twenty minutes later, sandy feet and all. There is more about shooting here on my Carmel-by-the-Sea family photography page. If you’re still deciding where to shoot, I keep a running list of my favorite family photo locations on the Monterey Peninsula, and a what to wear guide for beach sessions. This family wore soft whites and creams with khaki, and it looked beautiful against all that gray.

Planning vacation family photos in Carmel?

Whether you’re flying in from Austria or driving down for the weekend, I’d love to hear what your trip looks like. You can see more of what I do as a Carmel family photographer here. You can reach me through my contact page, or text me at 831-328-3113 and we’ll find a time and a spot that works for your crew.