
Choosing The Right Time of day for Your Family Photos in Pinehurst and the Southern Pines area.
You've made the important decision to take professional photos here in the Southern Pines and Pinehurst area, and we've nailed down the right date that works for your family's schedule. It's time to talk one of the most important elements of all: the timing of your shoot.

Most of us are well-versed in golden hour, the photographers dream time at the beginning of the day when the sun rises as well as the last hour of the day before the sunsets. Photographers prefer shooting at golden hour for a number of reasons-the light is even on our subjects, it is very flattering for all skin types, and we love the light effects we can achieve with sun flares or light leaks (self proclaimed light geek over here!).
But the truth is, depending on the time of year golden hour can be a bit problematic for families. Spring, summer, and fall are popular time for outdoor family photo shoots. Everyone loves the flowers, leaves, or beach scenes as their backdrop, but for families this often means the sunset sets past their young kid's bedtimes! If you have young children that aren't quite as flexible with their bedtime, I encourage you to consider scheduling earlier in the spring before the time change or later in the fall. For most families, this means we can shoot around 5:30 and give you plenty of time to head back home for baths and bedtimes at a reasonable hour! If scheduling at this time of year doesn't give with your family's schedule, it is no sweat. The solution to happy kids up a little bit later in the evening is to push that nap back for just one day. By letting them sleep a little later for naptime, you will be able to keep them up for the shoot. Also, snacks. All the snacks.
