Beach portraits are hugely popular here in coastal Maine. But they are often extremely challenging. You have got to get the timing just right or you’re dealing with sun that is too bright or wind that whips the hair all over or high tide that eliminates all of the sand. Thankfully here in Scarborough we have many beach options to choose depending on the time and weather.

Ferry Beach is one of my favorites, but it can prove difficult for family portraits because of how it is situated. When Kelly asked for pictures at the beach, Ferry was the easiest for us to scoot over to in the short time we had. And boy did we get lucky with just the right amount of overcast sky and wind. Ferry is great because there are some nice dunes (with paths so we aren’t causing any damage them by walking into them) to use when the wind is too much as it was on this day. I’ve been photographing these kids for a while now, and the familiarity really helps to put them at ease and give us natural expressions.

Many thanks to these three for being such good sports and sitting in the sharp dune grass. The results are totally worth it!