Glowy Family Photo Shoot | Proctor Family

This glowy family photo shoot in the northern part of San Diego was so much fun! We met the Proctor family a few years ago when Clarissa was a bridesmaid in one of our weddings. Getting to know Clarissa and her adorable family has been such a blessing for us! We have such a great time when we get together for their annual portrait session. These two little bugs are just the sweetest kids! By the end of the night we’re holding hands with the kids and receiving lots of hugs.

How to Achieve a Successful Glowy family Photo Shoot

To create a these types of images, it is important to position your subjects with their backs to the sun. I always do this for a couple of reasons. First of all, you get even light on their faces while avoiding dark shadows. I also love to create a beautiful rim light around my clients from the glow of the sun. If the sun has set or it is a cloudy day, rim light may not be possible.

People are not the only thing in my frame that I am trying to “light up.” It is important to choose the correct background if you want glowy images. The types of trees I prefer to use for portrait backgrounds are ones where the light shines through the leaves. Sycamore trees and birch trees tend to be my first choice. Oak trees and pine trees have dense leaves and needles and do not “glow.”

Also keep in mind the time of the sunset and your location. When I shoot in a location which has hills or mountains, I plan differently. I will set the time of our shoot 30 minutes earlier. So, if sunset is at 6:30pm and I am shooting in a mountainous area like Julian, I plan to lose the sun at 6:00pm. However, if I am shooting at the beach, sunset will be a “true” sunset at 6:30pm.

Contact Me!

I hope this information was helpful! You can see some of my glowy sunset portrait sessions on my blog. Check out my Cornado sessions and my Sweetwater River Bridge sessions, where I tend to find more “glow.” Feel free to reach out to me any time! If you want to set up a session or if you have photography questions, I would love to hear from you.