St Augustine Family Photographer

St. Augustine Beach offers everything you could want for stunning family beach photography—miles of pristine sandy shoreline, beautiful dune backdrops, and that incredible Atlantic Ocean as your canvas. The beach here is wide and spacious, giving us plenty of room to work without feeling crowded by other beachgoers, and the natural dunes provide gorgeous texture and depth to portrait compositions. We've photographed hundreds of family sessions at St. Augustine Beach and know exactly which access points offer the best backgrounds, where the sand is firmest for walking (important for grandparents and young children), and how to position your family for the most flattering light throughout the session.

Timing is crucial for beach family photography, and we schedule St. Augustine Beach sessions during the golden hour—typically starting about 90 minutes before sunset—when the sun sits lower in the sky creating that soft, warm, glowing light that makes everyone look radiant. We monitor tide schedules to ensure we have maximum beach space to work with, and we know the backup access points if our primary location is unexpectedly crowded. The relaxed beach environment helps families feel at ease, encouraging natural interactions and genuine smiles. Whether you're visiting St. Augustine on vacation and want that classic beach family portrait, or you're local residents who love the coastal lifestyle, St. Augustine Beach sessions deliver timeless images with beautiful natural light and the peaceful sound of ocean waves in the background.

Vilano Beach provides a more secluded, intimate alternative to St. Augustine Beach while still offering all the natural beauty of Florida's Atlantic coast. Located just north of downtown St. Augustine, Vilano Beach tends to be quieter and less developed than its southern neighbor, making it ideal for families who prefer a more private, peaceful beach photography experience. The beach here features higher, more dramatic dune systems that create gorgeous natural backdrops and interesting elevation changes for varied portrait compositions. These dunes are covered with native sea oats and beach grasses that add texture and visual interest to family portraits, giving your images a distinct coastal aesthetic that feels wild and natural rather than manicured.

We particularly love Vilano Beach for families with young children or those who might feel self-conscious about being photographed in front of crowds—the quieter atmosphere helps everyone relax and be themselves. The northern location also means we often get slightly different cloud formations and sunset colors compared to St. Augustine Beach, adding unique character to your family portraits. Access is easy with several public beach walkways, and parking is typically less competitive than at the main St. Augustine Beach locations. For families staying in rental homes in Vilano Beach or visiting during peak tourist seasons when other beaches are crowded, this location offers the perfect combination of beautiful scenery and tranquil environment. The resulting family portraits capture not just how you look, but the peaceful, connected feeling of being together away from the everyday hustle.

Historic downtown St. Augustine offers an entirely different aesthetic for family photography—one that you simply cannot replicate anywhere else in Florida. The nation's oldest continuously occupied European settlement features Spanish colonial architecture dating back to the 1500s, cobblestone streets worn smooth by centuries of footsteps, massive coquina stone walls, and romantic arched doorways that create the ambiance of a European village without leaving the United States. From the imposing Castillo de San Marcos fortress to the narrow, charming lanes of Aviles Street, from the elegant Bridge of Lions to hidden courtyards tucked behind ancient buildings, we have dozens of stunning portrait locations within a compact walkable area. This variety allows us to create diverse looks in a single session without requiring your family to drive between locations.

Downtown sessions work beautifully for families who want a more refined, classic aesthetic in their portraits, or for visiting families who want images that clearly showcase St. Augustine's historic character as part of your vacation memories. The architecture provides natural framing, interesting textures, and built-in elegance that elevates family portraits beyond typical outdoor settings. The stone walls and covered archways also offer practical advantages—shade from Florida's sun and protection from light rain, making downtown a reliable choice regardless of weather. We typically schedule downtown family sessions during the cooler months (October through April) for maximum comfort, though early morning sessions work wonderfully year-round when the soft morning light illuminates the old buildings and streets are quiet before the tourist crowds arrive. The historic district particularly appeals to older children and teenagers who might find traditional family photo sessions boring—there's something about these ancient streets that engages everyone's imagination and creates a sense of adventure during the session.

The Castillo de San Marcos stands as St. Augustine's most recognizable landmark and provides one of the most dramatic backdrops for family photography in Northeast Florida. This 17th-century Spanish fortress, constructed from native coquina stone that glows golden in the right light, features massive walls rising directly from the Matanzas Bay waterfront, creating an imposing yet beautiful architectural statement unlike anything else in the United States. The fort's exterior offers multiple photography opportunities—the expansive green lawn facing the bayfront where we can capture your family with both the fortress walls and water views behind you, the textured coquina stone walls that add incredible depth and character to portraits, and the surrounding grounds with centuries-old trees providing natural frames. The Castillo's iconic status means your family portraits will be unmistakably St. Augustine—anyone viewing your images will immediately recognize this historic landmark.

We typically photograph family sessions on the exterior grounds around the Castillo rather than inside the fort itself, which allows us to work during optimal lighting hours without admission fees or time restrictions. The bayfront location provides gorgeous afternoon and golden hour light, with the sun setting behind the fort creating that warm, glowing effect in late afternoon sessions. The open green space gives children room to move naturally, which is especially valuable for families with young kids who need space to be themselves rather than feeling confined. The Castillo works particularly well for families who want their St. Augustine vacation portraits to feature an immediately recognizable historic landmark, creating images that clearly document where your family memories were made. This location combines the gravitas of 350-year-old military architecture with the natural beauty of coastal Florida, resulting in family portraits that feel both timeless and distinctly rooted in this special place.

Anastasia State Park represents the best of natural Florida landscapes, offering 1,600 acres of diverse ecosystems perfect for family photography that goes beyond typical beach portraits. The park features pristine Atlantic beaches with towering dunes, ancient maritime hammock forests with twisted oak trees draped in Spanish moss, tidal marshes teeming with wildlife, and coastal scrub areas that provide unique natural backdrops you won't find at standard beach locations. This variety means we can create dramatically different looks within a single extended family session—beach portraits with ocean views, forest scenes with dappled sunlight filtering through tree canopies, and marsh landscapes with tall grasses swaying in the breeze. For families who love the outdoors and want their portraits to reflect that adventurous spirit, Anastasia State Park delivers authentic natural Florida beauty.

The park is particularly well-suited for extended family sessions and large groups because it offers space and privacy that public beaches cannot match. The extensive trail system and multiple distinct areas mean we can position different family groupings at various spots without everyone being on top of each other, which is crucial when photographing 20, 30, or even 50+ family members during reunions. The beach areas within Anastasia State Park tend to be less crowded than the main St. Augustine Beach access points, giving us more flexibility with timing and positioning. There is a per-vehicle entrance fee for the state park (typically around $8), but many families find the investment worthwhile for the superior natural settings and reduced crowds. We recommend Anastasia State Park sessions for families who want variety, natural Florida landscapes, and the flexibility to move between dramatically different environments without leaving a single location. The resulting family portraits have an organic, timeless quality that celebrates both your family connections and the beautiful natural world around you.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse stands as one of Florida's most photographed landmarks, and the surrounding lighthouse park grounds provide exceptional settings for family photography that combine maritime history with coastal natural beauty. The 165-foot lighthouse tower with its distinctive black-and-white spiral stripes creates an instantly recognizable backdrop that anchors family portraits in this specific place and time, while the surrounding 15-acre park offers diverse environments from manicured lawns to wild maritime forest. The Victorian-era lighthouse keeper's house adds architectural interest with its red brick construction and period details, and the property includes ancient live oak trees draped in Spanish moss that frame portraits beautifully. Unlike the cramped quarters inside the lighthouse itself, the extensive grounds give us room to work with various family groupings and create both intimate close-up portraits and wide shots showcasing the full lighthouse tower.

We photograph family sessions on the lighthouse grounds rather than climbing the tower, which allows us flexibility with timing, no height or mobility restrictions for family members, and the ability to include the full lighthouse structure in your portraits. The park's location on Anastasia Island means we get coastal light and often dramatic cloud formations that add atmosphere to images, while the maritime forest sections provide dappled shade for variety within a single session. The lighthouse works beautifully for families visiting St. Augustine who want an iconic landmark in their vacation portraits, or for local families who appreciate the historical significance and want images that showcase community landmarks. Children are often excited about the lighthouse setting, which helps create genuine enthusiasm and natural expressions during the session. The resulting family portraits balance the grandeur of this historic structure with the intimate connections between your family members, creating images that feel both monumental and personal—perfect keepsakes that capture your family story against one of Florida's most beloved coastal icons.