On Father’s Day 2010, I was hired by a local attorney to photograph his family at his beach condo in Cocoa Beach, Florida.  Last December, I also photographed a Christmas party for the same law firm, and was happy for the repeat business (the same attorney, Jeffrey, purchased a rather large piece from my display at the Winter Park Art Festival last March).

Two location were chosen: one on the beach near his condo with his daughter and son, and the second on the basketball court shooting hoops with just his son.  Before showing up to his Condo, I scouted a few locations for good compositions, and thought about the lighting for a moment, as I had brought the portable flashes and studio strobes.  Natural light was another great option, of course.

For what Jeff wanted, I decided to hook up big studio strobes and go with a crisp, bright, colorful magazine style.  Just a few days before, I had purchased the Canon 28mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4, and 85mm 1.8 since I had wanted to move away from Canon ‘L’ series zooms toward classic prime lenses.  Further, for quite some time, I’ve been wanted to mix large apertures with powerful strobes on locational shoots, and this was the perfect opportunity.

Jeff and his two kids were awesome to work with, and willing to try many angles and poses.  I haven’s done a beach portrait since Brandon and Allie’s Engagement shoot last Fall, and it was fund to get out of my central Florida photography bubble.