As a Pensacola Beach Photographer I often get asked to do sunrise sessions. You might be wondering “why on earth would someone want to get up that early for a photo shoot?” I used to think that way too. But trust me, the reasons are infinite. 

#1 Babies.

If you have young children, they’re usually already up and you don’t have the fight of keeping them awake for sunset. In the summer months, golden hour can be as late as 7 PM which is pretty late for some littles. At sunrise, it can be easier to wake your babe up than try to keep them up for golden hour.

#2 No crowds

If you’re vacationing in the Florida Panhandle, you know what the summer beaches are like. They’re absolutely packed up until the last moment the sun goes down. As a photographer, it’s not too big of a deal because distractions are fairly easy to photoshop out of backgrounds. But it can make parking a bit of a challenge and stressor when you’re trying to be on time for a photo shoot. The sunrise, however, doesn’t have as many motivated viewers. 

#3 Lighting 

I mean, the lighting is superb. The beach sings in the morning. Driving over the Pensacola Beach bridge and watching the sun peak over the hills never gets old. You’ll see in the photos below. 

Morgan was a student teacher in my classroom when I used to teach 5th grade. I thought it was so rad she was in the National Guard and getting her degree when she became pregnant with her husband, Brandon. I knew their last name sounded so familiar and it turns out I worked with Brandon at the local movie theater all the way back in high school. It is such a small world! 

When baby Amelia was born I went to their hour for a newborn session. Amelia was struggling to feed and Morgan was in the thick of it but doing such an incredible job. Those first months are beautiful but can be incredibly rough. We got as many photos as we could and called it a day. Flash forward to a year later and look at this duo now! Amelia is thriving, happy and having so much fun on her first birthday! Well, a week after.. we reschedule about 3 times for rain. 

When I was driving to our session I knew it would be the perfect morning. Sometimes you get just the perfect amount of cloud coverage to get this soft, dreamy light and the subjects just glow. The two did from the inside, out. Take a look at their images below. 

Looking for a Pensacola Beach Photographer? Contact Jordan West