Mallory Beach, a local full-time model, and I met up at Sunset Cliffs for a golden hour photoshoot. We decided on boho beachy looks and luckily, the weather was perfect for our San Diego beach photoshoot.
For her first look, Mallory wore a floppy hat with a crop top, distressed denim, and combat boots. This look is perfect for a casual portrait session. Especially for spring and summer in San Diego. The sun was still high in the sky at this point so I was glad to have the hat shielding her face from harsh shadows. If you do have to shoot in bright lighting conditions like this, I recommend using a longer lens and shooting from a distance. You can actually get some cool shots too using the shadows. Especially if you like black and white photos, the contrast works well with such shadows.
I shot the first and second set of photos with my 55-250mm lens, with the aperture set as low as possible. The other advantage of shooting with a long lens is that the background gets compressed so it appears your subject is closer to the background than they actually are. For example, in the second shot Mallory appears to be right up against the water when really she was far away standing on the cliff. This is another way to achieve the coveted "blurred background" look that many clients request.
After the first look, Mallory did a quick outfit change into a breezy cardigan and bralette, paired with cutoff shorts and ankle strap sandals. I love this sort of outfit for a soft look. Plus, the black bralette, and cardigan contrasted the cliffs quite nicely.
Next, Mallory paired a grey crop tee with her high-waist Levi's shorts for a minimalist look that worked well with the captivating sunset. This ended up being my favorite because of the gorgeous shots we captured with it. While intricate looks are fun for photoshoots from time to time, for a portrait it's essential to keep it simple to let the client's features stand out. I shot these with my 50mm lens and kept my aperture around 2.2-2.8, allowing for a soft, blurred background.
You can my complete session with Mallory here.
