Where can we take the portraits?
That depends on where you are staying, how many are in your gang, and how mobile they are. Usually, if your families need more than 3 vehicles to roll it can get a bit complicated, but it's always up to you guys. And if you want something special like a lighthouse or pier in the background we can give you some ideas there. If we are moving away from your house we'll prefer to meet at the house and make sure we have a few things we might need and then we can caravan to some place nearby. For longer runs we'll just give you directions and meet you there.
Why would we move? Besides what you might want in your background there are differences in what you are sitting on (grass, small pebbles, soft sand), the number of fellow beach-goers around (it IS a public beach), cabanas, beach chairs, tents, shadows, and a bunch more we look at. Below you'll see some examples from different places we play, but here are a few suggestions. Click on the thumbnail to see it larger.
Corolla beaches have fine soft sand (comfort matters) with lots of people, less at the northern end like Ocean Hill, and more as you go south through Whalehead and on down to Ocean Sands. There are only a couple of places where you can get up among the dune tops and those work best for around a dozen or less people.
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It's not on the beach, but the Whalehead Club with the lighthouse, bridge, sound, and gazebo plus nice cool grass works great. But watch out for the geese, they're not potty-trained yet.
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Pine Island is a really popular area with a few less people and less setting options. The sand is fairly soft and comfortable, but the dunes are steep (unusable) and no sea oats so we'll likely end up down at the water's edge here. Across from Pine Island is the Currituck Club which has some beautiful places to play among the oaks, along some of the ponds, and along the greens but only one nearby ocean access with quite a stroll out there, and a good crowd at that spot. 20 minutes north from Kitty Hawk, 10 from Whalehead.
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Duck and Southern Shores beaches are great places to play volleyball, swim, and fly kites. You might notice this from the number of people doing it all summer. Red mini-pebbles abound (not real soft) and this is a good spot to think about heading for Kitty Hawk.
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A 10 minute (depending on traffic) run from duck, less from Southern Shores, will get you to the Kitty Hawk access. Early and late there are fewer people around, nice sand fences, some greenery, a life guard stand, and nice elevated areas to work with. And early and late Kitty Hawk beach is dog-friendly with doggie bag stations, we even have a public bath house for hosing the kids off and getting changed before you head out for dinner.
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Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head beaches have great soft sand and in some places a bit of greenery to work with so we can get some good stuff in most areas, but we can always run to Kitty Hawk bath house or even better to THE PARK!
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Just past the end of South Nags Head is The Park, maybe our favorite spot. No houses, fewer people, excellent dunes, soft sand, vegetation, and probably the cleanest public bath house you'll ever see. Most days if it's moderately breezy we can get into the lee side of a dune and still have a sweet background. There's even another lighthouse right across the street!
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If you're staying on Hatteras, well aren't you lucky! Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo are 15 to 20 minutes from The Park, and it's usually worth the ride. Anywhere outside the villages and you are already in prime time with wide beaches, soft sand, and very few strangers waving over your shoulder, but some areas can be a walk. We're game if you are.
Too late to make a long story short, we know, but to sum it up...
Whalehead Club - can get great stuff by the boat basin, soundside, or even with the lighthouse.
From Duck north to Corolla it's tough to get dune top shots with vegetation, and can be crowded in season, so we'll likely be at the water's edge.
From Ocean Sands north to Corolla the sand is soft and usually flat near the water for good reflection shots.
Kitty Hawk bath house can be a beautiful area and has a lot of things for us greedy pig photogs to play with. Definitely a fave of ours.
Kill Devil Hills & Nags Head beaches are comfortable and nice if you want to stay close to home.
The Park is less than 15 minutes from Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head and
if you want the best pictures possible is simply the best.
So, no matter where you are staying you've got options. If you find after you get here that your neighbors striped cabana isn't a great background, or grandma can't stand being on the beach just let us know and we'll find another location, just give us a call and we can help!