Beach Portrait Session FAQ

Beach portrait sessions are intended for portraits of you, your family, your children, engagements, and high school senior beach portraits. It is very common for one family tree (grandparent, parents, children, grandchildren, etc.) to share a beach portrait session. However, to allow sufficient time, senior portraits, and engagement portrait sessions are offered only as a complete session, and may not be incorporated into a family portrait session. In addition, family beach portrait sessions may not be shared outside a family tree, e.g. several families that are friends, but not related, bringing numerous children to be photographed in one session. Please call me to discuss any questions related to this.

If you would like to inquire about my availability, or to request complete beach portrait photography information, please do so from my contact page, or call me at 239-777-3820 when convenient for you, including evenings. NOTE: If you make a reservation, then other members of your group have questions, I kindly ask that all communications are routed through the person who booked the session. It is not possible for me to communicate with all members of your group, either before, or after your session.

For many years I did not charge a retainer, but this past year I’ve had people make a reservation, only to cancel on short notice for non-emergency reasons – Things seemed to have changed since Covid. In some cases, making a reservation months in advance, then canceling a week before when their iPhone showed the weather would be cloudy – Only to have it be absolutely beautiful the day of. Or, simply texting me a day or two before stating “their plans changed”. When you reserve a session, I fully commit to that day and time, often turning many other families away, including other good clients. Accordingly, as of January 4th, 2024, a $250 retainer is required to reserve a Beach Portrait Session, with the balance due in full the day of your portrait session. The retainer is non-refundable unless the weather on the day/time you have reserved is inclement (cloud cover of over 85%, wind gusts over 12mph, rain, named storm). That said, if you do cancel a session at least 30 days in advance, and I’m able to re-book that date, your retainer will be returned. It is not my intention to keep your retainer for no good reason, only to protect the integrity of my schedule, and client’s access to my services. For inclement weather refunds, please read below, in the “weather” section.

Here is a prime example of a last minute cancelation when no retainer was required. I’ve lost count of how many people have done this over the past year.

As good as the images are that come out of my camera, they still need some adjusting for exposure, white balance, and a few other settings. I PERSONALLY examine and adjust EVERY single image before I deliver them to you. I don’t rush that process, as it is important to the final product I deliver to you. Typically, your images will be processed and delivered to you in approximately 4 weeks, but during peak periods (All Holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, Summer) when I am out shooting multiple times a day it may take an extra week or so. I do process sessions in batch, so I am unable to send preview images, or any individual images prior to their scheduled completion.

NOTE: If you are going to need your images quickly, perhaps for holiday cards, etc., expedited processing (5 business day delivery of images) is available for $95.

I do not sell my photography by the number of images – there is no limit, fixed number, or guaranteed number of images that you will receive. I do not just click away just so you have more photos, that’s not what I offer. What I’m trying to achieve are images that capture a moment, that you’d perhaps like to have framed, and displayed in your home. Generally, you’ll receive approximately 30 edited images from a one hour beach portrait session, but it mostly depends on the size and demeanor of the group.

When completed, your images will be placed in an online gallery to make it easy for you to proof, or share them with family and friends. You’ll receive your high resolution images as a zip download directly from your gallery. You’ll have full rights to print the images for personal use at your favorite photo lab. For your convenience, you are also able to order prints and canvas wraps from a professional lab directly through the online gallery.

Yes, images with my copyright may be printed, reproduced, or displayed for personal use by my customers. Images may not be sold, or otherwise distributed for advertising and/or commercial use. In addition, images may not be edited, modified, or used to create composite works. Copyright ownership of the images remains with the photographer, Mark Block. Mark Block Photography reserves the right to use the images for self-promotion.

Short answer – Navy blue, or black are not a good choice!
Please feel free to wear whatever meets your vision. One of my favorites is just simple white dress shirts and jeans. Hey, go barefoot too ! On the beach when you’re comfortable and relaxed it shows in your portraits. In addition, the white shirts don’t compete with the colors of the water and sun. I do suggest that you consider not wearing vibrant printed clothing, black, or navy blue. You most likely will be sitting in some images, so excessively short skirts, rompers, and shorts may not be flattering. At minimum you want to avoid any clothing that clashes, i.e., everyone in white with one person in orange (actually happened). As of late, some clients are using a watercolor pallet which is really nice and can be mix-matched. Mostly think light colored or white, not necessarily matching. Again, avoid dark colors like navy or black, except for pants/shorts/jeans. NOTE: If you wear eyeglasses with photochromic (Transition) lenses, you may want to consider not wearing them, but it’s up to you. In addition, a select few clear lenses are highly reflective and will refract/reflect incoming sunlight and hide your eyes. This is your responsibility to make a determination prior to your session, and is not correctable in post production.

Generally, evenings work best. Mostly because it’s cooler, plus that is when the light becomes less harsh and a little more soft and golden. For afternoon/evening portraits plan on being at the beach about an hour before sunset. I also do sessions at other locations that allow us to work during the late morning, or early afternoon. If you are interested in a morning or afternoon session, please call me to discuss the possibility.
IMPORTANT: If anyone in your group has eyes that are sensitive to light, evening may be a better choice, when the light is soft.

Producing professional quality images for my clients, is paramount. Accordingly, the location we will use for your session depends on the size of your group, ages of the subjects, time of year, and the time of day we’re scheduled for. I really like having compositional items in my images (rock jetty, pilings, pier, sailboats, etc.), but I also choose session locations where I am able to control the light, and with minimal background distractions, like people and buildings. I have locations in Naples and Marco Island that work really well, and I’ll direct you to the most appropriate one when we speak on the phone the day before your session. Please DO NOT pre-select a location of your choosing, as it may not be suitable.
In addition, if the cloud cover is so great that there are no shadows, the beach can take on a gloomy look and feel. If so, and conditions allow, I’ll offer an alternate location where we’ll still be able to make your photos.
NOTE: Parking is the biggest obstacle over the weekends and holidays, and Marco has just about zero public parking available. In addition, lately, the main public beach on Marco Island (South Beach) is VERY crowded during holidays, and weekends – So much so that it becomes unusable. The other public beach on Marco Island, Tigertail Beach, has easy parking, but requires a 3/4 mile walk to the water – I don’t mind, but if you have small children, or anyone in your group that has trouble walking then Tigertail is not a good idea. On Marco Island, unless you are at a beach house, private beach condo, beach resort, or have a Marco Island “Resident Beach Access Pass” where you have somewhat exclusive beach access, and parking, Marco may not be entirely suitable for your group. This particularly applies to rental homes that are not located on the beach. In those instances, it’s better to use an alternate location, sometimes just off the island. Please plan on being flexible.

As of late, it seems more and more people insist, despite my best advice, on a course that I know is not likely to produce professional quality images, like shooting on the beach in gloomy conditions. Sometimes it’s because of convenience, or sometimes someone in your group, especially with large groups, has their own ideas. I’ve been doing this for over 15 years, and have a pretty good grasp on what works with respect to photo locations, timing, and producing pleasing visual artwork. There is much more to it than meets the untrained eye. I understand that sometimes what you are hoping for, and what is available may not match. I’m really trying to make great images for you, please let me do my best to accomplish that for you. However, if you insist on something that has a high probability of failure, or isn’t a service I provide (inside restaurants, in hotel rooms, inside private homes), I’ll allow you to pursue that on your own, and you will forfeit your retainer.

I’ll do my very best to accommodate you, but yes, sometimes the weather doesn’t completely cooperate. Sometimes we are able to use an alternate location, or if not, then reschedule. I always leave open times each day in my weekly schedule to allow for those instances. I often have clients that look at the weather report a day or two (or even a week) in advance, see an adverse forecast, and then initiate a conversation with me requesting a reschedule. I have learned that it is best not to reschedule a session until the actual date/time of our scheduled photo session. If 2 hours before our scheduled session time the weather is forecast to be inclement (cloud cover of over 85%, wind gusts over 12mph, rain, named storm) I’ll offer an alternate session day/time, or possibly even an alternate location on your scheduled day/time. I’ll do my very best to accommodate you within my capabilities. A refund of your retainer will be made if we’re not able to come up with a solution.

To achieve the highest quality images I shoot in a digital file format known as RAW. This type of digital file requires that the images be checked and adjusted for white balance, exposure, contrast, color tone, and sharpness in post production. Most people do not realize that I typically will spend three or more hours in post production for each hour I shoot. If you are going to get a special enlargement of one of your images, like a canvas for your wall, I’m happy to go over that image with a fine tooth comb to remove any background distractions, as a courtesy – This is limited to 90 days from the date you receive your images. I do my best to point out distractions while making your images, however, especially with a group, we’re moving fast and I can’t see or correct things you should be responsible for. Accordingly, things that are not included are; fixing hair, eye and teeth whitening, fixing sunburn (that can’t be done), retouching of skin, removing people, changing clothing color, exposed undergarment, fixing incorrectly applied or smeared makeup, or Photoshop editing intended to alter the appearance of a person. Any additional editing you require will be sent to a professional retoucher at a cost of $35 per image. Note: Head swapping, or weight reduction is not done under any circumstance.

You do not… In the course of making images there are alway images that are not acceptable. It can be for a number of reasons; unflattering expression, subject moved too quickly and went out of position, or there just wasn’t any spark in the image. At times I shoot more than one image of a particular person(s) or scene. This is because I want to make sure I have one acceptable image with everyones eyes open, or just to match the vision of what I was trying to accomplish with the shot. Please do not ask for every single one of those images, or for every single image I made, or for my RAW files. These images are not part of the service I provide, or the final product that I deliver to you.