South Lake Tahoe Family Photography

Thanks so much for stopping by! I have such a sweet treat for you today on the blog. Shooting this dreamy session in Lake Tahoe this past weekend was such a magical experience! Lake Tahoe is such a beautiful, special place. This mama has been following my work for quite a while and we were so excited that our paths crossed in Lake Tahoe and we could capture these gorgeous photos of her family!

Living in Northern California, we are sooo spoiled by so many landscapes surrounding us! I always encourage mamas to be adventurous and outside-the-box in thinking about gorgeous, panoramic locations that turn their yearly family photoshoot into more of a fun outdoorsy adventure. Whether you're craving cliffs or redwoods, oceans or mountains, rolling hills or peaceful gardens, I can recommend a beautiful location for your family. And Tahoe is definitely at the top of the list for most beautiful NorCal locations!

Best Places for Family Photos at Lake Tahoe

Okay friends, I’m going to be honest with you, I looked for HOURS to find the perfect spot for family photos. This particular weekend when I visited, the lake was PACKED. It was the end of summer just before school started back and the beaches were totally slammed. I also found it challenging to find a pretty location by the water where we could physically get near the water without having to hike a long way first. When I have families especially with young children, I try to find locations that don’t require too much walking. For example, the Vikingsholm location looked beautiful, but it involved a strenuous hike down to the water and back up to the parking lot. So I had to keep looking for other spots!

The Nevada side had many gorgeous beaches that would definitely work for family photos. However, those beaches were too crowded by the time we wanted to visit. I think next year I will offer sunrise sessions at some of the Tahoe beaches along the Nevada coastline. The rock formations there look beautiful!

What to Wear for Family Photos

This mama totally did an amazing job styling her family! I love that she picked soft, neutral earth toned colors for her husband and two older children. White, cream, khaki, gray, and soft pink are all very soft neutral colors. Mom’s bold, beautiful yellow flowing dress is the perfect pop of color & energy & vitality for these photos. I love when my mamas wear something warm and a bit bolder, like red, burnt sienna, orange, and yellow.
A few shops that feature great dresses include Baltic Born and Joyfolie. These shops have dresses in a range of prices proving you don’t have to break the bank for gorgeous photos!

Technical Specs - for Photographers

This session was shot on a Canon 5D Mark IV with an 85mm 1.8 and a 50mm 1.4, two of my favorite lenses.

This session was shot about two hours before Golden hour. I started the family up in the wooded forest because the trees were going to block much of the light, since we were outside golden hour. As the sun set, I moved them down toward the water out of the forest.

My biggest challenge with this session was shooting down by the beach. It was a Saturday late afternoon, and since we couldn’t start much later in the evening due to baby’s bedtime, there were still a LOT of people on the beach. I also found that the water was reflecting up a lot of extra light, which introduced some haze I had to work with when editing.

All my photography is edited in Lightroom first, with touchups and finalizations occurring afterwards in Photoshop. All photos are edited by hand; I don’t use any presets.

I’m a classic artist. I feel everything so intensely. I see the world in light and color and emotion.⁣
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Family photography has always been so transformative and inspirational for me. I love when a beautiful moment like this stops me in my tracks. ⁣
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The unconditional, all encompassing love between parent and child is my greatest muse. That type of love is already so inherently beautiful. I am just here as a sacred witness to document it.

Ready to book your family photos in South Lake Tahoe? I’ll be returning again next Spring and opening even more travel dates— so stay tuned if you want sweet photos like this in such beautiful location!