Beach Sessions Are Healing + Empowering | Oceanside, California Boudoir Photographer

Living in Southern California, we are so lucky to live near some of the most beautiful beaches in the country and dare I say, world?

Outside of my studio, the beach is my favorite place to photograph my clients. I really just love and appreciate how every single session at the beach is different. The weather changes, the tide levels change, the sun looks different day to day, and the landscape is ever-changing. What was there yesterday, might not be there today or next week or next month.

The beach is also never perfect. It’s either too windy, a little chilly, too bright or the sky is moody and cloudy. And despite all of those things, we love the beach and we still show up anyway.

We might not realize it, but beach sessions teach us many lessons.

They teach us to be flexible and understanding. They teach us to accept that not everything can be perfect all the time. They teach us to have compassion for what we cannot change, and in turn, we take those lessons and apply them to how we show up for ourselves.

As humans, we were never meant to be “perfect” either. And yet, we constantly put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect, especially for a photoshoot. We want our hair to be perfect. Our makeup to look perfect. The outfits to feel perfect. Everything. We can accept that other things and people and places are often imperfect, but we don’t we give ourselves that same grace.

Beach sessions teach us to show up anyways, (even though we know that it could all be so unlike how we envisioned it), and to accept the beauty of what the session ends up being.

There is beauty in the unknown and the unplanned. Beach sessions offer us that adventure and spontaneity. The magic is in the messy, in-between moments.

Trish’s session was everything above; unexpected windy, chilly weather. Big, big waves and thick surf. High tides. It was everything we did not plan for. And yet - these are some of my favorite images I’ve ever made. What most people don’t know is that these images and this session are a mirror for what the day was for me, personally. Emotional, messy, moody.

I showed up to this shoot with a heavy heart, as I just had spent the day with my dog at the vet unexpectedly. I didn’t know it then, but my sweet puppy girl (who was 13) was dying, and so you can imagine that the day we had was exhausting and upsetting and very hard.

Even though in my heart I wanted to reschedule the session, I did not, and chose to push forward and go be with my very lovely client at the beach. I am glad I did because (as cliche as it sounds) the ocean always leaves me feeling clear minded and whole again. The unexpected weather and wind and big waves gave me things to smile about and feel distracted about.

The giant wave that crashed on top of Trish and I gave us a good scare - a true out of body experience - and we laughed and giggled and ran away as fast as we could.

I need these sessions just like my clients do. I need the connection with my clients and the connection to nature.

Beach sessions are healing. I am so thankful to share this landscape with my beautiful clients who also love the ocean.