In my commitment to my craft, I recently attended a workshop in Summerville, South Carolina. Now, understand that Tennessee - where I live - is landlocked so knowing I would be close to the Atlantic Ocean, I was not going to let the opportunity to shoot by the water slip by.

Thankfully, I was staying at the Charleston crib of my friend, Marvyl (the fabulous owner of Team Wedding, that she shares with her brother, Dale, Better still, Dale has a delightful girlfriend, Kaitlin. And Kaitlin and Dale kindly agreed to be my models for sunset at Folly Beach.

I want to add, I was careful about using an established path to pose them BY the beach grass and dunes, because being IN that area is strictly prohibited. And for good reason - plovers, a protected shorebird, are nesting there. Recently, there have been stories about eager Instagrammers ruining spots like the super bloom of poppies in California. That’s not me. Leave no trace!

The last light of day can be a challenge. While the sun is still bright, I like to use it as a backlight to add depth to the image I am making. After all, if these were your images, don;t you want to remember the golden glow of a late day, with sun-warmed skin and the smell of the ocean? For me, photographs do more than just document a scene - I want them to bring back memories of a person’s experience, even if it’s just remembering the sound of the surf or the taste of the dinner you ate by the water after the session was over.

I wish I could call Nature and order up the sky that I want at sunset. Clouds bring interest but even without a “great” sky, as the sun drops to the horizon, it is still beautiful.

But boy, as the sun gets closer to the horizon, it falls - fast. Which means photographer and subject has to pick up the pace. But, hey - that’s nature, right?

Thanks again to Kaitlin and Dale - I hope they enjoy many sunsets with one another for years to come!

Do You Want to Feature in a Sunset . . . or At Anytime?

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