Rye & Camber Sands Summer Fashion Portrait Session with Elizabeth

It's not often I have lots of time to really experiment and be creative with people whilst doing photo sessions, let alone at a really ideal time of day like at sunset, so I was excited about getting together with Elizabeth to put some of my ideas into practice. As she was going to be coming a far distance for the shoot, I suggested a couple of different locations to mix things up a little and add a bit of variety to the final images.

I had visited Rye earlier in the year and really loved the quaint older parts of the town around Mermaid St and the church, so we headed here first. As the sun began to get a bit lower we then drove down the coast to Camber Sands for the rest of the evening, getting loads of outfit changes in whilst the sun set over the beautiful sandy beach.

Rye is a bit of a tourist hotspot on the border with Kent, and we tried our best to avoid the throng of people wandering about, but Mermaid Street is famously known as one of the prettiest roads in the UK so there were inevitably a few other people about. Despite that we had a great first hour or so wandering the cobbled streets and capturing the late afternoon sunshine (and some shade, too) before we headed down to the beach for the main part of the photo session.

Camber Sands really brings back memories for me as I used to go a lot when I was younger. The long stretch of soft sand and grass-covered dunes proved a great backdrop as the sun set. Elizabeth was kind enough to bring lots of outfit options for us to work with, and we picked a select few to use for the next few hours - including a few more formal dresses too.

It was great to try some new techniques and, using a bit of extra flash power to balance out the sun a little, I managed to maintain an emphasis on the surroundings and bring the beach, the sea, clouds and the grasses into play as much as possible. This was actually my first photo session at the beach and something I'd love to do again...the only problem is the sand just gets everywhere! Totally worth it though, and if you'd like your own beach photoshoot - be it on your own, with a partner or a pooch, or a family session, just get in touch and we can create some stunning images like these of your very own!