Lindsay and Stuart: A Sunrise Beach Engagement on the North Carolina Coast

When Lindsay, Stuart, and I first started brainstorming ideas for their engagement session, we were all automatically drawn to a playful, sunset photo shoot. Stuart is a naturalist so it made sense for us to be outside, exploring the coast, watching the birds, and playing around in the waves. However, as we got closer and closer to the day of our shoot, we quickly realized that our vision was not going according to plan.

The week before any photoshoot, I am keeping a constant eye on the weather; checking radar, watching for rain, and making sure that mother nature is going to cooperate. A few days before Lindsay and Stuart’s engagement session, a huge storm started to hit the radar. Normally, I love a rainy, moody shoot. However, this storm was gearing up to be a doozy. As the day got closer, Lindsay and I stayed in close contact and came up with a couple of different plans. Eventually, we decided to head to the coast and, if the rain felt manageable, we would still do an evening shoot, but, if not, we would push it off until the morning once the sky had cleared a bit. We got to the coast and then waited for a break in the rain that just never came. That night, we decided to head to bed and then meet up in the morning for a sunrise session instead. Lindsay and Stuart were so chill and flexible about the weather. 

It turns out, this was the perfect choice. As soon as we met up before the sun rose the next morning, I knew that this was going to be a special shoot. We started with a slow walk along the beach as the sun rose, played around in the waves, and sat and watched the birds fly along the water. Having some flexibility and being able to switch to a sunrise shoot allowed us to have a slow, cozy, intimate shoot. I have found that sunrise shoots allow a bit more space to go slow, snuggle up, and really sink into the moment as opposed to sunset shoots like Sam and Ellery’s that are full of energy and playful moments. 

After our shoot, I left Lindsay and Stuart who were going to continue their walk along the beach and explore the coast a bit. I headed into town and stumbled upon a local produce market on the side of the road where I dipped in for a smoothie and some fresh fruit. 

Thanks to a crazy rainstorm and some flexibility, Lindsay and Stuart’s sunrise engagement shoot on the coast turned out to be a perfect slow morning of chasing waves and tender moments.