oak island beach week 2016 ~ family vacation photos {charlotte lifestyle photographer}

Every year since 2011 my family has gone to Oak Island for a beach week vacation. It’s really the only solid week of vacation I ever take so I am trying harder to focus on family time and recharge my batteries! It is also the only time that I usually take lifestyle photos of my boys and Alice Jane with my big camera. Each year I try to come up with something new to try out – beach week 2012 I used only my wide angle lens, for OKI 2013 vacation I switched to only my 80-200 lens, in 2014 I used only my Petzval (and I’m just realizing I never blogged those photos…going to have to go back and do that!), and last year in 2015 we were in survival mode (Alice was only a few months old) so it’s amazing I even turned my camera ON. Ha!

My biggest challenge every year is always letting go of the standards of perfection that I apply to every client’s gallery…composition, color casts, white balance, distracting elements and so much more. If I fixed every little detail in these beach images I would only have a few to show (or be editing my entire vacation…) and miss too much of the story!

Well this year I got ambitious…I decided to shoot video. Yep, VIDEO. Not like photo slideshow. Reeeeeal video. Craaaaazytown. But ohmigoodness I think I am addicted! I recently grabbed up Alison Winterroth’s Breakout Session with Click PhotoSchool and it is FABULOUS. No way I would have ever attempted making a video without her tutorials. I really can’t recommend it enough!

Between my already shaky hands, bumpy car riding, the insane wind, waves and our speed racer children…to say it was challenging is an understatement.

I still have soooooo much to learn but love this first attempt EVER. I actually thought that I might do a video/photo mix. But in the end decided I really just wanted to put all the video clips together, separate from the photos. This is something I have been wanting to try for a long time. As much as I love the video, I hope I can look back at it next year and see all the things I have improved upon since then. I’m excited to start adding video in my upcoming client sessions too – YAY!

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. First, here are some of my favorite photos from last week. Followed by my very first attempt at a video. Enjoy!

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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Beth Wade Photography is located outside Charlotte, NC in Lake Wylie, SC. Beth Wade is Charlotte’s premier newborn photographer specializing in artistic custom family photography. As a professional photographer, Beth captures maternity, newborn, baby and family portraits in Charlotte, North Carolina, Lake Wylie-Fort Mill-Tega Cay, South Carolina and all surrounding areas.