TTD- Better in morning or afternoon?

We did ours at 5:30 am and the first few pics show how tired we were. Our day was overcast so I don't think there would have been any difference either way. PS, our photog was also yawning that early!

what about TTD taken @ cenotes? early for light? what time?

We usually suggest either morning or early evening. Most of our sessions have been in the early evening between 4-6 pm. We have great and even light and the beach is not very crowded. The morning hours 6-10am work well too however, we prefer the early evening because of the even lighting.

Edited to add:

Trust your photographer... They will schedule your session knowing that the time they choose will best suit their abilities and capabilities to deliver rockin stuff.

Its pretty amazing how a thread on this forum causes the emails to start pouring in from our clients second guessing and or asking about the best time for their start time for scheduling a TTD.

There are several different factors here to consider and hiring a local photographer or a destination wedding photographer who has experience with the weather conditions in their specific region, can pay off in a big big way.

First of all, del Sol has scheduled and will continue to schedule photo sessions / ttd's at any and all times of the day just to accommodate our clients requests.... For example, did you know that there are a million zillion photographers who will tell you that taking photos at 12 or 1 (high noon) is the worlds worst idea.... yep, some may think that. There is no question, its very challenging and the light is very harsh. BUT, one must understand, there are ways to do just about anything.

We will schedule sessions at 12noon because we know that we can get some amazing color from the ocean... Photos on the beach at the first hour and last hour will NOT YIELD the natural vibrant blue / green colors from the ocean of the Riviera Maya, just so everyone is clear. Only photos taken mid day when the sun is high in the sky will allow you to be in an ocean or next to the ocean and retaining that color?

How does del Sol meet this challenge? Experience and equipment. We bring lighting and a crew to most of our sessions.... It may take masking off direct sunlight with reflectors or making light with flash, to compensate the bright sun. Also, one major consideration with all this has to do with STYLE.... some photogs roll different than other photogs...

Having said all that, here are some conditions that we consider. Photo examples provided so you get the idea...

Keep in mind that these circumstances may change depending on the time of year and the sunset time...

1. Clients wants blue water and knows that sunset sky colors will not be present... (session scheduled 11-3ish)

--Ok, we will usually have more of a staff, and set up the shoot and let everyone know that sweating and near heat exhaustion will happen.... we also know a few spots near super blue ocean that provide partial or full shade. We may visit multiple locations.

I'm providing this shot to showcase that we actually setup a studio with flash power that matches the intensity of the sun.... in this case, this is a setup shot. You can see me laying on the ground between the couple, describing my madness for the shot setup... Notice the brightness on their faces on the opposite side of the sun... we made that with flash power from our assistant.

SHOT at 1PM.

This shot also showcases the awesome color of the water in RM

Here is the final results I was going for... Notice the light on the opposite side of the sun's rays.... The light on the right side of their hands and on his face, opposite side of the sun... we do this to defeat the hardcore shadow given by high noon light

Here is another from the session...Shot at 1:16pm

Love the color on the ocean... Most photogs would be afraid to book a session at 12-1pm..... Likely because they don't know how to control or make light.

And another shot at 12:40PM.

LUV THE COLOR~

2. Clients wants pretty sky colors near sunset and ocean background... (session scheduled 4:30-6ish)

--We usually schedule session in location that is near the ocean that contains many other locations to shoot in that are in partial or full shade, and will finish the session on the beach. This one also depends on experience with the location. Speaking exclusively for the Riviera Maya, the coastline faces east. BUT, did you know that you can actually get photos of sunsets on the RM coast? Knowing where to go is the difference here..

Shot at 7:02pm

and another shot at 6:35pm

Shot at 6:59pm. Sunset was likely at 6ish..... so we like to work late into the dusk hours for sure... excellent lighting makes these happen!

3. Clients wants Cenote (scheduled at any daylight hour after 9am and before 4pm)

--This is a situation where experience with the location pays 100%. These cenoes usually face certain directions. Some have holes with openings in them. The sun hits these openings at certain times in the day.... shooting in these locations depends 100% on the knowledge of the location. We have 6 locations that we consider for different times of the day, depending on the clients availability. We do this as a convenience to our clients and make sure that optimal conditions are met.

getting to these locations when the sun is in the PERFECT position is crucial...

As you can see, shooting in these locations can have quite a few factors that make or break chances at getting some rockin photos... most important, does your photographer really know what they are getting into and how to accommodate just about any situation?

This entire post can relate to photography for just about any session on the beach..... but, please note that we do recommend our weddings to begin at or around sunset to ease the harsh light.

By no means is this the bible of all of what we do, because we often mix and match circumstances and have clients whose schedules just limit themselves to different times. Regardless, we make it work with our very best effort. Sometimes it requires bringing a portable studio with us...staff, equipment, and experience to see the results that are on our web pages these days.

In closing this novel, I'd say don't worry about the time that your TTD session is scheduled. If you have hired a photographer that knows their stuff, they will do you right (hopefully).

Cheers!

Matt

easy there killer... i didnt mean to step on your toes... Just stating the facts to what it takes to make killer imagery consistently. Our clients expect that

Thanks for all the great input ladies! Looks like I'll be scheduling ours bright & early in the morning for ours! Hopefully I can resist too many tequila shots the night before so I look half decent for the photos!!

Laura