A version of this guide first appeared as a feature I wrote for The Scout Guide Naples. I am sharing an expanded edition here with everything I tell my own clients when we plan their sessions, as a reminder I work with every family to plan the perfect location for their family, and private beach access is also always an option.
I have spent more than a decade walking these beaches with families at sunset, and every one of them has its own personality. The sand, the light, the parking, the walk, all of it shapes what your session feels like and what ends up on your walls. Here is how I think about choosing a beach, from Sanibel all the way down to Marco Island.
Where should we take family photos on Marco Island?
Tigertail Beach is the one I picture when I think of a wide, endless stretch of sand. It is open to the public, and the walk in is part of the experience. Plan on about ten minutes from the lot to the surf, it is an easy mile down to the water. My advice is to park in the lot farthest from the entrance, take the boardwalk through the tree canopy, and follow the mangrove line down to the water. The views through the mangroves and along the seagrass make the walk feel short.
Residents Beach is lovely, though it is reserved for Marco Island pass holders. Farther down Collier Boulevard there is public access at South Beach with parking on Swallow Avenue, but that lot fills fast and the beach gets crowded in season, so it sits lower on my list. There are also many high rises at this part of the island.
Families staying at the island resorts have it easiest of all. I photograph sessions right on the resort beaches, including at the JW Marriott, so you can walk from your room right down to your session. If Marco is on your travel calendar, my Marco Island family photographer page walks through how a session there comes together.
What are the best beaches for family photos in downtown Naples?
Naples has so many choices, and picking one favorite is nearly impossible. For a quiet evening I love the beaches south of the Naples Pier, reachable with a Collier County beach sticker, where you can have the sand nearly to yourselves. If you want to pair your session with dinner in town, park in the public lot across from Palm Cottage or stroll over from Third Street South and slip in at the Broad Avenue entrance, which stays calmer than the main accesses. Just don’t go hungry because the smell from all the amazing restaurants as we shoot will definitely make you dream of what comes next.
Families staying in Port Royal often ask about photographing close to home, and private beach access is always an option. Here is a Port Royal family beach session to give you a feel for how those evenings look.
Wedding Beach at Eighth Avenue South deserves its name. The entrance is lined with palm trees, street parking is public, and the Naples Pier sits in the distance for a classic backdrop. This is my favorite for sunrise.
What about North Naples?
Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park gives you close parking and a pristine shoreline running along a foliage-lined preserve. The park is still rebuilding some of the infrastructure lost in recent hurricanes, but its distance from the residential towers makes it feel far more secluded than Vanderbilt Beach nearby. The very best views are at the end near lot five, looking across the pass toward the tip of Barefoot Beach. One important note for sunset lovers: this park closes at sunset, so we plan those sessions carefully. While I used to shoot here before Ian, I have backed off to allow the foliage to return. These days I do prefer nearby Barefoot Preserve over Wiggins.
If you would like to see how this stretch of coast actually photographs, here is a family photo shoot at Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park and a North Naples family beach session from the same shoreline.
Where do you photograph in Bonita Springs?
Little Hickory Beach Park is a hidden gem tucked between Lovers Key and Barefoot Beach, near the Mediterra Beach Club. Parking is easy in one of two public lots, and it rarely feels as busy as Barefoot. If you are up for a walk, about a mile toward Lovers Key you will find a secluded inlet that is almost always full of shorebirds. You cannot see it until you are on it, and at dusk on a low tide it is breathtaking.
Is Fort Myers Beach good for family photos?
Bowditch Point Park at the tip of Fort Myers Beach has outstanding views with Sanibel in the distance, a rock jetty, and shaded paths through a grove of trees beside the parking lot. It is a favorite for beach elopements, and it is my go-to answer when a big family asks for a location north of Bonita Springs, because there is room for everyone.
Which Sanibel beach do you recommend?
Sanibel moves at its own slow pace, and her beaches echo it. Tarpon Bay Beach is the one I can always count on for a quiet night, with parking close by in the Trost lot, and it is my top choice on the island. If sunset is not the goal, the rebuilt Lighthouse Beach Park and the newly opened Causeway Island Park beaches are both worth your time. Captiva also deserves a mention, there are no public beaches that I recommend on Captiva but the beautiful cottages with private access have incredible views and make wonderful backdrops for extended family sessions.
When is the best time of day for beach photos?
Golden hour, every time. The last stretch of light before sunset is soft, warm, and forgiving, and it is when the Gulf puts on the show families come back for year after year. I schedule nearly every session around it, and I choose the beach partly by how that light falls on it.
Wherever your beach adventure lands you, if you are near the water in Southwest Florida you are surrounded by the kind of beauty we get to enjoy all year long. And if you would like me to meet you there with a camera, I would love to plan it with you.
