woman playing with peach dress standing knee deep in lake washington

What body of water is right for me?


If you want STILL water, you'll want a lake. The smaller the better. But if you want movement in the water and potentially waves, you'll want the ocean or a bigger lake and you'll want to go at a time with boats, to get those waves. Keep in mind though that if you're getting on a mattress in a lake, you want minimal movement and you DEFINITELY want the person on the mattress to have a way to steer or a rope to pull them back to shore. 



woman closing her eyes chest deep in lake washington

How accessible is this body of water?


You'll want something with an easy point of entry. Preferably no grasses to wade through with squishy mud. I prefer going to lake beaches with rocks because they're easy to get into with minimal sensory input in the gross-stuff-between-my-toes variety. 



woman looking behind her at mount rainier while standing in lake washington fully clothed

Will the beach be open?


For this shoot specifically, we wanted sunrise lighting. I had to scout out the park to make sure there wasn't a gate blocking the parking lot. And if there was, where will you park? Can you walk to the beach without having to climb fences? 



womans hand touching lake washington creating a ripple with drops of water falling off fingertips

Is the body of water even open to be swam in?


We originally looked at a location that was 2 hours away so we decided to go with a place closer and I'm SO glad! Because I went out to the lake 2 hours away just to scout it out and turns out you're hit even allowed to swim in it! 

woman standing lake washington with mount rainier behind her

What time is the tide?


If possible, you'll want to avoid low tide.

BONUS:


What do I need to bring to be prepared for this Lake photoshoot? I tell you all the things you don't want to forget in this blog post here