A Beach Afternoon at the Scarborough Bluffs: Family Session
There is a moment in most extended family sessions where everyone has done the group photo, the grandparents have been arranged on the bench, and someone quietly says okay, is that it?
That's the moment I look forward to. Because that's when it stops being a photoshoot and turns back into a family at the beach on a summer afternoon.
This one was at the Scarborough Bluffs. Three generations, eleven people, four cousins under the age of nine, and one stack of paper airplanes that turned out to be the best decision anyone made all day.
I'm Jo of Jo Anto Photography, a documentary photographer in Toronto.
Why the Scarborough Bluffs Works So Well for Family Photos
Most Toronto families think park or backyard. The Bluffs give you something neither can: two hundred foot sandstone cliffs, a wide quiet beach, and Lake Ontario, all in one place, twenty five minutes from downtown.
What that means once you're there:
The cliffs do the work. You get a backdrop that looks like nowhere else in the city, and it's genuinely enormous, so even a group of eleven doesn't get lost in the frame
Sand and water are a built-in activity. Kids who freeze in a studio will not stop moving on a beach. That's the whole game with young children
There's room to spread out. Grandparents can sit while the little ones run. Nobody has to be "on" for the full session
Late afternoon light comes across the water. Soft, warm, and there's shade under the treeline when it isn't
It's a real outing. Families end up staying after I leave, which is the best sign a session went well
What Actually Happened
We started with the pictures you have to take. The full group. The grandparents together. Each little family in turn. Those matter, and this family had three generations in one place, which doesn't happen as often as anyone plans for.
Then we walked down to the beach and let it go.
The blanket came out and immediately became a game, both parents shaking it out over the kids' heads while a toddler in a pink dress tried to run underneath it. Somebody produced paper airplanes, and four cousins spent twenty minutes sitting in the sand launching them into the wind and chasing them down. Nobody arranged that. I just got low and stayed out of the way.
The little ones ran back and forth to their parents until they were done running. There are frames of them mid-sprint with hair everywhere and hands out, and those are the ones this family will keep.
And while all of it was happening, the grandparents walked off along the water holding hands. I followed them for a couple of minutes. That's probably my favourite set from the whole afternoon.
By the end, the youngest was asleep on her mother's shoulder. That's usually how you know it worked.
How I Photograph Family Sessions
I don't run these as a list of poses. I do the group photos properly and quickly, because you want those and because they get harder the longer you leave them. After that, my job is to set something in motion and then stop directing.
Paper airplanes, a blanket, a walk to the water. Give children something real to do and they stop performing. Give parents a minute where nobody's looking at them and you get the photo of the two of them laughing at their own kids, which is the one they'll print.
I'm recognized by Fearless Photographers and the WPJA for documentary work, and this is what that means in practice: I'd rather wait for something true than build something tidy.
Planning Your Own Scarborough Bluffs Session
Come late afternoon. The light across the lake in the last two hours before sunset is the reason to be there. Midday is harsh and the beach is busier
Wear soft colours. This family used blues, whites and pale pinks, which is exactly right against sand and water. Avoid big logos and hard black
Expect to walk, and expect sand. There are stairs down to the beach. Bring sandals you can take off and don't fight the mess
Bring one thing to do. Bubbles, a ball, a blanket, paper airplanes. It gives children a job and gives me real moments to photograph
Book grandparents in early. If elders are joining, do the group and generation photos first, while everyone is fresh
Weekdays and shoulder season are quieter. September is beautiful here and far less busy than August
Frequently Asked Questions
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Bluffer's Park in Scarborough, on Lake Ontario in Toronto's east end. There's parking at the bottom, and the beach sits directly beneath the cliffs.
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Yes, and it suits large groups well. This session had eleven people across three generations. The beach gives enough space for full group photos plus smaller family groupings without moving location.
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Late afternoon into the hour before sunset. The light softens and comes across the water, and the crowds thin out.
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Soft neutrals, blues, creams and pale tones. Coordinate loosely rather than matching exactly, and bring footwear you can slip off for the sand.
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Usually one to two hours. With young children and elders, the longer end is worth it so nothing is rushed
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Yes, across Toronto and the GTA, including at home, in parks, and at the Scarborough Bluffs. See our family photography page, and for new arrivals our newborn work.
Book a Family Session at the Bluffs
If you've got family visiting, grandparents in town, or you just want photographs of your kids as they are right now, the Bluffs in late afternoon is hard to beat.
Tell me how many of you there are and roughly when you're thinking, and I'll come back with availability.