Venice · Siesta Key · Lido Key · Longboat Key · Anna Maria IslandSarasota coast · Venice to Anna Maria Island
Sarasota Photographer for Family and Beach Photos
I am Yuriy: ten years behind a camera, based in Sarasota. I photograph every session myself, from Venice to Anna Maria Island: families, big groups, maternity and proposals. Every session is on this page with its price, and you book your date online.
Mini sessions on Siesta Key from $200. A family hour is $350 for up to five. A 30 percent deposit holds the date.
“I would go back to Sarasota just to have him capture my family again & fully plan on it.”
Every session, with its price
Three ways most families book. These are the prices my booking calendar charges, and each button opens the dates for that session. The calculator on the Sessions page adds people and the weekend evening before you pay anything.
Siesta Key Beach only
Mini sessions
$270 for 30 min · $200 for 15
Fixed times on one stretch of Siesta Key Beach, for a small family who wants a few strong photographs and the evening back. 35 photographs from thirty minutes, 15 from fifteen. A thirty-minute mini on a Friday to Sunday evening is $370.
Siesta Key, or the beach you choose
Family session
$350 an hour · $450 weekend evening
An hour or ninety minutes on the beach you choose, with up to five people in the price. 70 photographs from an hour, 110 from ninety minutes. How it fits into a vacation week.
Six to twenty people
Large families
$410 for six · $510 weekend evening · your exact price on the calculator
Everyone together first, then each household, then the grandparents with the grandchildren. Each person after five adds to the family price, so a family of six or seven books here too. Ten people are $650 and twelve are $750, at any time of day. Put your head count into the calculator and see the total before you book. Up to 20 people book online.
Also on the calendar: maternity, proposals, couples and events. See all sessions.
Booking takes three steps and no messages
You do not have to write to anyone to find out what this costs. Here you see the price, pick the evening and pay the deposit, and the date is yours.
- 01
Pick the session. Every card above opens its own booking page, and the calculator there shows the full price for your head count and your evening before you pay.
- 02
Pick a date and a start time. The calendar opens four months ahead, offers only the mornings and evenings I actually shoot, and closes 12 hours before a session, so a trip that starts this week can still be booked if a time is open.
- 03
Hold it with a 30 percent deposit; the rest is paid after the session. A cancellation more than 7 days before the session is refunded in full. The meeting point, with a pin and parking notes, comes to you before the session.
A question first? Text me or write to me. You will be talking to me, the person who shows up with the camera.
Before the session
Working with Yuriy was a top-tier experience! He was super responsive leading up to our session. He even helped guide us in choosing the ideal time for our kids while also considering the best lighting and avoiding the hottest part of the day.
A large group, lots of children
Yuriy was a wonderful photographer. We had a large group with lots of children and he worked great with them. He was very patient with us and was able to capture our whole group, all the way down to individual pictures.
Excellent with our toddler
Yuriy was wonderful to work with. He was so skilled in his approach as the photos turned out great. He was also excellent with our toddler and got incredible shots from him.
With a 10 month old
Yuriy was fantastic and so communicative throughout the whole process! He did amazing with our 10 month old and we have beautiful photos to last a lifetime!
One coast, morning and evening
The person you book is the person on the beach.
Families walking, running and lifting their children, and the small things that go by fast: little hands and sandy feet.
Where
Venice to Anna Maria Island
Siesta Key, Lido Key, Longboat Key, Bradenton Beach and the sand between them. Sarasota and Bradenton are one coast to me.
A family hour
$350 for up to five
Friday to Sunday evening is $450. For a bigger family the calculator shows the exact price.
Photographs
70 from an hour
Each one edited by hand, no watermarks. More with ninety minutes or a bigger family.
Gallery
2 to 5 days
An online gallery, the link comes to your email while the trip is still fresh.
Large families · six to twenty people
Everyone together, and each child on their own.
Everyone together comes first, while the smallest children are fresh. Then each household, the grandparents with the grandchildren, the cousins, and each child alone. Put your head count into the calculator and see the total before you book.
Who is behind the camera
I am Yuriy, a Sarasota family photographer, and I am the one who shows up
I answer your questions, help you choose the beach, show up with the camera, work with your children and edit the photographs afterward. There is no handoff to a photographer you have never met.
I take the important photographs first: everyone together, the grandparents with the grandchildren, the combinations that matter to your family. Then I want you to move. Walk along the water, pick up your child, let the kids run.
Every photograph is edited by hand. I work on color and light and remove strangers from the background when they get in the way of a good photograph, which matters on a busy Sarasota beach. More about me.
I am a father of three, so I do not expect a two-year-old to love a camera.
If a child decides the session is over, I change the plan: the child plays in the sand, I photograph Mom and Dad, and a minute later the child usually wants back in.
Light, birds, sand and water
We had an excellent experience with photoshoot by the pool and at the beach. He had multiple ideas on the beach to best use the light, birds, sands and water. He was very nice and very good with kids. Highly recommended if you are in the area.
Ready to choose a time?
See the price for your family and the dates that are open.
Still choosing a beach? Compare the five below.
The beaches I photograph, from Venice to Anna Maria Island
I work as a Sarasota beach photographer on every stretch of sand below. These beaches face the Gulf, so the sun sets over the water. Siesta Key, Lido Key and Sarasota are included in the price. Longboat Key, Venice or Bradenton adds a $50 travel fee, and Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach or Coquina $70; you tick it when you book. Mini sessions run only on Siesta Key.
01 · No travel fee · Mini sessions only here
Siesta Key
White quartz sand, and the beach I photograph most. I use the smaller accesses: two to four minutes on foot from the car to the water, and far fewer people behind you.
The sand is nearly pure quartz: white, flat and, as Sarasota County puts it, never hot under the sun. It throws light back up into faces, which is why skin looks so good here in the last hour of the day. I use the smaller accesses, not the big main lot: two to four minutes on foot from the car to the water, and far fewer people behind you. Siesta Key is the beach I photograph most and know best. More about Siesta Key.
Where we meet
From the access it is a short walk to the water, and that is where I wait for you. The catamarans pulled up on the sand are a little farther along the beach. The exact pin comes to you before the session.
02 · No travel fee · The easy one for grandparents and strollers
Lido Key and South Lido
Parking next to the sand and restrooms close by, with open beach and green shade in the same hour.
Two looks in one stop: the public beach in the middle of the key, and the park at South Lido at its south end. There pines and sea grapes come down to the water where the Gulf meets the pass, so a family gets sand and green shade in the same hour. The shoreline at South Lido keeps changing, and I like it most in the morning. More about Lido Key.
The public beach
Wide, open sand with parking next to it and restrooms close by. It is the easy one for grandparents and strollers.
03 · Travel fee $50 · Best if you are staying on the key
Longboat Key
If you are staying on Longboat Key, I can often photograph you on the sand in front of your resort or rental, so nobody has to drive.
The quiet one. If you are staying on Longboat Key, I can often photograph you on the sand in front of your resort or rental, so nobody has to drive. The island is residential, with a dozen small public accesses and no crowd behind you, so the photographs are about the family and the water. More about Longboat Key, and a separate page for families at the St. Regis.
04 · Travel fee $70 · Mainland Bradenton $50
Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach and Bradenton
If you are staying on Anna Maria Island or in Bradenton, I come to you. Nobody in your family drives to Sarasota.
A drive north over the bridge, and the natural beach for a family staying on the island or in Bradenton. Nobody in your family drives to Sarasota: if you are staying on Anna Maria Island or in Bradenton, I come to you. Three small towns share the island: Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach, with Coquina Beach at the south end. Here the place gets into the picture: pines behind the sand, dune grass, a line of old pilings standing in the water. I choose the exact stretch close to your date, because sand work and parking change along the island through the year. More about Anna Maria Island and Coquina Beach.
Staying in Bradenton
Staying in Bradenton itself? I photograph there too, and a session on the mainland has the smaller fee. Either one is a tick at booking, so it is in the total you see before you pay.
05 · Travel fee $50 · Rocks at the waterline
Venice, FL and Caspersen Beach
Dark rocks at the waterline, a good shore for children who would rather climb than pose. It is about eight minutes on foot along the sand to the rocks.
South of Sarasota the coast changes. At Caspersen Beach dark rocks sit at the waterline and waves break over them, a different shore from Siesta's bare white sand, and a good one for a family whose children would rather climb than pose. If you are staying south of Sarasota, I come to Caspersen and the beaches around Venice. Nokomis Beach, between Sarasota and Venice, is part of the same stretch, and I photograph families there too.
Caspersen is walk-in only for now: Sarasota County keeps its road closed to cars after the 2024 storms. From the access I use it is about eight minutes on foot along the shore to the rocks, and the pin with parking notes comes to you before the session. More about Venice and Caspersen Beach.
Questions families ask before they book a Sarasota photographer
How much does a photographer cost in Sarasota?
A family hour is $350 for up to five people: mornings any day and Monday to Thursday evenings. Friday to Sunday evening is $450. Mini sessions on Siesta Key are $200 for 15 minutes and $270 for 30. The Sessions page has every price and the calculator. What goes into the price is in my guide to what family photos cost in Sarasota.
How many photos do we get?
A family hour gives 70 finished photographs and ninety minutes gives 110, more for a bigger family. A thirty-minute mini gives 35 and a fifteen-minute mini 15. Every photograph is edited by hand and comes without watermarks, in an online gallery; the link comes to your email 2 to 5 days after the session.
Is there a travel fee for Longboat Key, Venice, Anna Maria Island or Bradenton?
Siesta Key, Lido Key and Sarasota are included. Longboat Key, Venice or mainland Bradenton adds $50, and Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach or Coquina adds $70; you tick it at booking, so it is in the total you see.
Siesta Key or Anna Maria Island: which beach is better for family photos?
Siesta Key for the widest, whitest sand and the simplest plan; it is also the only place for a mini session. Anna Maria Island if you are staying there or in Bradenton and want pines, dune grass and old pilings in the frame; it adds a travel fee. I usually suggest the beach closest to where you sleep: small children and grandparents photograph better without a long drive first.
How far ahead should we book, and can you do this week?
The calendar opens four months ahead and closes 12 hours before a session. If your trip is this week, open the calendar: every time it shows is really open.
We are twelve people. What does it cost, and can you photograph each family separately?
Each person after five adds a set amount that gets smaller as the group grows. Put your number into the calculator on the large families page: it shows the total and the number of photographs before you pay. I photograph everyone together first, then each household, then the grandparents with the grandchildren. Up to 20 people book online; if you are more, write to me first.
What time of day is best for beach photos here?
Early morning, or the last stretch of daylight before sunset. The beaches face west, so the sun sets over the water all year. Sunset moves from about 5:36 pm in early December to about 8:29 pm at the start of July, so a winter evening is done before dinner and a summer one runs past eight; from June to September, with toddlers, the early morning is often the better choice. The calendar shows the exact start times for your date, and sunset for every month is in my guide to the best time for family photos.
What if it rains on the day?
I go by the actual sky on the day, not the rain icon on your phone; an afternoon shower very often passes before sunset. If the evening is genuinely gone, I move the session to another morning or evening and you do not lose your deposit. Booking early in the trip leaves a spare day. More in my rain guide.
Can we bring our dog?
Yes, to a family session of an hour or longer, and a morning is best. Most public beaches on this page do not allow pets, so the place matters: my page about family photos with dogs explains where a dog can come along. Dogs do not come to mini sessions.
What should we wear?
Two or three related colors rather than matching outfits, and clothes you can walk on sand in. Bare feet are fine. My what to wear guide has examples.
Pick your beach and your evening
See the price for your family, choose a morning or an evening, and hold it with the deposit. I will be at the water when you arrive.
