Wingaersheek Beach Family Photographer

In season the City of Gloucester charges $40 per vehicle on weekdays and $45 on weekends and holidays, and non-residents must reserve a space in advance through the city's online system — cash is no longer accepted at the gate. Reservations are required from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. After Labor Day no reservation is needed and no fee is collected, which is one of several reasons I book this beach in autumn. Sessions also start late enough in the evening that the booth is often already closed. I confirm the current city requirements before every booking.

The gates open at 8:00am and are locked at 9:00pm. A session in late September ends around 7:00pm and one in June around 8:30pm, so we are always out with room to spare — but it is worth knowing, because it is a real gate and it does get locked.

Because at low tide this beach roughly doubles. The water pulls back across a wide expanse of flats and leaves wet sand that reflects everyone standing on it, and the sandbars become walkable. At high tide the usable beach is a narrow strip against the dunes. I plan every Wingaersheek session against a tide chart as well as a sunset time, which is why these dates are quoted further in advance than my inland locations.

Mid-September through mid-October is the easiest window by a wide margin: parking is free, the reservation system is off, the lot is quiet, the water is still warm from summer and the light is the best it gets. Late spring is lovely here too. I do photograph this beach in July and August — it is beautiful in high summer — it simply takes more planning, because you need a parking reservation booked in advance and a low tide falling late enough in the evening to be worth having. If your date is fixed, tell me and we work around it.

Ask me before you plan on it. Gloucester's rules on dogs at city beaches are seasonal and they change, so rather than tell you something that may be out of date by the time you book, I check the current regulation with the city before every session that involves a dog.

Better than most beaches. The lot sits directly on the sand, so there is no long approach, and there are restrooms and showers on site. The city keeps roughly sixteen accessible spaces and a beach wheelchair that you can request at the collection booth or from the lifeguards. Soft sand is still soft sand, so I plan the route around whoever in your group needs it — tell me in advance and it is a non-issue.

Portrait commissions begin at $1,450. Most families invest between $1,500 and $4,000 depending on the artwork selected. Every commission results in finished wall art or an album — digital-file-only packages are not offered. Request the full experience guide for pricing detail.

Constantly — it is my most-requested senior location, and the drive is the only thing that stops it being the default. The dune grass, the granite and the open water give one student three completely different backgrounds in an hour, and it handles a second outfit better than anywhere else I shoot. You can read through Brooke's session here for a sense of how an evening runs.

About fifty minutes, via Route 133 and Route 128 — the longest drive on my location list. It is a straightforward run for families in Chelmsford, Westford, Andover, Boxford, Topsfield, Ipswich and the rest of the North Shore, and Gloucester itself is worth making an evening of.