candid beach photos

Montage Laguna Beach Family Session | The Fliglia Family | Laura + Rob + Beckham + Sienna | Orange County Family Photographer | Cori Kleckner Photography

Montage Laguna Beach Family Session | The Fliglia Family | Lau + Rob + Beckham + Sienna | Orange County Family Photographer | Cori Kleckner Photography

There are some Laguna Beach locations that give you so much variety without ever feeling like you’re photographing in the same little stretch of beach the entire time, and Montage Laguna Beach is one of them.

For this family session, we were able to move through so many different looks in one evening. We started with bright, open light and those warm sun-filled images that feel so quintessentially Southern California. From there, we wandered toward the cliffs and rocks, incorporated the sand and water, and ended up with a gallery that feels incredibly diverse while still flowing together naturally.

One of my favorite parts about photographing families at Montage Laguna Beach is how much the landscape changes within such a small area. You have open beach, rocky coastline, dramatic cliffs, soft sand, ocean views and pockets of beautiful light all within walking distance. It gives kids room to move and explore instead of feeling like they have to stand in one place and smile at the camera.

Their son especially loved climbing around on the cliffs, which ended up creating some of my favorite photographs from the session. Those are always the moments I’m drawn to most. Letting kids interact with the environment, climb, explore, run near the water and actually be themselves gives the photographs so much more personality than trying to keep everyone perfectly posed.

We also had the prettiest warm sunlight coming through during part of their session, giving us those bright, glowing Laguna Beach family photos alongside the moodier rocky coastline. I love being able to give families both. Some images feel soft and sun-filled, others feel a little more dramatic with the cliffs and ocean behind them, and then there are the simple barefoot moments right on the sand.

That variety is one of the reasons I continue coming back to this part of Laguna Beach for family photography sessions. You can create an entire gallery that feels like several different locations without having to pack everyone into the car and move somewhere else halfway through.

For families looking for a Laguna Beach family photographer, Montage is especially beautiful if you want your photos to feel relaxed, coastal and natural while still having plenty of visual interest in the background. I photograph family sessions throughout Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Orange County, with a focus on candid interaction, movement and all of those little in-between moments that actually feel like your family.

And while the Laguna Beach coastline is obviously beautiful, the location is really just the backdrop. The best part is getting to photograph your family exactly as you are in this season: kids climbing rocks, sandy feet, windblown hair, someone running toward the water and all.

Those are usually the photographs that end up meaning the most.

CORI KLECKNER PHOTOGRAPHY IS AN ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA PHOTOGRAPHER SPECIALIZING IN MATERNITY, NEWBORN, BABY, FAMILY, CHILDREN’S AND LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Newport Beach Family Photos | Candid Family Beach Session | The Ackerman Family | Cori Kleckner Photography

Newport Beach Family Photographer | Candid Family Beach Session | Cori Kleckner Photography

I think one of the reasons I loved this session so much is because it felt like real life.

2½-year-old twins and two older brothers, one toddler reaching up to be held while the other is already halfway out of the frame. Someone sticking their tongue out , one melting down, one running away. One brother trying to make everyone laugh, while another quietly waiting on Mom and Dad currently outnumbered by two toddler tornados.

And honestly, I love all of it.

I think sometimes we unintentionally expect happiness to be synchronized in family photos. We want every child to be equally content, equally cooperative, and equally ready to smile in the exact same moment. But that’s almost never how real life works. One child might be completely happy while another is overwhelmed. One is ready to play while another wants to be held. One is laughing while another is completely done.

And sometimes, there is actually more meaning in that.

I find more value in a photograph of an older brother instinctively comforting his crying toddler brother than I do in forcing that toddler to stop crying long enough for everyone to smile at me. That image tells me something about their relationship. It shows who notices, who reaches in, who comforts. Years from now, that feels so much more meaningful to me than whether everyone happened to be happy at the exact same second.

The same goes for all of those almost-perfect moments that get interrupted.

Maybe everything finally lines up, the light is beautiful, Mom and Dad are connected, one child is smiling, and then a sibling suddenly jumps into the frame, blocks the camera, runs past, or completely photobombs the moment.

That is also so normal.

Family life is full of interruptions. Siblings insert themselves into moments that were not technically “theirs.” Toddlers run through the frame. Someone gets too close. Someone decides that right now is the exact moment they need Mom. Sometimes the moment you thought you were photographing changes into something completely different.

And a lot of the time, I like that version better.

Especially this time of year, I know moms are usually hoping for that perfect holiday card photo where everyone is looking, smiling, and somehow cooperating at the exact same second. And of course I’m always going to try to get you that photo.

But nothing makes me laugh harder than getting a holiday card that’s a little out of the norm. Give me the one with both toddlers crying. Give me the kid making the ridiculous face. Give me the sibling who jumped into the frame at exactly the wrong time. Give me the photo where everyone clearly tried their best and it still went slightly off the rails, because my first thought is always, “Yep. That sounds about right.”

Those are the photographs that feel the most like family life to me.

My heart is usually in the moments that weren’t planned at all. The little hands reaching up for Mom or Dad. The toddler trying to escape. The older sibling patiently waiting while the younger ones require everyone’s attention at once. The brother who decides making everyone laugh is far more interesting than smiling perfectly for the camera. The sibling who wanders into what was supposed to be a quiet moment and somehow makes it better.

What feels like chaos happening right alongside all the sweetness.

That’s what I want my work to feel like.

Not perfectly posed. Not cookie cutter. Not a version of family life where everyone’s emotions and behavior have somehow been coordinated for the camera.

I want it to feel relatable.

I want you to look at an image and think, “That is so us.”

Because real family life is one child needing you while another is running away. It’s someone wandering off, someone wanting to be carried, someone being patient, someone being completely over it, and someone unexpectedly jumping right into the middle of the frame.

And I think that’s exactly why these photographs resonate.

They don’t require everyone to feel the same thing at the same time in order for the moment to still be beautiful. They don’t require perfection to be meaningful.

They just say, this is what it felt like to be us right then.

And to me, that’s the part worth keeping.

If you’re looking for a Newport Beach family photographer who focuses on natural, candid family photography with real connection and personality, I’d love to document your family exactly as you are. Newport Beach family sessions are some of my favorites because the beach gives kids room to move, play, laugh, run, and be themselves, creating photographs that feel relaxed, genuine, and full of life. Whether you’re planning family photos, holiday card pictures, or simply want to preserve this season with your children, my goal as an Orange County Family Photographer for over a decade, is to create family photos that feel honest, beautiful, and unmistakably like your family.

CORI KLECKNER PHOTOGRAPHY IS AN ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA PHOTOGRAPHER SPECIALIZING IN MATERNITY, NEWBORN, BABY, FAMILY, CHILDREN’S AND LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Laguna Beach Ice Cream Shop Motherhood Session | SoCal Summer Photo Magic | South Swell Ice Cream | Cori Kleckner Photography |

Laguna Beach Ice Cream Shop Motherhood Session | SoCal Summer Photo Magic | South Swell Ice Cream | Cori Kleckner Photography


More ice cream shop shoots in summer please 🍦☀️ There’s something undeniably nostalgic about the sticky fingers, salty air, and the slow joy of doing absolutely nothing but soaking it all in. That’s the magic I wanted to bottle up during this Laguna Beach motherhood photo session and let me tell you, this mama and her little one truly brought it to life.

This dreamy lifestyle shoot took place at South Swell Ice Cream in downtown Laguna Beach, one of my favorite hidden gems for authentic, documentary style photo sessions. I had a vision: mama in flowy linen, baby in tow, melting cones in hand, strolling along the charming sidewalks of Laguna just doing simple summer things. No stiff posing, no forced smiles — just real, sun drenched moments.

As a Laguna Beach family photographer, I’m always looking for ways to blend natural light with candid emotion, and this session delivered everything I love most: melting cones, sandy toes, sun kissed baby cheeks, and that golden hour glow that feels like pure California magic. 🌊

We wandered around downtown, popped into the ice cream shop, and captured the kind of images that tell a story. The soft forehead kisses, giggles between bites, the quiet pauses where mama just soaked it all in. These are the moments that matter. These are the moments I live to photograph.

So if you’ve been dreaming of a Southern California motherhood session, especially one with a little ice cream and a lot of heart, let this be your sign. These fleeting seasons deserve to be frozen in time just like that first lick of a melting cone on a hot summer day.

CORI KLECKNER PHOTOGRAPHY IS AN ORANGE COUNTY PHOTOGRAPHER SPECIALIZING IN MATERNITY, NEWBORN, BABY, FAMILY, CHILDREN’S AND LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY