Play of Light
No. 01: A Milestone And An Emerald
5 August 2026
Sunrise  |  Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe  |  Senior Photos  |  03:55 start
  I always like getting up before dawn to head out somewhere for a shoot. It’s summertime in the high desert, so the early morning air is the perfect amount of cool and the world is still relatively quiet. I met J (my client) at my house as we decided it would be better to drive up together to best utilize our time and maximize our maneuverability. After all, Emerald Bay is the most photographed place in the Lake Tahoe Basin and we wanted to skirt traffic if we could.
  We took the northern route and set out on 80 West, looped the round-a-bouts on 89, shot through the long valley carved by the beginning of the Truckee River, more round-a-bouts in Tahoe City, and finally rolled along wavy highway bends till the Emerald Bay State Park Lookout came into view. Having previous knowledge of the route is a game changer when you have to navigate in the dark.
   Time was now 05:20 and the sun was on the move for a 05:30 appearance. The sky was that familiar pallid blueish-yellow of a morning through the desert atmosphere. We took a moment to stretch and breathe the air before trotting the easy downhill mile to the lake shore. I quickly got my camera out because the light was soft but changing rapidly; the Lake was still and there was no wind. I snapped a few candids as J admired the lake then shot a few poses as well as some silhouettes.
   Being in the mountains we ended up having plenty of time to set up shots as the Sun still had to crest the mountain tops across the lake; we watched as the golden line of light hit the granite peaks above us and as it began making it’s way down the tallest of the pine trees. After catching a few photos of J and the sun, she went to change and I took the opportunity to capture a few of the sights around me.
This is one of my favorites. Crank up the aperture to f12 and shutter speed to 1/8000 sec and it almost looks black and white. I love the details in the tree tops and the gentle ripples on the lake.
Moon set and Sun rise often happen together and this moon was a few days after the full Moon. I love the blue of the sky in this photo!
Not a bad spot to have an office for the day honestly.
  J came back in a sick dress and the rest of the shoot was relaxed and easy. The world was waking up as there were voices of enthusiastic hikers now out and about in the beautiful morning light.
Reinforced Lessons
Planning a route is always a good idea; even if you’ve been there before.
A few days before the shoot I used google maps to plan the time and route, the app PhotoPills (not sponsored) to plan my times and angles for Sun rise, and a few poses from some books in my small Photography library. Also subtract 15 – 20 minutes from your calculated departure time; better to wait a little bit on location than miss the shot cause of traffic.
Advise the client on foot ware and clothes.
I let J know to wear shoes she could walk / hike in and bring a backpack for the alternate out fit and shoes if she wanted. While this particular trail is paved or graded in most spots, heels and dress shoes will get dusty and banged up. Beautiful places are usually beautiful because we didn’t build there.
Warm up on-site; cuts through those initial awkward poses and butterflies.
This one always helps. Just like exercising, if you go in cold you’re going to be stiff and feel weird and it’ll come through the photos. I purposefully have people make a funny face or strike a silly pose to ease into the session; most of the time I just point the camera at them without hitting the shutter.
Some of my favorites!
This Is Fire Opal Photo
Play of Light
No. 01: A Milestone And An Emerald
5 August 2026
Sunrise | Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe
Senior Photos | 03:55 start
  I always like getting up before dawn to head out somewhere for a shoot. It’s summertime in the high desert, so the early morning air is the perfect amount of cool and the world is still relatively quiet. I met J (my client) at my house as we decided it would be better to drive up together to best utilize our time and maximize our maneuverability. After all, Emerald Bay is the most photographed place in the Lake Tahoe Basin and we wanted to skirt traffic if we could.
   We took the northern route and set out on 80 West, looped the round-a-bouts on 89, shot through the long valley carved by the beginning of the Truckee River, more round-a-bouts in Tahoe City, and finally rolled along wavy highway bends till the Emerald Bay State Park Lookout came into view. Having previous knowledge of the route is a game changer when you have to navigate in the dark.
   Time was now 05:20 and the sun was on the move for a 05:30 appearance. The sky was that familiar pallid blueish-yellow of a morning through the desert atmosphere. We took a moment to stretch and breathe the air before trotting the easy downhill mile to the lake shore. I quickly got my camera out because the light was soft but changing rapidly; the Lake was still and there was no wind. I snapped a few candids as J admired the lake then shot a few poses as well as some silhouettes.
  Being in the mountains we ended up having plenty of time to set up shots as the Sun still had to crest the mountain tops across the lake; we watched as the golden line of light hit the granite peaks above us and as it began making it’s way down the tallest of the pine trees.
After catching a few photos of J and the sun, she went to change and I took the opportunity to capture a few of the sights around me.
This is one of my favorites. Crank up the aperture to f12 and shutter speed to 1/8000 sec and it almost looks black and white. I love the details in the tree tops and the gentle ripples on the lake.
Moon set and Sun rise often happen together and this moon was a few days after the full Moon. I love the blue of the sky in this photo!
Not a bad spot to have an office for the day honestly.
   J came back in a sick dress and the rest of the shoot was relaxed and easy. The world was waking up as there were voices of enthusiastic hikers now out and about in the beautiful morning light.
Reinforced Lessons
Planning a route is always a good idea; even if you’ve been there before.
A few days before the shoot I used google maps to plan the time and route, the app PhotoPills (not sponsored) to plan my times and angles for Sun rise, and a few poses from some books in my small Photography library. Also subtract 15 – 20 minutes from your calculated departure time; better to wait a little bit on location than miss the shot cause of traffic.
Advise the client on foot ware and clothes.
I let J know to wear shoes she could walk / hike in and bring a backpack for the alternate out fit and shoes if she wanted. While this particular trail is paved or graded in most spots, heels and dress shoes will get dusty and banged up. Beautiful places are usually beautiful because we didn’t build there.
Warm up on-site; cuts through those initial awkward poses and butterflies.
This one always helps. Just like exercising, if you go in cold you’re going to be stiff and feel weird and it’ll come through the photos. I purposefully have people make a funny face or strike a silly pose to ease into the session; most of the time I just point the camera at them without hitting the shutter.
Some Of My Favorites!