Family Photographer in Koh Tao

Most sessions run between forty-five minutes and two hours. In Thailand the time of day matters more than the length: the sun rises and sets between roughly six and seven o'clock all year, the soft light lasts only a short while because the sun climbs fast, and by mid-morning heat and hard overhead light take over. An hour that starts at sunrise or ends at sunset usually gives more than two hours at noon. The photographer's packages on their profile say exactly what each length includes.

Not if the session is planned around it. Book the first hour after sunrise or the last before sunset, keep it to about an hour, and bring water, a hat for the walk there and a spare outfit — children end up in the sea whether it's planned or not. The cooler months, roughly mid-October to mid-February, are the most comfortable, though that is also the rainiest stretch on Koh Samui and its neighbours. On the Andaman coast — Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak, Koh Lanta — the rainy months bring rough seas and red-flag days, when children shouldn't swim.

Each photographer sets their own price for a photoshoot on Koh Tao: every package on their profile shows an all-inclusive price, and nothing is added at checkout. Packages differ by how long the session runs and how many edited photos you receive, so compare a one-hour beach session against a longer one before you book.

Like the other Gulf islands, Koh Tao is driest from about February to April and wettest from October to December, when rough seas can cancel ferries — and boats from Chumphon, Samui and Phangan are the only way on and off, since the island has no airport. Sairee Beach on the west coast is the sunset spot; the viewpoints above the bays are best at sunrise, before the heat. Koh Nang Yuan, three small islands joined by sandbars, is privately run: there is an entrance fee and plastic bottles are not allowed on the island. Leave a spare day before an onward flight.