A Serene Sunrise Beach Session with the Gillett Family Holland, MI | Northern Michigan Photographer
There’s something about the quiet of sunrise that makes a family session feel almost cinematic.
The sky is soft, the lake is calm, and the world hasn’t quite woken up yet.
That’s exactly the kind of morning we had along the sand dunes in Holland, Michigan when I met up with comedian and content creator Josh Gillett and his family for their sunrise session.
If you’ve ever seen Josh’s videos online, you already know his humor centers around the wonderfully chaotic, relatable moments of parenting. His social media content has built a large following thanks to skits and jokes about the everyday realities of being a dad.
But that morning, the jokes were replaced by something quieter.
Just a family, the dunes, and the rising sun.
A Morning on the Dunes
We met just as the light was beginning to spill over Lake Michigan. The dunes stretched endlessly behind us—rolling hills of pale sand with tall grasses catching the first hints of gold.
The kids wasted no time turning the dunes into their playground.
Jumping down the hills that were far steeper than they looked. Sliding down sandy slopes. Racing their parents down the to beach.
Parents know this rhythm well: the mix of adventure, encouragement, and just a little bit of chaos.
And that’s exactly what made the session feel so natural.
Letting Kids Be Kids
One of the best parts about photographing families with young children is leaning into the energy they bring.
Instead of asking them to sit still or stare at the camera, we let the morning unfold.
The kids ran ahead. They climbed. They chased each other through the tall dune grass. Sometimes they held hands with mom and dad, sometimes they wandered off exploring the endless sand.
And every once in a while, they all came back together again.
Those are the moments that feel the most honest.
The Magic of Sunrise Light
As the sun rose higher, the dunes began to glow.
Soft wind moved through the grasses, and Lake Michigan shimmered behind the family as they walked along the ridge.
There’s something incredibly peaceful about being out on the dunes that early. The world feels wide open, and families naturally settle into each other’s presence.
A hand held here.
A child perched on dad’s shoulders.
Mom brushing wind-blown hair from a face.
Nothing forced.
Just small moments happening one after another.
The Beauty of an Unscripted Session
What I loved most about this session was how effortlessly the family moved together.
There was laughter, there were a few sandy tumbles, and there were quiet pauses where everyone simply stood and watched the lake.
Those in-between moments are always the ones I look for.
Because years from now, those are the memories that matter most—the feeling of a cool morning breeze, kids racing across the dunes, and parents standing in the middle of it all, soaking it in.
And somewhere in the middle of that beautiful chaos, the photographs quietly tell the story.
Searra Liggett is a family and wedding photographer based in Houghton, Michigan, serving the Keweenaw Peninsula and beyond. A mother of three and lifelong storyteller, she is drawn to the quiet beauty of real moments—windswept adventures, laughter between siblings, and the small pieces of life that often go unnoticed. Through her photography and writing, she hopes to preserve the feeling of a moment, not just how it looked.