Savannah & Costa Rica Photographer - Family Photography

The little things and those big feelings.

Like the belly laughs from that spontaneous sword fight with your son on a golden afternoon or that sparkle in your baby girl’s eyes as she experiences the beach for the very first time in Costa Rica.

Mom and young son sword fighting during family photos on Bluff Drive in Isle of Hope, GA. Photographed by Kristen M. Brown, Samba to the Sea Photography.

VIBRANT,
CAREFREE,
& UNIQUELY YOU.

No awkward family poses and forced smiles, but rather a whole lot of family fun full of those perfectly-imperfect, REAL & beautiful moments. I’m all about authentically capturing your family and y’all having a good ‘ole time.

Are you ready for photography as unique as your family?

let's chat!

Family photos in Tamarindo Costa Rica photographed by Kristen M. Brown of Samba to the Sea Photography.

featured work

Discover carefree images full of soul & moments in time captured, forever.

surf’s up in tamarindo

afternoon sword fight in savannah

green season magic in Playa Conchal

family fun during magic hour

golden hour fun on kiawah island

palm tree fun in playa flamingo

dancing on the beach

golden hour in nosara

kid approved

With over 160 5-Star client reviews, these are just a handful of their
‘making me blush’ reviews.

The photographs Kristen shot were amazing. I regularly have professional family photos done and have used a handful of different photographers over the last 9 years. These photos are hands down the most amazing. Kristen’s knowledge of location and lighting made all the difference. My children had a great time. Photos can sometimes be exhausting for my kids. Kristen put them at ease and they enjoyed themselves and it shows in the photos! My little girl begged to go back the next day to play dress up and take pictures with the “fun girl and little dog”. Looking forward to catching Kristen in Savannah again! – LaCorte Family

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We had such a wonderful experience with Kristen. She made our session so relaxed. She is fun, energetic and easy to be with. The photos were incredible and we have used other professional photographers before with the kids. Kristen has the talent to catch truly genuine moments – nothing is super “posed” about the portraits….you will bring home the type of creative, beautiful photos you see on Pinterest and wish you could have in your home! Highly recommend!
– Casey Family

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Kristen was an absolute pleasure to work with. Her sense of angles and lighting are the keys to her beautiful photographs. She took her time and worked with me and my family to not only capture gorgeous photos but also captured who we are. These pictures are my most treasured and I truly look forward to using her again in the future.
– Solana Family

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Where do I start. Kristen is not amazing, she is extraordinary. She truly goes above and beyond for her clients. She has done two sessions for us now. The first was a maternity which was better than I hoped. Fast forward a year later and she did a family shoot with our our daughter and grand parents. The pictures she captures are just amazing. She has this ability of seeing things you wouldn’t think to tell her and she captures that. Every single picture we have is a favorite. That is no lie. She and her assistant, Gidget, were amazing with our 8 month old. They kept her interested and laughing the entire time. She is our top pic for photography. She is also truly a great person and cares for her clients. Last thing, we did not get many pics with my mother and I forgot to ask her to get a sunset shot. We ended up seeing her outside at sunset a few days later. Without asking she offered to take a few sunset shots of my mother and daughter. Not only were they amazing and special but, what photographer does that?! We love her. You can’t go wrong picking Samba to the Sea. She is a blessing 🙂

– Kara, Paeltz Family

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Investment

Family photos capture those precious moments in all stages of your family’s life, from your growing beautiful baby bump all the way to a family reunion with your ten adorable grandchildren, ensuring that you will always have beautiful images that document your love as a family.

My approach to working with your family is simple and FUN – – you are allowed to be 100% you! What results are some of the most beautiful, natural, and breathtaking imagery that truly captures your family.

Family photography investment varies depending on length of photo session and location – contact me and let’s start chatting about your ideas. Photo sessions starts at $675, which includes a selection of digital files. Additional offerings include my white glove print expertise to help you bring home heirloom artwork of your gorgeous family photos.

Framed family photo of dad playing tag with this daughter on the beach in Tamarindo Costa Rica. Photographed by Kristen M. Brown of Samba to the Sea Photography.

family portfolio

Surfer Family Photos in Tamarindo || Casey Family

Costa Rica is one of the Casey family’s favorite places to visit, especially to surf. I first had the pleasure of meeting and photographing the Casey’s in 2018. Two years later we planned on meeting up again on the beach in Tamarindo for surfer family photos, but that was March 2020 and COVID had other plans.

Beach Vow Renewal in Tamarindo, Costa Rica || Larsen Family

Two MBAs, ten years of marriage, multiple international moves, and two beautiful young daughters later, Danielle + Joe decided to do a beach vow renewal in Tamarindo, Costa Rica during their month long Costa Rica family adventure. Danielle had a specific, beautiful vision – a beach boho vow renewal full of love and laughter…

Babymoon in Costa Rica Maternity Photos || Kathy + Luis

Do you believe in fate – that everything happens for a reason? Well, had Kathy’s Hinge (an online dating app) settings not had a technical “glitch”, she wouldn’t have matched with Luis. Why?

Family Elopement in Tamarindo Costa Rica || Elam Family

Seven years ago Heather and Andrew met. With four girls between them, their lives certainly are busy and full of so much love. As a family, they love traveling to Costa Rica, so while Heather + Andrew started planning their most recent trip to Costa Rica they decided to make the trip extra special + surprise their girls by doing a family elopement!

Tamarindo Beach Family Photos || Hall Family

As a destination family photographer in Costa Rica, I don’t often have the opportunity to work with families year after year, capturing their family photos. But when I do have the opportunity to work with a returning family client, it melts my heart that they ask me again to capture their precious family moments — and I also love seeing how much the kiddies have grown! Three and a half years ago I had the privilige to photograph six month old Señorita Bryson…

5 Ways Your Family Can Make the Most of Your Trip to Costa Rica

As one of the safest, most biodiverse, and friendliest Central American countries, Costa Rica makes an ideal vacation destination for families that want a trip they’ll never forget. But as with anywhere, knowing a few things about where you’re going can help with making sure you have the best time possible, even during a pandemic!

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Slice of Pura Vida-dise, Costa Rica coffee table book photographed by Kristen M. Brown

P.S. Wish you could bring home a piece of Costa Rica?

Experience a part of the laid back “pura vida” way of life Costa Rica is infamous for with over 150 awe-inspiring images of pristine beaches, jaw dropping sunsets, and the alluring surf lifestyle with Kristen’s brand new Costa Rica coffee table book, SLICE OF PURA VIDA-DISE!

This book is an ode to the magic of a spell-binding country, inviting you to get out there to discover your own slice of pura vida-dise. With raving reviews plus features in Coastal Living and Southern Living, you can dream away to Costa Rica whenever you need a dose of pura vida.

i'd love a copy!

In their words

I wish I could have used Kristen for our wedding! We seriously have never loved photos of us as much as the ones Kristen took! We wanted to capture our first pregnancy while In Costa Rica and my husband miraculously agreed to hire a photographer. Kristin made the whole process so easy and my husband actually enjoyed the photo shoot! The photos came out better than we could have imagined and have no idea how we will choose which ones to display! We’ve received so many compliments saying the photos look like they belong in a magazine! We can’t wait to return to Costa Rica with our little girl and hire Kristen for a family session!

– Jamie + Peter

In their words

We recently booked Kristen for pictures during a family trip to Playa Flamingo! We had three (slightly grumpy) kids (ages 2-6) to wrangle, plus a lot of different combos to get! But Kristen was patient, fun, well-organized, and made the whole thing very chill and enjoyable. She knew every location and angle we’d need and got the kids smiling. It went so fast that we worried she hadn’t taken enough shots to get ANY good ones. But then she sent over our shoot (while we were still on vacation — that was how fast the turnaround was!) and every photo made us gasp and tear up. She has a lovely eye and the sunset photos were so unique (she does some sort of magic with the colors! They’re so gorgeous). We’ll treasure the pictures forever and hope to hire Kristen again on a future family trip — would recommend her for any photos but especially large family groups and kids!

– Chrzanowski Family

In their words

I just finished viewing my photos, with tears in my eyes. They definitely captured the joy and love we share as a family. These are treasures we will hold on to forever. We really couldn’t wait to see these photos, and appreciate the quick delivery (5 days). Kristen was wonderful and accommodated us with really short notice. She does such beautiful work. I will surely be recommending you to anyone I know visiting Tamarindo and area in Costa Rica !

– Ayla, Tyler, and Harper

In their words

Our family spent the summer in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Before we left we decided to hire a photographer to take some photos to help commemorate our wonderful trip. I can’t say enough wonderful things about Kristen. The photos were stunning! We have two young kids who were quite the handful and she was just so good with them. Getting the cutest shots by asking them to tell each other a secret or whisper a joke to each other. Her photos are so creative and we will forever be grateful for these memories that she captured for us. If you are considering a photographer in Tamarindo, Samba to the Sea will not disappoint!

– Kalik Family

In their words...

We had such a wonderful experience with Kristen. She made our session so relaxed. She is fun, energetic and easy to be with. The photos were incredible and we have used other professional photographers before with the kids. Kristen has the talent to catch truly genuine moments – nothing is super “posed” about the portraits….you will bring home the type of creative, beautiful photos you see on Pinterest and wish you could have in your home! Highly recommend!

– Casey Family

In their words

Samba to the Sea was the perfect find for our family photo session. Kristen was always very responsive to our requests, professional & extremely easy to work with. Even with the rain in the forecast, she waited until the last minute watching the report to make sure the shoot was going to be just perfect! I wish I could go back to November and had chosen her to do our wedding photos but these are beautiful & we have gorgeous treasured memories of our growing family now. Thanks Kristen & Samba to the Sea!

– Shawna

LET'S CHAT

You’ve been searching for something more. In a sea of stunning, social media-worthy images, you’re dreaming of one-of-a-kind imagery and a photo experience that is effortless and FUN. You want images that have depth & are even more beautiful than you could have imagined.

You’re in the right place. Fill out the contact form or email me at hola@sambatothesea.com and let’s get to know each other (you can count on me to get back to you within a day). If the fit is right, I can’t wait to welcome you and your loved ones to the Samba to the Sea familia!

*Family photo session investment starts at $675.*

P.S. my clients love working with me as much as I love working with them; be sure to read their beautiful words of praise.