Beach Photography: 10 Tips
Splendid photographs can be obtained by the digital camera owner at the seashore. Interesting light, colour and outstanding beauty all contribute to the potential for an excellent shot. However, there are some potential risks for the camera owner at the seaside and these include privacy issues, the challenge of making a large space visually pleasing, and not the least, damage to your camera.
The Ten Best Tips for Beach Photography are as follows.
1. Concentrate on focal points.
“All beach shots look the same” is a mindset shared by many. However, if you
look past the average shot, the seashore is positively full of fantastic opportunities. Landscape beach photographs often actually have no point of interest. This results in an empty shot. By finding a point of interest, you will give the viewer somewhere fot their eye to settle. Footprints in the sand, a life saver’s stand, or waves crashing on a
rock will all give your photo some interest. Bottles of sunscreen, sand castles, thongs, sunglasses, or beach towels, can all tell a story about a day at the beach.
These can break up a collection as smaller feature pictures.
2. The horizon.
Sloping horizons, or long and unbroken horizons are issues often encountered by the beach photographer. Attempt to keep the horizon square to the framing of your photo. Off-centring the horizon can also work well as a horizon in the middle of your photo can make a shot look as if it has been sliced in two. (More information in Rule of Thirds.)
3. Bear in mind the time of day.
Fantastic opportunities for beach photography can be obtained at sunrise and sunset. The beach will be less populated. You will be able get more interesting affects of colours and shadows because of the different angle of the sun.This becomes even more so at sunset as the light turns more golden and warm.
4. Arrive at the beach when it is less populated.
Threatening clouds, stormy weather, and flags being blown about by a strong wind can make for great ambience shots. Fortunately, for the photographer, this kind of inclement weather tends to keep the beach goers away.
5. Flash.
Using the beach as a background for portraiture work on a sunny day will
inevitably result in shadows on the person’s face. Forcing your flash to fire in these instances will ensure that the shadows are eliminated and your subject will be
correctly exposed. IF you are shooting into the sun this is even more critical, because otherwise your subject will be a silhouette. If you have varying strengths of flash you should experiment, as a very strong flash can wash out your subject. If you cannot decrease the strength of your flash and your subject is looking washed out, increase your distance to diminish the impact of the flash and tighten the frame by using your zoom.
6. Exposure and Bracketing.
On a bright summer day at the beach your camera may under expose your shots
if it is set on Auto mode. To overcome this common photographic challenge use your Manual mode and experiment with the various levels of exposure. Typically, the optimal shot will be obtained by exposing the shot at what the camer wants
and then over exposing it by one or two stops.
This can fluctuate greatly from situation to situation. Problematic areas genarally tend to be brightly lit landscapes, especially if there are bright and shady areas in the one photo.You may have to choose which part of the frame you want well exposed and just focus on that.
7. The Advantages of a Spot Meter.
Spot metering will enable you to overcome the previously mentioned aspects of problem exposure frequently encountered in beach photography. Spot metering is a feature contained on some cameras enabling the user to tell the camera what portion
of the image they want well exposed. This is especially relevant when you want a shady area well exposed in a bright light. In this instance, the shady area will be optimized. When photographing people, this is even more handy as you can oblique
them from the sun and then meter their face in shadow. This solves the problem of squinting.
8. Pack the UV Filters.
For DSLR owners UV filters are helpful for beach photography. Whilst thay do
act as protection for your lens, they also filter out a certain range of ultraviolet light. This will reduce the atmospheric haze which is often seen as a blueish tinge. Even though the visual impact is not significant, a UV filter is the first item to purchase when you are getting a new lens for your DSLR.
9. Polarizing Filters.
A polarizing filter is one of the most helpful DSLR lens accessories that you can add to a digital camera. A polarizer filter deletes some polarizeed light. This means it boosts contrasts and reduces reflections. This is most obvious when used on a blue sky. Here, the filter can potentially turn the sky almost dark blue and extremely rich looking. The reslts of a polarizing filter can be likened to putting on polarizing sunglasses and looking at the differnce they make to the appearance of the ocean. Once you have experienced a polarizing filter you will never want to leave home without it.
10. Black and White.
Black and white photography can completely change the mood and feel of beach photography. Use post-photo production and see for yourself the impact of colour removal on your shots. This is a great technique to use on photos taken on a dull or overcast day to add some life to your photos.
Supplied by Ray Baker. These tips will be handy for both the amateur photographer and someone starting a photography business. They are guides or tips for you to experiment with and enjoy the journey. Ray specializes in helping people to start a photography business with his easily accessed and popular guide. If you like this article and want to see them as they are posted to this site, we can keep you in the loop simply by filling in the membership opt-in on this page.
