Beach Photographs
Worthy of Your Vacation

We have all seen beautiful beach photographs, usually taken by professional photographers. If you are planning a beach vacation this year, there are three areas to keep in mind if you want to capture pictures like the pros.

1. Timing

2. Experience

3. Equipment

Capturing stunning beach pictures is more dependent on timing than one would think.

Most people think it's quite simple to take terrific beach photographs simply because it is bright and sunny.

But taking beach photographs when the sun is high in the sky, is one of the absolute worst times to take pictures. At this time of the day, the light is extremely harsh; thus making contrast very difficult, as evidenced by the image above.

What this means is - everything looks bright, therefore the contrast presented by shadows and darkness will be missing.

• When in bright sunlight, use a lens hood if you have one (it's like a visor for your camera to reduce glare and direct sunlight from entering the lens and ruining your picture).

  If your camera doesn't have a lens hood (point and shoot cameras won't), use a piece of cardboard or your hand, positioned between the sun and the front of your lens.

• Experiment with different posing angles relative to the sun, until you get a feel for the different results.

  If the sun is directly overhead (or anywhere close to it) it will cast a shadow. Consider the sun's position when taking beach photographs to avoid this kind of shadow-filled result.

  If your subjects are wearing hats, stand close to them and use fill-flash so their faces are not hidden in shadows.

Instead, use these times for artistic, silhouette , and sunset pictures. If you are normally not on the beach at sunset, at least be aware that these are the best hours, photographically.

Therefore, if at all possible, try to not spend the last 90 minutes before sunset in a restaurant.

When on vacation, take as many photos as possible. Then, only share the best ones with your friends and delete the disappointments.

Experience

What many people do is buy a new digital camera JUST BEFORE LEAVING ON VACATION!

If this is what you are planning, familiarize yourself with the equipment before you leave.

Go through the owner's manual and take at the least 30 – 50 practice shots, using different settings.

The WORST time to figure out how to use your digital camera is on the vacation. Bring your owner’s manual with you.

Just like a soldier trains to learn how to operate their weapons in complete darkness, know how to operate your camera with one second’s notice.

Learn how to quickly change camera settings, ISO, auto to manual, switch metering modes, go from wide angle to telephoto, and how to turn on the flash for fill-flash situations. Here are a few specific "experience-related" tips:

• Don't overlook local inhabitants as portrait and photo-journalistic subjects. A close-up of a tan weathered local could easily turn out to be one of your best beach photographs.

• If a certain scene won't completely flipped within your viewfinder, take your beach photographs anyway, but keep in mind the possibility of stitching them together to create a panoramic result.

Also check on the equipment and preparation lists in our free eBook "The Must-have Photography Checklist" that you get when subscribing to our free newsletter.

Use common sense precautions to protect your equipment. Don't open the camera to replace memory or batteries when there's a wind, since sand can enter your camera.

Also, keep in mind that you're taking beach photographs, in other words you are someplace HOT. Therefore, at least keep your camera and equipment in the shade or under a towel.


Related Topics

Outdoor Photography Tips

Sunset Photography

Landscape Photography

Travel Photography