If you're looking for some brilliant beach photography tips, one of the most beautiful things to shoot at the beach is a sunrise. The sun produces a beautiful orange warmth, which makes the colours in your pictures really pop, so the morning is a great time for photographers to get out of bed and take shots. Especially if you're located on the East coast of a country, the sun comes up above the ocean, creating breathtaking seascapes.
However, shooting sunrises can be quite difficult because you are working with very bright light which needs to be balanced out. You can do this with neutral density filters, which are similar to tinted glass and allow you to control the light and balance certain areas of the picture. If you really plan to get incredible sunrise pictures, you must commit yourself daily to waking up early for at least a month or two. If you get up and go shooting every morning for this long, you will get a few mornings of really crisp high quality light.
Shooting sunsets is rather similar to shooting sunrises. It's best if you use a neutral density grad filter to help you control the light. Another thing would be to use a good F stop, around F11 or F22 depending on what lens you have. Different lenses have different sweet spots but it's important to get as much in focus as possible.
Shooting surf is another thing you may want to do at the beach. For this it is definitely very good to get various angles. A regular surf image will have a front-on angle and a surfer in the middle of the frame. This can make for an uninspiring shot and has been done time after time. To get a more unique picture, get down low on the sand, or up on top of a cliff or a building to get a different angle. Of course, shooting in the water is the best place for shooting surf because you are right there among the waves and the splash. If a surfer is in the tube, you are in that same tube with him or her. It is less common for a photographer to be so close to the subject.
It is important that you try to make your picture convey a story. One way to achieve this is to put an intriguing background in the shot, so for example instead of just shooting out to sea, try to get a cliff in the background, or a ship. It will make your shots all the more unique and will also add scale to them.
For taking photos in the water, you will have to choose the best possible conditions. Stay away from beaches that have any rip currents. Before you enter the water, stand on the beach for around 10 to 15 minutes and work out how strong and where the rips are. See if it's going to be difficult to swim against the current.
The clarity of the water is also very important, especially if you are planning to shoot a lot of underwater photos. If it's a sunny day with very few clouds in the sky and the tide is incoming, and there hasn't been a big swell or any rain for a while, the water will be crystal clear.
If you can see highly talented surfers in the water, it is definitely worth getting in the water because you'll be able to get much closer to them than intermediate level surfers, making your photos more exciting. A lot of great surfers understand how to work well with photographers and can time their shots well.
The shape of the waves is another factor to consider. Barrels look incredible to shoot inside, but if the waves are not really peeling and are just dribbling it doesn't look as exciting.
How to look after your equipment at the beach
If it's really misty and you're getting a lot of sea breeze from the ocean, don't set foot on the beach or your equipment will get sandy and dusty.
You don't need spray on your lens. If your lens does get covered in spray, don't wipe it with a lens cloth. You have to let it dry, then you should ideally use a rocket air to spray off the lens so that all of the dust particles fall off. After this step, you can wipe your lens. If you try to wipe the sand off too early, you may scratch the coating on the lens.
A polarizing filter can be very useful if you're taking photos on the beach, because it will give you some very nice rich, saturated skyscapes and seascapes.
If you're stepping out into humid conditions from a dry air conditioned area, you might notice condensation on the lens and it will be necessary to wait until the lens has warmed up to the same temperature as outside. One way to overcome this is to leave your camera outside somewhere safe before you venture out to take photos.
So enjoy it and head down to the beach as soon as you possibly can!
However, shooting sunrises can be quite difficult because you are working with very bright light which needs to be balanced out. You can do this with neutral density filters, which are similar to tinted glass and allow you to control the light and balance certain areas of the picture. If you really plan to get incredible sunrise pictures, you must commit yourself daily to waking up early for at least a month or two. If you get up and go shooting every morning for this long, you will get a few mornings of really crisp high quality light.
Shooting sunsets is rather similar to shooting sunrises. It's best if you use a neutral density grad filter to help you control the light. Another thing would be to use a good F stop, around F11 or F22 depending on what lens you have. Different lenses have different sweet spots but it's important to get as much in focus as possible.
Shooting surf is another thing you may want to do at the beach. For this it is definitely very good to get various angles. A regular surf image will have a front-on angle and a surfer in the middle of the frame. This can make for an uninspiring shot and has been done time after time. To get a more unique picture, get down low on the sand, or up on top of a cliff or a building to get a different angle. Of course, shooting in the water is the best place for shooting surf because you are right there among the waves and the splash. If a surfer is in the tube, you are in that same tube with him or her. It is less common for a photographer to be so close to the subject.
It is important that you try to make your picture convey a story. One way to achieve this is to put an intriguing background in the shot, so for example instead of just shooting out to sea, try to get a cliff in the background, or a ship. It will make your shots all the more unique and will also add scale to them.
For taking photos in the water, you will have to choose the best possible conditions. Stay away from beaches that have any rip currents. Before you enter the water, stand on the beach for around 10 to 15 minutes and work out how strong and where the rips are. See if it's going to be difficult to swim against the current.
The clarity of the water is also very important, especially if you are planning to shoot a lot of underwater photos. If it's a sunny day with very few clouds in the sky and the tide is incoming, and there hasn't been a big swell or any rain for a while, the water will be crystal clear.
If you can see highly talented surfers in the water, it is definitely worth getting in the water because you'll be able to get much closer to them than intermediate level surfers, making your photos more exciting. A lot of great surfers understand how to work well with photographers and can time their shots well.
The shape of the waves is another factor to consider. Barrels look incredible to shoot inside, but if the waves are not really peeling and are just dribbling it doesn't look as exciting.
How to look after your equipment at the beach
If it's really misty and you're getting a lot of sea breeze from the ocean, don't set foot on the beach or your equipment will get sandy and dusty.
You don't need spray on your lens. If your lens does get covered in spray, don't wipe it with a lens cloth. You have to let it dry, then you should ideally use a rocket air to spray off the lens so that all of the dust particles fall off. After this step, you can wipe your lens. If you try to wipe the sand off too early, you may scratch the coating on the lens.
A polarizing filter can be very useful if you're taking photos on the beach, because it will give you some very nice rich, saturated skyscapes and seascapes.
If you're stepping out into humid conditions from a dry air conditioned area, you might notice condensation on the lens and it will be necessary to wait until the lens has warmed up to the same temperature as outside. One way to overcome this is to leave your camera outside somewhere safe before you venture out to take photos.
So enjoy it and head down to the beach as soon as you possibly can!
About the Author:
Before you travel to the beach this summer, you'll probably want to learn other great ideas aside from beach photography tips. Our main website has a huge number of very useful articles that will help you to improve your camera skills quickly. travel on over to Digital Camera Review Guru today and start learning from our entertaining resources.
No comments:
Post a Comment