I thought that today it would be fun to share a few of my beach photos and throw in some tips for you to improve your beach snapshots! Even though I strive for a technically perfect photograph when I am working, I don’t want to miss an opportunity to capture a special moment. There are many times that I can’t control all of the variables to make the shot “technically” correct. Mid-day sun at the beach is the PERFECT example of this. Direct, overhead sunlight is harsh and produces lots of unwanted shadows. What can you do? Here’s a few things you can do to improve your beach images.
- Shoot in the Golden Hours – just after sunrise or 1 hour before sunset. The light is beautiful and the harsh shadows melt away.
- Take Advantage of Reflection – watch your child as they are walking or playing on the beach and try to get his/her reflection from the water.
- Squeeze the Group – when taking a posed photo of a small group, put the tallest subjects in the middle and the shortest on the sides and ask them to squish or lean into each other so that there isn’t any empty space between them.
- Turn on your flash - When taking photos during midday, the flash will help reduce the harsh shadowing.
- Watch the horizon – Try to keep the horizon straight when shooting out to sea. It can be dizzying to see a crooked horizon in the background.
- Don’t forget details – Take photos of interesting shells or sand creatures that your children find, but make sure they are holding them in their hands to show perspective. Also, take photos of their sand covered feet or their sweet little footprints in the sand. Draw their name in the sand with a stick (don’t forget the date) and take a snapshot. This is great cover for an album. Be creative!
- B&W can save the day - Sometimes I really love a shot, but the midday sun has caused part of the image to be overexposed. In black and white, the overexposure is less noticeable and the photo can be salvaged!
Hopefully these tips will help you out a little on your next beach vacation! Now here’s a few of our photos from our first 2 days at the beach:
by HIP Studio
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