Tips to take great beach photos
A great holiday feels much better when we have some snapshots to enjoy later isn’t it? And many of us like to head to the beach when we get a few days off – but end up with photos with everyone squinting or the people obscured by sunlight, or too less light.
The beach is one place where everyone is happy to be, and since there is no real dress code or rules – you can see the fun side of everyone. Read on to know about how you can best capture these occasions through memorable photographs -
Identify a point of interest:
A beautiful scene in real life may look boring in photograph. Photos need a point of interest and photos without a subject look dull. An extra effort to find interesting subjects always pays off in the form of better photographs. Ask your self “Why am I shooting this?” or “What’s the story behind this photo” to help get some perspective to your thoughts
Find the emotion you wish to convey: While taking a photo of the sea as subject, think bring things like rocks or lighthouse into your frame to convey what you have in mind, like love, agony, feud, loneliness and joy. For example, a nicely angled, framed and timed photo of the sea hitting the rocks shows the wild side of the environment.
Look beyond cliché shots: Look around keeping in mind that you don’t need ordinary shots. Have you taken a shot of your kid’s sand castle? Have you ever climbed the cliff near the beach to get a nice view of the shore, beach, lighthouse and the sea? Did you observe that the shades at the beach form interesting shapes? Doesn’t that lonely boat reflect one of the real characters of human life? The landscape of the beach provides unique subjects to capture.
Size matters: Big things fascinate human beings. Big tides, huge rocks, mountains and tall cliffs are good subjects for photographs. Try to include people in the frame to give an idea about the size of the subject. It also adds depth to the picture
Color your shots: Beaches are full of colors of all kind. Move your viewfinder towards some rare combination of colors. For example, a portrait with Green palm leaves and blue sea in the background would be nice to see.
Catch the action: Tell people to play a game or enjoy themselves in the water and click photos that have some spirit in it. Be prepared and make your camera ready for some candid shots that have a story to tell.
Hit the beach when people stay indoors: Most of the people avoid the beach during rough weather conditions. But for a photographer, it is one of the right times to explore. Stormy seas, threatening wind and dramatic lighting will give you a chance to exhibit the wilder side of the sea.
Watch people, and animals
Many people identify with the beach in different ways – the calmness (still seas), solitude (a solitary swimmer), anger (raging waves), fun (games), power and infinity (the endless horizon), loss, defeat, a new beginning (sunset and sunrises), purpose and determination (a boat against the rough sea, or a ship far away into the horizon).
A beach is also a place for animals – from the dogs that love running on the beach sand, to the starfishes and sea shells that are washed up – they all present interesting topics and backdrops to shoot against.
Watch the environment interact with the people
Also watch how the climatic conditions and the environment interact with the people. People who live near the sea or work there (like fishermen) often behave very differently from the people who only go there occasionally.
This could be simple things like someone dozing away in bright sunlight, to someone watching the sunset, or the wind blowing everyone’s hair and clothes in interesting patterns. Or how the people come dripping out of the water after a swim.
Use light effectively
At the beach, we have the best light source, the sun, to light up the subject. But avoid falling sun light straight to the camera lens – which would create a glare. While taking group photos or portraits, find angles where you can avoid photos with squinting faces. You can mix flashlight with sunlight to tackle this problem to an extent.
There are a number of filters that can assist you during your beach photo shoots
UV filter: Having a UV filter is like taking an insurance for your lens. It prevents Ultraviolet Light from coming though the lens as well as acting as a protection shield
Polarizer: A Polarizing filter is the most popular filter for beach photography. It eliminates the reflection of light on tiny water droplets and dust in the atmosphere and gives you the image of more saturated and slightly darker skies.
It also helps you to get stunning images of rivers and seas – the filter gives more depth to the color of water as well as the water would look more clear and transparent. You can easily achieve enhanced color and contrast using polarizing filters.
Neutral Density (ND) filters: with different strengths helps you have great control over the high-intensity light at the beach. A range of ND filters – 2X, 4X, and 8X – are available in the market and these filters can be used alone or in series with each other to create the desired effect.