Do you love the beach? If the beach plays a big part in your life, we’re sure that it’s the location that makes you want to shoot and practice your photography skills. The beach truly offers remarkable opportunities for digital photography because of its wide natural beauty, stunning hues, and beautiful patterns of light.
This is why a lot of people consider a beach vacation to be a dream destination for a family vacation, honeymoon, or a private getaway. If you wish to give beach photography a try or if you are into it, you can consider following these beach photography tips we’ve compiled for you.
Tip #1: Great Timing
When we talk about great timing it’s finding out what are the busiest hours at the beach and how to avoid them. You would want to avoid large crowds because being alone at the beach is a delight that many dream of (not just for beach photographers).
It may seem impossible to avoid the crowds and have the beach all to yourself but it’s all about timing. For instance, the beach you’re staying at is less crowded during sunrise and midday, then those are the perfect times to take pictures. Plus, the sunrise is a heavenly blessing because of the golden light it gives.
However, be aware that if you plan to take beach photography during midday hours, you’ll have hard light and undesirable shadows. Particularly, on people’s faces. In addition, being out in the heat is not a good idea. Try going to less-visited beaches if you want to avoid the crowd, but this can require you to travel a bit farther away.
A secret we’ll share with you if you really want to have the best beach photos is to do your photography during the off-season. The beach has a unique beauty and vibe during the winter than in the summer.
Tip #2: Watch Out For Harsh Lights
Since water reflects lights, it will easily bounce off the water. So when the light is extremely harsh, it will reflect on it and the light creates unwanted highlights both on your subject and the surroundings.
Tip #3: Always Keep in Mind Your Lens Hood
Your lens hood is very important when shooting at the beach into the sun for backlit images. When you use a lens hood, you’ll be able to immensely cut back on haze that could overwhelm your subject. It’s best if it’s in moderation so that it isn’t dominating. The lens hood will help you to keep those important details of your subject.
Tip #4: Golden Hour is The Best Time
For beach photography, the golden hour will give you gold tints that fit the beach’s environment really well. The golden hour occurs right after sunrise and a little before sunset. You will identify it by its usual yellow-orange light that gives it an extraordinary appearance. What’s great about the golden hour is that you can have long shadows that adds texture to the sand. If you’d like to do some backlight photography, then the golden hour is the perfect time for that.
Tip #5: Keep on Experimenting
Taking photos at the beach is the best opportunity to rent a wide-angle or fisheye or a Lensbaby. These lenses provide your photos with a unique feel and with wide and beautiful backdrop. It’s not bad to try something new right? Also, we suggest that you explore other awesome and unique equipment such as Polarizing and UV filters, these can transform your images to bluer and richer hues while shooting at the beach.
Ivandrea Ollero is a writer for Kims Romantic Getaways Sydney, one of Australia’s beach retreat places immersed in subtropical rainforest offering a cluster of lavish individual timber bungalows and spa villas on the beach. She is also a content crafter who researches and writes custom content about travel, fashion, finance, business, home improvements, health, and beauty in order to provide helpful information and tips for her readers. Ivandrea graduated from St. Scholastica’s College, Manila, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism in 2016.
