Beach Photography

The beach is a perfect place for all genres of photography. Beaches present digital camera owners with a number of wonderful opportunities as they are places of natural beauty, color and interesting light. However they also present a variety of challenges.

Here are a few tips for you when you head to the beach next time.

MACRO : The beach can be perfect place for macro shots if you can look closely. Some typical examples are: Footprints in the sand, Chipped paint on beach huts or boats, Shells on the shore. To get a perfect Macro shot you have to opt for a shallow depth of field which can be done by using a wide aperture for the particular focal length you are using. Zoom in close to your subject and focus accordingly. For best results get down in the sand and stabilize the camera for the image to look sharp with proper detail.

PORTRAITS : Everyone one loves a self portrait. To get a evenly lit beautiful portrait the first thing to remember is to diffuse the harsh sunlight. Hard light is converted into a mild soft light when it is reflected. So try using something handy to reflect the light onto the subject’s face like a white sheet. Another common problem people face is underexposure when shooting into the sun with the subject in the middle. The face of the subject remains dark and underexposed. At times like this the best option is to Fire up the Flash onto the subject to get an even exposure.

SILHOUETTE : Wait until the sun sets for an enigmatic silhouette. In this case you want the subject to be underexposed, so it’s better if you focus on the brightest part of the subject and the turn off the flash.

SEASCAPES : Like all landscapes, including some foreground interest is important in order to produce an interesting photo. One way to do this at a beach is to look for interesting things like rocks or rock formations,a Lighthouse on the beach etc. Use those as your foreground interest. However don’t just find a rock and stick it randomly in your photo, try and find some sort of pattern or structure to lead the viewer into the shot. Also experiment with different points of view like try placing the camera at different heights and angles and choose which ever you find interesting.

 

 

 

WILDLIFE : The beach is home for many creatures which you can include in your picture collection. Crabs and starfishes are a common sight on the shore. I found a few dead Jellyfish which were washed down onto the shore. So, you never know what you can find,just keep your eyes open.

 

Thank you for reading. Hope you liked it  . I would like to see your comments, reviews or contributions at [email protected] .
To view the pictures in high quality do see them on my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/97863598@N05/