Going to the beach is very exciting as you will find lots of shooting opportunities such as sports, people splashing water, nice sunset and sunrise, etc. While these may seem exciting, you will find a lot of challenges when shooting in the beach. Here are some useful tips to help you overcome the challenges.
1. Use spot metering
A spot metering can overcome some exposure problems. Spot metering offers you to take a small area in the frame and this is useful if you want a particular area to be well exposed. You can use spot metering to take a back lit object or you can use it to help you take silhouette. Whichever the case is, you may find spot metering an indispensable feature to be used in beach shot.
2. Try silhouette shot
Due to the bright condition in the beach, you might want to try a silhouette shot. Silhouette creates a sense of mystery, emotion and moody which will leave the viewer to ponder about. You can try doing silhouette by metering the bright area in your scene and recomposing your shot to a different scene.
3. Use exposure bracketing
Because in beach there is a lot of bright area, you will find that the pictures taken will be underexposed if you leave your camera in auto mode. If your camera has exposure bracketing function, you will find it extremely useful in taking pictures at the beach. Depending on which area you want to be well exposed, you may try experimenting different set of exposure value.
4. Take some action!!
If you find it bored to take people lying down sun bathing why not try something exciting? Take a moment to look around you or take a stroll along the beach to see if there are any sports or games that people are having. Try framing them at different angle and you might get a few candid shots.
5. Use waterproof camera
If you have waterproof camera, it will be plus point. Taking a beach shoot will have some form of risks. If you have a waterproof camera, you can bring it to the water area and take a few shots of people playing water games or people doing scuba diving.
6. Use polarizer
Because of bright condition, you may find that the beach may contain a lot of reflective area such as sea which will render your picture to be underexposed or contain a lot of reflective area. Using polariser can greatly reduce the amount of reflection and improve contrast of the picture.
7. Using fill in flash
You might it difficult to take a nice portrait under a bright sunlight in beach. You will get some shadow appearing in the face. If you have a flash, fire them directly at your subject will eliminate the shadow on the face and will give you a well exposed picture. Take note that firing flash at full power will give you a washed out picture. Instead if your camera allows you to manipulate flash power, try to experiment with the flash power.
8. Pay attention to the rule of composition
You should try to stick to the rules of composition as much as possible to achieve better pictures. Try to look for textures such as rock, colour such as the beach tents and etc. Unless you are experienced photographer, you can break the rules and get some unexpected pictures.
Conclusion
Taking beach shot can be quite fun. While there is a lot of attraction that you will find in beach, it is important to take care your camera. You do not want to introduce any unnecessary elements such as sand into your camera or expose your camera to water (if you have waterproof camera, you will have less to worry about). One thing I always do is to bring cleaning equipment along so that I can clean them right away should any dirt get into my camera. This will prevent sand or dust from sticking onto them if you left them for too long. I hope you will find this article useful and try using some of tips mentioned here in your beach shoot.
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