Beach photography can be particularly challenging, even for experienced nature photographers. We are often inspired by the sounds, the smells, the open space; so the job of the photographer is not just to photograph a place, but to capture a feeling.

This can make beach photography a deeply personal thing, so your approach to a photo will be guided by what that location means to you. However, there are some easy ways to add impact to your pictures. Here are five simple tips to help you enjoy your next beach photography outing.

Beach Photography Tip #1.

Time of Day. Every landscape photographer knows that early in the morning and late in the afternoon are the best times for taking outdoor photos. At these times the sunlight is soft and warmly coloured, and shining from a low angle to illuminate most subjects more evenly.

This is even more critical at the beach, particularly if your beach has white sand. If you take your photos in the middle of the day, the glare from the sand and the white water will create stark, high-contrast photos that will not do justice to the location. However, when the sun is low it will illuminate the entire scene with much warmer colours. The froth at the waters edge will light up like champagne bubbles, and the whole photo will be richer and more atmospheric.

Beach Photography Tip #2.

Get Down To The Water’s Edge. To get the best beach photos, be prepared to get your feet wet. Down at the water’s edge where the sand is wet, your foregrounds will be more colourful, and wiped clean of footprints, tyre tracks and other distractions that can spoil the natural look of a beach photo. You may also discover reflections that add interest to otherwise plain foregrounds.

Beach Photography Tip #3.

Find An Eye-Catching Feature. A long, empty expanse of white sand with a clear blue sky is perfect for a walk on the beach, but can be too empty and plain for a photograph. You should try to find a feature to build your composition around. Many beaches have a rocky headland at each end; head for the rocks to find a more interesting foreground. Not only will your photos have a stronger focal point; they will also have more appeal for viewers who can identify familiar features in the image.

Once you start looking, there are all types of features on a beach that can add interest to your composition; driftwood, shells, rocks, lifesavers’ flags…just be creative and the list is endless.

Beach Photography Tip #4.

Make The Most Of A Good Sky. A clear blue sky at the beach can be a thing of beauty – and can also be a photographer’s worst enemy. A great cloud formation can add a whole new dimension to your photo, especially if you can’t find anything of interest in the foreground.

Even if it quite overcast, don’t despair. With a little luck, you might be able to capture the magnificent effect of sunbeams over the water as the sun rises or sets behind the clouds. Remember that beach photos don’t always have to be bright and sunny. We see enough of that in advertising and the movies. The photos that stand out from the crowd are often the ones with dark skies and brooding atmosphere, not white sand and blue sky.

Beach Photograhy Tip #5.

Use Your Wide Angle Lens. A wide-angle lens can be the best way to capture that sense of isolation and distance that you often feel when walking on the beach. The smaller lens exaggerates the perspective, making the background appear to stretch away for many miles and creating a real sense of three-dimensional depth. If you are looking up the beach, you can capture everything from the swirling water right in front of you to the lighthouse in the distance. Even better, the stronger depth of field of the wide-angle lens lets you keep it all in focus.

This ‘wide-open-spaces’ effect can look plain and empty if your scene lacks features, so remember Tips #3 and #4 and make the most of your skies and foregrounds. Obviously the wide-angle lens is not the best option for every photo, but it not a bad place to start if you are looking for ideas.

So there you have my five simple tips for beach photography. This is by no means a comprehensive guide. As with all nature photography, beach photography is an adventure that never ends. You never get tired of taking photos, and you never take two photos quite the same. Still, if this little article encourages you to get out there and practice, then you are one step closer to becoming a better photographer.

If you found these tips helpful, visit http://www.naturesimage.com.au to find Andrew Goodall’s top selling ebook “Photography In Plain English” and check out his popular beach photography collection. While you are there, don’t forget to subscribe to the online newsletter for regular photography tips…it’s free!

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Sea Anemones, Botanical Beach

Let’s face it, the weather in most parts of the world is not always picture perfect. Where I live on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada we have our share of rain and what I like to call heavy mist. As a photographer what do we do to prepare ourselves for this?

On a recent trip to Botanical Beach near Port Renfrew on the west coast of Vancouver Island the weather was a typical heavy mist with occasional rain mixed in. Rather than putting the camera away and forgetting photography completely I took this opportunity to capture what in many ways is a unique landscape. All landscapes do not look like a Tahiti beach at sunset!

Keeping the camera gear dry while shooting is of course one of the primary concerns. While I don’t go overboard in buying raincoats for my gear I also don’t leave it sitting out on a tripod either. I try to change lenses under cover of trees or cliffs or when there is a slight break in the drizzle. Often I’ll wear a baggy raincoat that I can slide the camera under when I’m not shooting images and I will drape plastic bags over the camera if needed. What I don’t do is seal my camera gear in plastic or anything else that can’t breathe as I think this will just cause more issues with moisture. A little air circulation is a good thing! I try to have a light towel or in a pinch my tee shirt to wipe off the camera if a little too much moisture lands on it.

I’m a strong advocate of using your lens shade at all times and not just to shade the lens from sunlight and glare. These shades are also very effective at keeping rain off the front element of your lens or filter. It’s amazing how a few drops on your front element can make unpleasant blurred areas in your photos. If I do get drops or mist on the element I wide it off with a dry cloth or tissue and wait for it to clear. You have to be patient here as it may take a while! Lens shades can also save your lens if you are moving quickly and give the front of the camera a smack against a tree or rocks and this does happen, at least to me!

I really don’t worry too much about my camera bag getting a little damp but try to keep it closed as much as possible. On occasion I have slipped a garbage bag over my camera bag if the weather gets extremely ugly and while this works well for the worst of it, it also makes access to equipment very difficult. The harder it is to access your equipment and shoot the less likely you will be shooting photographs; trust me on this!

Big waves at Botanical Beach, British Columbia

My biggest concern with equipment is getting it dry when I return to the vehicle or to my house. I find returning to a vehicle is the easiest as the temperature inside is about the same as outside so I tend not to get condensation. I wipe my gear off as well as possible, open up my camera bag so it can breathe and don’t think too much about it. As the vehicle warms up the air temperature inside slowly warms the equipment and condensation generally isn’t a problem.

Concentrate on the small picture

Coming into a warm home or trailer is another issue however as condensation will form very quickly if a damp and cool camera is brought into a warm and dry environment. A few options work reasonable well. Generally I dry my equipment off the best I can outdoors and let it sit in a covered area for an hour or so. At this point I bring it indoors and haven’t had any issues. Another option is to dry the equipment as well as possible and place the items in plastic bags. When brought into a warmer environment any condensation should form on the plastic and once that equipment has warmed up to ambient temperature it should be fine. I’m a little skeptical on this as I have always thought I likely have rain clouds forming inside the plastic bags and this can’t be good! At any rate, in my many years of shooting I have only had major condensation issues a few times and while I have had anxious moments watching all my lenses fog over they have always dried out fine without lasting damage. Yes, I’m sure damage can be done but do your best with drying out your equipment and you likely will be OK.

What do you do if the weather is just so awful that you don’t want to risk your valuable photography equipment? I always come up with a few different options. My first is to shoot in the forest or another protected area and concentrate on close up photography and not the grand landscape. It’s certainly easier to protect cameras without heavy rain and wind. The second is to stay at home and wait for another day. While I hate to admit defeat, this does happen on occasion. The third for me is to find a warm cafe or pub and just sit the weather out for an hour or two. The weather often changes hourly and your photography day may have just been delayed a little.

Our equipment is surprisingly tough, get out there and shoot even when the weather isn’t perfect, you will be shooting memorable images that aren’t that common.

Looking in tidepools, Botanical Beach Provincial Park, Vancouver Island

Botanical Beach Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, BC