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Beach Photography Tips

Summer is a popular time for vacations, and many people choose to head to the coast to spend their family vacation on a beach.  Everyone wants to capture those vacation memories in photographs to keep forever.  However, with that bright sun shining down on all that white sand and blue water, taking unique and extraordinary photos on the beach can be a challenge.  Don’t worry though, we’ve gathered some tips to help you create photos that will capture all of the beauty of the beach this summer.

Point of Interest- You’ve seen and have probably taken hundreds of photos of the ocean itself, and thought they pretty much all looked the same.  A new technique to try is to walk out into the water’s edge and turn around to face the beach.  Once you do that, find a focal point such as footprints in the sand, a sand castle, a picket fence in the dunes, or a sand pail resting on the beach to center in your frame.

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Timing is Everything- Everyone wants the sun to shine brightly and high in the sky while vacationing at the beach.  However, this doesn’t work in your favor when taking photos on the beach.  The beginning and end of the day, known as the Golden Hour, present the best lighting opportunities for summer photography. This will allow for more interesting effects and a softer glow to your images as well. birdbeach

Brightness Remedy- You can’t always plan that perfect shot around the Golden Hour and if you choose to use auto mode, your camera may try to under expose your shots due to the bright light.  So for that reason, when shooting in the bright sun, set your camera to manual mode so you can experiment with different levels of exposure. Try to look at what level the camera wants to expose the shot, and then overexpose it by a step or two. jump

Flashing on the Beach- You may find this hard to believe on a sunny day, but using flash on the beach will help to resolve a lot of issues and help to create some awesome vacation shots.  Shooting in full sun causes shadows to be cast on your subject.  Using fill flash will help eliminate these shadows so the images come out more even and flawless.  If your flash only has one setting, full flash, just try moving further away from the subject until you get the effect you are looking for.

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Filters Required-  When making your packing list, make sure you add a UV filter from Beachcamera.com for your DSLR camera.  Not only will this filter help to protect your lens while photographing in the harsh coastline elements, but it will also filter out ultraviolet light within a certain range.  Another type of filter to add to that list is a polarized filter that will help reduce reflections and increase contrasts.  Polarized filters will make your blue skies and ocean water bluer.  It’s like putting a pair of polarized sunglasses on your camera. blaclsea

Black & White- When you think of summer beach photography you think of all of the vibrant colors.  However, if you want to make some of your photos truly unique, try shooting them in black & white.  This will not only totally change the mood and feel of the shot, it’s a great way to recover a photo shoot taken on a cloudy or overcast day as well.  Many cameras like the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 from Beachcamera.com come with a black and white mode in the Picture Style setting which allows the photos you shoot to be displayed in black and white on your LCD screen. A beach vacation is all about fun in the sun and waves.  So get your family and friends to play in the sand and dive through the waves while you use these great tips to take some awesome photos of them this summer!    

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