So it’s a long holiday session all over the northern hemisphere and it is during this very time of the year that people are usually out of their homes, planning the perfect vacation and booking travel tickets. Needless to say, don’t ever forget to take your digital camera along with you, or else what’s the point of having spent all that money and time and later not even a single memory to re-cherish those wonderful moments ?
A beach is one of those prominent hotspots that people usually crave for during their summer holidays. Capturing the setting sun just above the beach’s horizon with its magical reflection on the water body and capturing those beautiful big rocks being smashed against by those rising waves..these all constitute a few amazing moments worth capturing with your digital camera.
Here i present a few important tips to enjoy a nice photography session at the beach or a sea coast…
1. Wait for the right time
Before you get ready with your digital photography kit, it is very important that you wait for the prefect time to start shooting at the beach. Avoid taking photos during the bright day time – as the bright sunshine scattered all over the light-colored sand and water might leave you with overexposed photos. The perfect time to start shooting is 2 or 3 hours before the sun sets in. During this time, the sunlight is adorable and less bright which is favorable to come up with pretty decent photos.
2. Turn off the auto mode
If you are out on a bright sunny day with camera’s auto mode turned on then you are most likely to see dark/under exposed photos being captured. Don’t let the camera turn you down, switch to the manual mode and break all the barriers of the auto capture mode. Increase the exposure level of the camera if it happens to be too dark, switch to a higher ISO setting and increase the shutter speed. Keep practicing with varying positions and angles, you will finally end up capturing better photos.
3. Use Neutral density and Polarizing filters
DSLR users should make use of ND filters and polarizing filters, if they are getting weird overexposed photos even during the right time. An ND filter blocks excessive sunlight to enter your camera’s sensor while at the same time the polarizing filter absorbs scattered/reflected radiations of the sunlight if you are using it the in the right way. The correct use of both can even surprise you with magnificent HDR like photos.
4. Use the macro mode or Depth of Field
For capturing the micro sized life scattered around the beach coast – seashells, crabs and all..the macro mode performs fairly well. Get close to these small creatures and take the shots utilizing the macro mode or depth of field on your camera. The results would be awesome.
6. Consider a faster lens for your camera
A faster lens not only captures the movements exceptionally well due to faster shutter speeds but also allows more light to reach the camera when shooting under low light at the beach, especially during the dawn or dusk timings. So considering a faster camera lens for your camera has always an edge over using the regular camera lens, but these are as usual expensive and require a lot of care.
5. Take multiple shots
Operate your camera in burst mode. This way you will end up with an option to choose from several good photos. Beach life is highly dynamic with children and adults playing with water splashes, throwing gaming balls to each other and dancing with joy. It is impossible to capture each and every action the intended way and at the right time obviously. This is where the burst mode kicks well.
Enjoy and have a great photography session @ beach ;-)