It’s that time of year when I get an email from a sweet Mama who’s headed to the beach and asks “what are your tips for photographing my family at the beach” There really isn’t any secrets, but I will share 5 tips that I think will help anyone as they try to take family pictures!
- Pay attention to the sun: It’s super hard to take properly exposed images mid day at the beach in full sun…in fact, I would say it’s near impossible unless you have some other equipment. So if you can at all…wait until the sun is low in the sky or early in the morning. You will find things much easier, less shadows, no squinty eyes etc.
- Find shade: I always find a pier…it’s a great place to take pictures with full shade. If you want to capture you kiddos playing in the sand and surf…have them do it under a pier.
- Expose for the faces: this means that if you are shooting in manual, you should expose for faces, your sky will probably be “blow out” / overexposed but you will have a properly exposed face. Then you can expose for the sky and do a composite in photoshop…I know it’s a bit much…but it will work.
- Don’t shoot too wide open (low f/stop): If you want to catch the waves and a beautiful sky then shoot at a higher f/stop …otherwise you will have a beautiful blur (bokeh)
- Have your kids with the wind in their face: This will have their hair (especially girls) blowing behind them and you won’t get strands of hair in their face
- Change you vantage point: Don’t take all your pictures from the same angle…get down (I actually lay on my stomach) and shoot and then shoot from above.
Okay so that was 6…but hopefully they will help as you grab those cameras and head to the beach!
We are in the midst of our pre-booking for the next week…that means you get $200 off on your beach session when you book! Pretty exciting!
This is my last beach session from 2014 to feature…I know I’m so behind! But I’m super excited to share it as I LOVE this family! This was a girls trip that mom planned for she, her two girls and their friends…super fun to photograph! I hope that as they see these images now, it brings back great memories! Thanks B for always allowing me to capture your beautiful family!
