Beautiful light makes just about everything look good, but when you mix it with some water it’s almost hard to miss. Hopefully, you’ll find yourself bathed in both of them sometime soon. If you and your camera both get a little bit wet, don’t worry, it’s going to be alright.
If I had to choose one lens for the beach it would probably be a telephoto. A long lens compresses your view of your swimmers, surfers and the waves. The trick is to stand back from your subject, zoom in as far as you can, and enjoy the sunshine and your camera. Then just let the action happen. They won’t be able to hear you yelling directions over the sound of the waves from that distance anyway.
LOOK FOR REFLECTIONS
You won’t find reflections that look like this in the middle of the day when the sun is overhead, but you certainly will when the sun is low in the sky. As hard as it is to imagine, you may not even notice them when they’re happening, So keep your eyes open. Sure, when a reflection is photographed as beautifully as it is in this version by Missy Shew Johnson, it’s obvious, but trust me, this situation is more easy to overlook than you would think.
TRY A DRAMATIC SHOT
There’s a formula for this picture and it doesn’t come along all that often. You need dramatic backlighting—that usually happens at the end of the day—and a nice dark background to let those water drops pop. Then, you want the fastest shutter speed you can get your hands on. A large aperture—that’s a small number—will also help put whatever background there is out of focus. When you pull this photograph off as well as Sarah White did, it’s pure joy.
GET THE WHOLE PICTURE
I always think of the body of water as a huge graphic element waiting to be used as negative space to put emphasis on my subjects. The fact that water reflects trees and clouds just makes it all that much better. If you can’t take a great picture of the kid fishing in grandpa and grandma’s pond you may want to turn in your neck strap.
GET ARTSY
Long shutter speeds at dusk next to a lake or an ocean will give you plenty of opportunity to get artsy. Think of it—a meditative walk along the beach alone with your camera and the splendors of the planet are all you need. I hand held my camera here with a shutter speed that was several seconds long. Experimentation is obviously required, but you’ve got plenty of time for it.
DON’T FORGET THE PEOPLE
Posing people IN the water turns even the simplest snapshot into a fun memory. Look at this picture by Nikki Wagner! Look how cool those kids think they are standing in that waist deep water having their pictures taken! But simple snapshots can be deceptive. Notice how Nikki waited till late in the day when the light was beautiful for her portrait. Like I said before, good light and water make just about everything look spectacular.
