Category — Beach Sunset

The sun is the source of all life in our universe, and we should rightfully be thankful for its presence. Yet, in particular situations, the sun can be the photographers worst enemy. They make people squint and cast harsh shadows. In general, the bright sun is a horrible thing for the beach photographer. Yet, here are 3 ways to use the sun to your advantage instead of being annoyed by it.

1. Have people face the sun at an angle
When you’re taking photos of people, instead of having them face directly at the sun, try positioning them such that they’re at a 45 to 90 degree angle looking at the sun. You don’t want them to be backlit with the sun behind them, either. Get it so that the sun is lighting their faces, and yet they don’t have to stare directly at the sun when looking at the camera. Be aware of shadows caused on faces by someone’s nose or by other people next to them, and try to mitigate their effects.

2. Use trees and buildings to your advantage
Many times, even on the beach you can find trees (palm and otherwise) that you can set subjects (people or objects) underneath so that the sun isn’t so harsh on them. Semi-leafy trees can be ideal so that some light is getting through, but not too much. Also, depending on the placement of structures, you can photograph people in the shadows and still find enough light to make a good photo.

3. Create interesting photos with unique shadows
Instead of fighting the sun, USE the sun to create artful patterns. Think of textures and unique figures you can create by figuring out where the sun falls. Instead of “painting with light,” try your hand at painting with shadows.

Anytime you go to the beach and it’s sunny out, you’re combating the bright rays of light that can nearly blind you. If the sun’s power is affecting your eyes like that, you can imagine the kinds of effects it can have on your camera’s lens, and as a result on the photos you eventually take.

A Polarizing Filter: Sunglasses for your camera
Just as people wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from the solar rays of the sun, photographers can attach a polarizing filter to the lens in order to mitigate the sun’s glare. The key thing to do is to experiment and rotate the filter such that the glare is minimized as much as possible.

Glare can happen when you are photography any surface that reflects light. The ocean, windows, surfaces of cars or other objects and even people’s glasses or sunglasses. Keep in mind that the polarizing filter does the most good when you are at a 90 degree angle from the sun (say the sun is in the west and you’re facing north or south). If the sun is directly behind you (180 degrees), the help the polarizing filter can do for you is minimized.

Instead of photographing directly out at the ocean, try taking pictures from an angle. Be coginizant of the sun’s position and use it to your advantage while also utilizing your polarizing filter.

Remember that practice makes perfect and to keep experimenting on subsequent trips to the beach. You can also practice with local bodies of water like swimming pools and ponds as they present similar challenges to the ocean.

If you’ve ever been at the beach during the sunset, you’ve no doubt been astounded by its overwhelming beauty. You try and capture it with your camera, but for some reason when you get home and look at the photos, it doesn’t quite do it justice. Read on for 4 secrets that can help you take home more of the essence of the beach sunset.

Frame the Horizon with the rule of thirds
When you place the horizon, divide the photo into thirds and be sure to place the horizon line such that it divides the frame so that the top two thirds is the sky and the bottom third is the water, or try the opposite. This will look much better than if you place the horizon dead center in the middle and will draw the audience’s interest more.

Try photographing it at different intervals
You can’t just take ONE photo of the sunset, and you don’t want to take 50 photos in one minute. You want to space it out, maybe take one every 5 minutes over a span of an hour. In my experience, I have found that usually the sunset gets better as time goes on.

Add some interest with other objects
Look around at the setting, what objects, people, buildings, trees/plants can you use to make the photo more interesting? if you place an object directly in front of the sunset you can get a completely black silhouette shot. Or try juxtaposing the sun with a local landmark on the side. Even better, don’t take a photo of the sun at all, and instead utilize the amazing lighting to photograph other subjects.

Use a Tripod
Usually most people reserve tripods for night shots. But since the light is diminishing, a tripod can be your best friend. Especially in the late sunset once it’s past the horizon. It’s during these times that the sun, now set, can brilliantly illuminate the clouds above. If the light is low, stabilize with a tripod and experiment with slightly longer shutter speeds to see how the light plays out.