Making the Best of a Rainy Day at the Beach With Your Camera

We’ve all had it happen. We check the forecast the night before and it says it’s going be sunny. Then we drive the 1 hour, 2 hours or even more to our favorite beach. We open the car door and then suddenly BOOM. We hear thunder and it’s raining. Or maybe it’s just drizzling. Or maybe it is just gray instead of sunny. What do you do? Go back home? No way. You make best of it. And you can still take some great photos. Here are a few suggestions.

Photograph Lightning
If you’re feeling brave and patient, get out your umbrella, raincoat and tripod and set up shop right in front of where the lightning is striking. You’ll need a remote shutter release if you want to minimize camera shake. This is where it gets fun, and frustrating. It takes a little luck and a lot of waiting. But, when you get your first shot of a lightning bolt, it is all worth it. Try experimenting with longer shutter speeds and try to catch the lightning before it strikes.

Use the ambient lighting to your advantage
Usually, when you’re at the beach the bright sun can be a real problem. If it’s raining or cloudy, you have a unique opportunity to take photos without such harsh lighting. I like shooting shells, plants and other still life shots with this kind of lighting.

Try shooting in Black & White mode
If the colors look muted anyway, try out the black and white setting on your camera, or just do some post-processing afterwards to convert your photos to black and white. It really challenges you to create strong compositions and bolder contrasts of subjects when you can’t rely on colors as a crutch.

Don’t get too down if it’s rainy at the beach, there are plenty of opportunities even when things don’t go your way!