As summer closes and the weather becomes less conducive for beach-going, you’ll be left with the photos. And if you didn’t take the time to prepare by learning simple tips and tricks, you’ll have nothing to show. Better beach photography depends on many concepts and ideas regarding lighting, clouds, waves, colors, etc. However, it’s not just as simple as pointing your camera in any given direction and taking the shot.

1. Locate the Sun

The sun is one of the essential elements in beach photography. You can’t always control where it will be, but you can wait an hour or so to find an ideal spot and time. The sun has many different effects on your subject. It can brighten a dull day, cast shadows over certain areas, or even create a silhouette effect on your subject.

The key is to find the best angle for your subject and then wait for just the right moment when the sun hits it at just the right angle. When photographing people, try to capture them either facing toward or away from the sun. If they meet it directly, it will make them squint and look irritated or angry in your photo. But if they’re facing away from it, they’ll appear silhouetted against a bright background.

If you want to capture a perfect beach sunset shot, wait until after sunset when there are no clouds in the sky, and the moon is high enough in the sky so that there isn’t much light coming from behind it (which would make it appear as just another big bright spot).

2. Visit at Sunrise or Sunset

One of the essential tips for better beach photography is to visit at sunrise or sunset. This is the best time for taking photos because you can get beautiful light and shadows.

The sun gives a warm glow to your photos, making them look more natural. It also helps make colors pop out in your images.

If possible, try to capture scenes with people in them. This will give your pictures a more exciting look and feel. If you want to take photos with people, it’s best to do so during sunrise or sunset when there aren’t many people around. 

However, if you’re lucky enough, you might be able to capture some great photos with people in them during low tide when there are fewer people on the beach anyway! You don’t need expensive equipment or software to take good beach photos; all you need is a camera (and possibly filters), good lighting conditions, and some patience!

3. Use a Polarizing Filter

A polarizing filter is one of the most valuable accessories for any photographer. It can be used to enhance your shots in many different ways. For example, it can help you achieve vibrant colors and reduce reflections from water, glass, and other reflective surfaces. This is especially useful when photographing at the beach, where it’s common to find water and sand in your images.

The best way to create an image with vibrant colors and deep blacks is by using a polarizing filter. This filter reduces glare from non-metallic surfaces, such as water, glass, or snow. It also increases contrast, which makes your images sharper and more defined.

A polarizing filter is often used in landscape photography because it helps remove unwanted reflections from lakes and ponds, making your images look dull and unattractive.

Polarizers are available in circular or linear models. 

The circular model is more versatile because it can be rotated to adjust its effect on the image (i.e., increasing or decreasing polarization). Linear models are less expensive but have a fixed effect (i.e., no rotation control).

The strength of polarization varies among brands and models, so check your camera’s manual before buying a filter. Some filters may not work well with specific lenses or cameras, so always test your equipment before taking photos with a new filter attached!

4. Vary Your Perspective

Beach photography can be pretty challenging. There are so many things to consider, from the right time of day to shoot to the perfect location. However, one of the essential aspects of beach photography is perspective. It’s easy to take a photo of an ocean or beach and get a fantastic shot, but you can take things to the next level by varying your perspective.

One way to do this is by getting down low and shooting up at a beach scene. This will give an interesting angle that adds a sense of height and drama to your photos. Using a drone, you can also shoot from above or even walk around on stilts! In addition, changing up your viewpoint can help you see things in new ways and add variety to your shots.

There are so many different ways to photograph a beach, and it’s all about finding what works best for you. One example is photographing the sand and water from above. You can get great shots of waves crashing into the shoreline by using a drone, but don’t forget that you can also use other types of aerial photography. 

If you don’t have drone access, try taking photos from up high on a cliff or bluff. This will give you a great perspective on the ocean below. Another way to change things is by getting down low while looking at your subject matter. This creates an interesting visual effect that makes viewers wonder what they’re looking at! Get down on your knees or even lay down flat on the ground if necessary (though this may not be comfortable). You’ll want to use a wide-angle lens for this type of shot because it will allow you to capture more of the landscape around you.

5. Compose in Thirds

The rule of thirds is a simple and effective tool for composing images. It’s based on the idea that if you imagine a grid in your viewfinder or on your screen and divide it into thirds, you can place your subject along the lines or at the points where they intersect.

The idea is that you should avoid placing your subject right in the center of the frame. The picture below shows how this looks: The picture on the right was taken using the rule of thirds, while the one on the left was not. The second image is more pleasing because it has a more balanced composition.

This technique will help you create better beach photos, but beware: it’s not a hard and fast rule! You’re free to use it or not, depending on what kind of image you want to create. The rule of thirds is a compositional technique that encourages you to break up your frame into nine equal sections or thirds. 

The idea is that by placing your subject along one of those lines or at an intersection of lines, you create a more visually attractive image. For example, putting something in the center of an image will be very static and boring. If you place it off-center in one of these lines or intersections, you’ve created more movement and interest in the photo.

This tip works best when there aren’t too many competing elements in your shot. So if there are many other things in your scene — trees, buildings, people — this might not work as well. But if you’re looking at just sand and water with maybe some rocks here and there, then try composing in thirds!

6. Shoot in RAW Format

The RAW format is a much higher quality image than JPEG and can be edited on your computer. It’s essential to shoot in RAW format to adjust the white balance, exposure, contrast, and saturation after taking the photo.

If you’re unfamiliar with shooting in RAW, it’s easy to learn how to do it on any digital camera. The only drawback is that the files are more significant than JPEGs, so they take up more space on your memory card or hard drive.

If you want to shoot in RAW but don’t want or need all of those extra features, check out DNG, which stands for Digital Negative (or Digital NEGATIVE). It’s an open-source file format created by Adobe specifically for cameras that shoot RAW images.

The RAW file format is a specific digital image containing raw data from the camera’s sensor. This format stores more information than standard formats such as JPG, allowing more editing flexibility. In addition, RAW files contain no compression, so they are more significant than compressed formats like JPGs.

Most cameras do not use RAW files because they take up more space on your memory card and require more processing power to display and edit. However, this extra information can be helpful when editing photos later.

Why Shoot in RAW Format?

RAW files provide several benefits for editing:

High Quality: RAW images have far higher pixel resolution than JPEGs. This means they are sharper and more straightforward than JPEGs of all sizes (even if you’re only looking at small thumbnail images).

Uncompressed: Because there’s no compression applied to RAW files, they can retain much more detail than JPEGs or other compressed formats like TIFF or PNG. This makes them ideal for editing complex images with lots of fine details like landscapes and portraits where JPEG artifacts would otherwise be visible due to compression artifacts.

7. Keep the Horizon Level

This is a simple tip, but it can make your photos look more professional. Beach photography can be challenging because you have to deal with reflections, and often people are in your shot. The other problem is that the sun is usually in front of you, so you get shadows on one side of your subject. These problems can be solved with some basic techniques to make your beach photos look better than ever!

You first need to make sure that you have an even horizon line in your photo. If you don’t have a consistent horizon line, it will look like your picture was taken by someone who doesn’t know how to use their camera properly. You want everything in your photo to be even, including the sky and water line, or else it will look off balance and unprofessional!

The second thing is shooting from above, such as from an elevated deck or pier. If you shoot straight down at the sand, your horizon will be perfectly level, but if you shoot with your camera pointed toward the water, it won’t. 

The second way is when you go around and photograph people on the beach instead of from above. When you do this, it’s easy to forget that the horizon is level and accidentally tilt your camera to one side or another, causing your photos to look crooked and unbalanced.

The simplest way to avoid this problem is by keeping track of where your horizon should be at all times. If you’re shooting with a digital SLR camera and have live view mode enabled (not all cameras do), then keep an eye on it while shooting and ensure that it stays level at all times.

8. Add a Foreground Subject

If you want to take beach photos that stand out, you must ensure that you add a foreground subject. This works so well because it will give your image a sense of depth and perspective. When it comes down to it, this can help make your pictures look more professional and give them a unique touch.

One way you can do this is by adding some object or person in the foreground of your photo. This could be anything from an old tire to just footprints in the sand. You do not want to go overboard with beach photography because it does not always work out well if you do too much of it.

Another thing you may want to consider when it comes down to beach photography is using long exposure times and long lenses on your camera. This will allow you to capture water splashes, waves crashing on the shore, and even clouds moving across the sky while they are still moving at high speeds.

The foreground subject can be anything that relates to the topic of your photo. It could be a person or an object. If you are at a beach and want to photograph people, the foreground subject can be someone sitting on the sand or walking around.

An excellent example is when you want to take photos of people surfing. In this case, one of the tips for better beach photography is to get close enough so that all you see is the surfboard and nothing else. This will give your photo more impact and make it more interesting than just having a person standing in front of a wave.

Where to Post Your Work Online?

Ishinora is an online platform for photographers and artists to exhibit their work, sell prints and connect with other artists. You can post your beach photography online at Ishinora Singapore. It’s a great way to share your work, get feedback from fellow artists, and earn money.

Ishinora Singapore is a community of photographers and artists who use the platform to share their art with the world. The site is free to join, allowing you to upload images, create albums and share them with the Ishinora community.

When you post your beach photos at Ishinora Singapore, they will be seen by thousands of people worldwide. You’ll be able to get feedback and comments on your work from other artists as well as sell prints of your photos through their print-on-demand service, which allows you to print high-quality images directly from your computer or smartphone!