After setting base ISO 100, I compose the image and manually focus on whatever object (usually just a patch of sand) is double the distance from the very bottom of my photo.
Those situations can easily fool the camera’s meter, so manual mode is the way to go. And quite often, I find myself using either a polarizing filter or an ND filter – sometimes both stacked together – to cut the light and achieve long exposures. I turn off Auto ISO and set my ISO manually to the base value, which is ISO 100 on my camera. In fact, I shoot in aperture priority with Auto ISO for 99% of my wildlife photography, and most wildlife pros I know do something similar.īut landscapes at the beach are a different game altogether. I am not a person who always says to shoot in manual exposure mode. My go-to lens is Nikon’s brilliant 20mm f/1.8 G for landscapes, but if you have a 24-70mm zoom or similar, that will work very well, too. For example, for the image in the prior section, I used a 20mm lens and stood very close to my subject to get perspective distortion and make them look larger in the photo than they did in person. Every photographer has a different style so don’t be afraid to go against that recommendation, but at least try it out so that you can make the foreground more prominent. These days, I tend to stick with lenses 24mm or wider for my own beach photography. If your foreground is something small like just a few seashells or a little pattern in the sand, an ultra-wide lens (about 20mm or wider, full-frame equivalent) can make it look more prominent. I’ve found that one of the easiest ways to deal with a challenging foreground subject in beach photography is to use a wider lens than usual. Since that wasn’t my goal, I would have needed to move to a different area in search of a more substantial foreground subject. There would be practically nothing in the photo, which would only work if you were going for an overwhelmingly minimalist view.
Imagine the above image without the rocks in the foreground. Foregrounds are often the most important subject in a photograph, especially when photographing landscapes at the beach.
So, don’t just point and shoot in the direction of the sea, but actively look for the most interesting possible foregrounds. But unless the patterns in the sand and water have some especially interesting details, they may not be enough to make a strong subject. At the beach, the most common foregrounds you’ll find are rocks, patterns in the sand, and patterns in the water. That’s where the foreground comes into play. Instead, it is usually better if the sky complements your subject rather than being your subject. If you try to make it into one, you may just end up disappointed. Unless there is something highly unusual in the sky like a bolt of lightning or a massive, menacing cloud, the sky is unlikely to be your primary subject in a photo.
Clouds play a vital role in such scenarios by reducing negative space in our composition without requiring unusual (though not necessarily bad) compositions that only have a tiny sliver of the sky. That’s why a plain blue sky can be particularly overwhelming in a beach photo it’s a big area of negative space. The sky very often plays a vital role in any kind of landscape photography, but the effect is accentuated with beaches, where there aren’t usually thick forests or tall mountains to block a lot of the sky. If a small cloud patch can make a difference, imagine a sky filled with clouds with tons of details. But the picture would have been better with some more interesting clouds in the sky.Ĭompared it to the image below, which has clouds that complement the subject and add to the overall appeal of the picture: Clouds add to the overall appeal of the entire image. The composition has enough details in the foreground, and the subject (the boat on the left) stands out with another boat (one on the right), balancing it. A scene with a plain blue sky looks boring. For example, take a look at the picture below. The more interesting your clouds, the more interesting your beach photos. A bright, beautiful day on the beach without a cloud in the sky might sound nice, but it often won’t look very exciting in a photo.