The beach is my happy place. The salty air, the sand in my toes, the wide open space, the sound of the crashing waves, the hunt for shells… and, while I am terrified of birds, seagulls. I also love, love, love creating beach photos for clients and my own family.
Summer vacations at the beach are a time we tend to look back on with fondness and nostalgia. We wish we could freeze time and slow our vacation down, but it always tends to go too fast. To help bottle up all the summer beach fun so we can go back to that happy place in the long winter months, here are 14 beach photo ideas to try this summer.
1. Reflections
I am always excited when we go to the beach during low tide because it creates beautiful reflections in the wet sand. To capture the best reflections, be sure to get low to the ground. Reflections can create beautiful leading lines, interesting compositions, added color and so much more.
2. Color
When you close your eyes and think of the beach I bet you imagine blue skies, light colored sandy beaches and a blue ocean with whitecaps. It is the perfect backdrop for beautiful color photos (especially if your kids will let you coordinate the colors of their swim suits!). To capture the most vibrant colors, keep your back to the sun so the light is falling onto your subject.
3. Details
Kids change so much in a year — from what they look like to what they do at the beach — so make sure to capture those little details that might be gone next year. Move in close and capture the “just this summer” things.
4. Portraits
Forget about traditional portraits! Bring on the beach hair and the giant smiles as they do their favorite beach activities. No forced smiles, no bribing to get them to look and smile at the camera, just capture your people having the best summer with their family.
5. The ocean
When I’m at the beach, I love photographing the kids in the water. But, safety is always my number one priority. I always make sure there is another adult who is responsible for supervising them. The ocean can be unpredictable so it is important to have someone focused on safety while you are focused on taking photos.
Here’s a little video clip of me photographing in the ocean. This was part of my beach photos article in the summer 2021 issue of Click.
6. Action
Kids move fast! Whether they are chasing the birds, riding waves or jumping the surf, you will want to use a fast shutter speed to freeze all that summertime action.
7. The sky
Capture those gorgeous wide-open skies in your beach photos! From white puffy clouds to dramatic summer storms rolling in, photograph the wide angle view. Use a 35mm or wider focal length to capture your family against this beautiful backdrop.
8. The beach environment
The beach and ocean are so vast and can make even an adult feel tiny in this big world. Be sure to take some steps back and use a wide-angle lens or fish-eye lens to capture your littles against the grand scale of the beach environment.
9. Hunting for shells
Looking for shells along the shoreline is a must do when you are on vacation at the beach. Trying to find the perfect shell to bring home is usually also met with wanting to bring home all the broken shells too. Capture the wide-angle shell hunting walk as well as close-up photos of the kids holding their favorites.
10. Black and white beach photos
While colorful beach photos are beautiful, the harsh light and contrast in the waves can also create stunning black and white photos. An added bonus is that black and white photos always have a timeless feel to them, and can hide any crazy colored swimsuits your kids may have picked out that year!
11. Sand
Kids have an interesting relationship with sand. While some cry because they hate the feeling of it others love to eat it. From sandy faces to sandy toes to building sandcastles, capturing how your kids feel about sand this year is a must for your beach photos.
12. Seagulls and shore birds
Kids love to chase birds! And, while this is part of any trip to the beach, I have a huge fear of birds (especially seagulls) and tend to capture them from a distance. This is one beach photo opportunity where I might actually grab a zoom lens so I don’t have to get too close.
13. Slow shutter speed images
Once you have that frozen-in-time moment of riding the waves or standing at the water’s edge, slow down your shutter speed and capture the movement of the ocean. The slower shutter speed can really capture that feeling of movement.
My go-to settings for beach photography:
When I am taking photos in the ocean on a bright sunny beach day, I want to ensure I don’t overexpose and lose detail in the highlights, so I tend to underexpose slightly.
Photographing in the ocean can be tricky to nail focus as you are usually getting hit with waves as you’re taking a photo. Because of that, I don’t usually shoot wide open. My aperture is generally between f/3.5 and f/5.
My shutter speed is almost always above 1/1,000 unless I am intentionally shooting for motion blur. My ISO is typically below 400.
14. Selfies
Yep! If you’re taking photos of your family at the beach, you need to get in the picture sometimes, too. Whether you wear a swimsuit, a cover up or shorts and a shirt, you are part of these beach vacation memories. Show your kids years from now all the fun you had as a family. Show them you were there too.
You might also like: Get in the picture! 5 Easy steps for complete family photos
The most important thing to remember when documenting your family at the beach is to have fun and enjoy the moment. I hope this list helps you bottle up some of your beach vacation, or helps you capture those special memories for your clients.
Check out my article in the summer 2021 issue of Click magazine for more beach session tips and advice!
My beach day gear:
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lenses: SIGMA 35mm DG HSM f/1.4 Art lens and Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 fish eye lens
Underwater housing: Outex Pro Kit
Pro tip: I try not to change my lens at the beach to avoid sand getting where it shouldn’t.
Photos by Nancy Elizabeth Photography
