landscapes

Shoot professional

Take your seascapes

and beach scenes up

a step by using these

creative techniques

T

he ocean is a constant draw to photographers

all over the world. There is the special appeal

of the boundary between the sea and land that

lends coastal scenes a dramatic tone, scarcely

experienced at inland locations. The movement of the

waves, the way in which the water flows over and around

foreground elements, and the quality of the reflected

light from the ocean surface contribute almost all of the

aspects we look for when shooting a landscape image.

It is no wonder that websites such as Flickr, 500px

and social platforms like Instagram are awash with

photographs of seaside locations.

As with all popular subjects, however, this focus can

often result in a formulaic approach that generates

hundreds of similar images, displaying little in the way

of creativity. You’ll often see coastal scenes shot using a

long exposure to reduce water to a smooth impression,

while the time selected will most likely be sunrise or

sunset. All of these choices are effective and produce

beautiful imagery, but without a clear intent on the

photographer’s part, it’s a challenge to make frames

stand out from their competition.

The professional landscape photographer is able to

recognise when the ‘safe’ composition and exposure

choices are the most effective and when it is best to

stray from convention and experiment with framing,

shutter speed and lighting. Our goal over the following

pages is to learn how to use commonly experienced

coastal conditions for maximum impact by selecting the

best kit and employing creative techniques.

Midnight sun

A perfect harmony of

moving and static elements

can produce the ultimate

coastal images, utilising the

characteristic interplay of

water and land

©Cristian Kirshbom

coas tal

Takeyourseascapes

andbeachscenesup

astepbyusingthese

creative techniques

T

heoceanisaconstantdrawtophotographers

allovertheworld.Thereisthespecialappeal

oftheboundarybetweentheseaandlandthat

lendscoastalscenesadramatictone,scarcely

experiencedatinlandlocations.Themovementofthe

waves,thewayinwhichthewaterflowsoverandaround

foregroundelements,andthequalityofthereflected

lightfromtheoceansurfacecontributealmostallofthe

aspectswelookforwhenshootingalandscapeimage.

ItisnowonderthatwebsitessuchasFlickr,500px

andsocialplatformslikeInstagramareawashwith

photographsofseasidelocations.

Aswithallpopularsubjects,however,thisfocuscan

oftenresultinaformulaicapproachthatgenerates

hundredsofsimilarimages,displayinglittleintheway

ofcreativity.You’lloftenseecoastalscenesshotusinga

longexposuretoreducewatertoasmoothimpression,

whilethetimeselectedwillmostlikelybesunriseor

sunset.Allofthesechoicesareeffectiveandproduce

beautifulimagery,butwithoutaclearintentonthe

photographer’spart,it’sachallengetomakeframes

standoutfromtheircompetition.

The professional landscape photographer is able to

recognise when the ‘safe’ composition and exposure

choices are the most effective and when it is best to

stray from convention and experiment with framing,

shutter speed and lighting. Our goal over the following

pages is to learn how to use commonly experienced

coastal conditions for maximum impact by selecting the

best kit and employing creative techniques.

Midnight sun

A perfect harmony of

moving and static elements

can produce the ultimate

coastal images, utilising the

characteristic interplay of

water and land

©Cristian Kirshbom