Vacation Photo Tips

Going on a family beach vacation brings up contradicting desires. On the one hand, you want everyone to have a wonderful, fun, relaxing, memorable vacation. On the other hand, most people don't want to do what's required to preserve the memories.

We will show you how to have the best of both worlds. By providing photography tips, you can capture outstanding beach vacation pictures, enjoy taking the photos, and ensure that when you look at the photos at home, you won't be thinking: "Was this our vacation!?!"

Can’t-Miss Beach Vacation Photo Tips

1) Packing the Right Equipment

When you pack for your dream beach vacation, remember these essential items: Camera, batteries, memory cards, camera case, battery chargers, external flash (if available), tripod, and portable digital storage device. If you have an abundance of memory, you can leave the storage device at home.

2) Consider These Purchases

I know… you’re already spending more than you want to on the vacation. So the last thing you want is some stranger suggesting you spend more on photo accessories. But, read on and find out what these low cost accessories will do for you before you skip to Tip #3.

Consider purchasing a circular polarizer filter for your lens. Strongly consider it! It will be one of the least expensive accessories you can buy, and you will Love the results. What are the results? A bluer sky, the ability to see objects under water, and creating colors that will “pop” off the page.

3) Insurance

Do you have insurance on your possessions? Did your camera cost more than $25.00? Then do yourself a big favor and buy a UV filter to place over your lens for protection. If your lens becomes damaged, your camera is ruined. You can probably get a good UV filter for under $20.00.

4) The Magical Landscape Shot

If there are colorful bluffs, harbors, or other landscape picture opportunities on your beach vacation, you want to capture them, of course. Not only that, but wouldn't it also be impressive to add some family member(s) to the shot and have the people and the background in focus?

Set your F-stop for a high number (at least F-11, or at the "infinity" or "landscape" setting of your camera). Position the people in the foreground, the landscape in the background. Focus on your human subject(s), while being at least 15 feet away (25 is even better, if you have a telephoto).

Adjust the circular polarizer filter to obtain the desired shade of blue in the sky. Skip this step if you didn’t purchase a filter. Don’t worry, though. If you don’t like the vividness of the sky after the print is developed, you can always take out a magic marker and color the sky. (You didn’t hear that from me.)

Finally, gently squeeze the shutter and… voila! A perfect “postcard” photograph.

5) Silhouettes

Silhouette beach vacation pictures (or, non-beach vacation pictures for that matter) produce one of the most artistic and/or emotional-looking photographs possible. Most people never take silhouette photographs, and yet, they are just as easy as photographs taken during the day light.

The best time to take silhouette photos is from approximately 1 hour before sunset, to ½ hour after sunset. Use evaluative or matrix metering (which is probably your default metering mode anyway), and focus on the Human Subjects, with plenty of the cloud-filled sky in the background. Then compose the shot, as desired.

Did I mention that sunset shots without clouds are fairly disappointing? Sort of like winning the lottery and losing the ticket. 

The silhouette effect results from the camera thinking the overall scene is brighter than it is, and therefore under-exposes the dark areas (human subjects).

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Follow these four simple rules, and you'll begin to see a dramatic improvement in your photos!

Follow these four simple rules, and you'll begin to see a dramatic improvement in your photos!. If you pay attention to some simple rules of photographic composition, rather than simply "pointing and shooting," you'll begin to notice a significant difference in your snapshots, even the ones you take of family events. 

1) Remember, centered photos are boring. 

Pay attention the next time you're in a movie theater; nothing is ever centered. Follos the rule of thirds - mentally divide the frame into thirds both vertically and horizontally, and place the center of interest (usually your subject's eyes) on one of those 'third lines.' 

2) Frame your pictures. 

If you're taking scenics of a distant lake or mountain, look for an interesting frame. This is no different from framing a photo on your wall. Your frame can be tree branches, rocks, or some other interesting foreground object. 

3) When shooting portraits, use the longest zoom setting your camera will allow (without using the "digital zoom"). Also use the widest aperture (or the lowest f-stop number). This will throw the background into a nice soft focus, drawing your viewer's eyes right to your smiling subject. 

4) Look for distractions in the frame. 

It's hard to learn to do this, because your brain naturally filters out the telephone pole growing out of Uncle Joe's head - but the photo printer won't. Look for objects which will draw your viewer's attention away from your desired center of interest.

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