How To Take Great Photos Of Your Family At The Beach This Summer

Soon we will all be going down to the Florida for our family summer vacations. As a professional photographer, the most common question I am asked by my clients is how to take good pictures of their kids and family at the beach.

Here are just a few tips on how to create a well exposed and colorful image that will be a keeper.

1. The best time to shoot at the beach is right before and after sunset. You will need to use a show shutter speed so make sure you have a tripod. You will notice magenta tones reflecting in the shoreline, so make sure you include the shoreline in your photos. Try not to shoot too much sky as the brightness of the sky will underexpose your image.

2. You may need to use flash if the sun is on the subjects back. Read your instructions on how to set your camera to "fill flash" so you have a more natural look than a full flash.

3. It is best to have the sunlight, which is low in the horizon, illuminate the subject's face. This will give the most natural look and also produce the much needed "catchlights" in their eyes. You want to make sure your subject's are not squinting.

4. Unposed photos are the best at the beach. Have your subjects in an interpretive pose, i.e. looking at each other, bending over and looking at seashells, or walking hand in hand toward the sunset. For families you will want to pose casually on the ground.

5. Photos during the middle of the day are tough because of the harsh sun and lack of shade. The best advice for shots in the middle of the day is to have the sun on your subject's back and use flash.

Have fun at the beach this summer and practice every night with your camera. Look at the images on a laptop the next day to see how you can improve.

Mary Buck is a professional photographer with Lightscapes Photographic Artwork in Duluth, GA. She is available for children's and family portraits outdoors and in the studio. She travels to Destin every summer and also photographs families locally at Lake Lanier.

You can view her work at http://www.lightscapesphoto.com