Tips for your beach photography

By Julie Hartwig, Tin Can Bay Camera Club

Taking photos at the beach creates special challenges for digital cameras. Photos may appear overexposed or very bright, or the scene may be properly exposed but any people in the photos may be too dark.

This is because your camera’s in-built light metering system may encounter difficulties (even in Auto modes) when faced with light/dark contrasts and light reflecting off sand, white surf and water.

Here are a few tips to address this problem. The first method is to point the auto focus point in the centre of the LCD/viewfinder (also the light metering point) at the subject, then half press the shutter button to lock both auto focus and metering. Holding the shutter button down, recompose the photo, then press the shutter all the way to take the photo.

Another method is to use your camera’s flash to fill in light in dark areas such as people’s faces. Look for the Flash setting (lightning bolt symbol) on your camera or in the menu and turn it on.

Some point-and-shoot cameras have a pre-set “Beach” scene mode specifically for taking photos at the beach. This will automatically adjust the camera settings to compensate for the brightness of beach scenes. It’s a good alternative setting if you’re encountering exposure problems on Auto.

Smart phones and tablets encounter this problem, too. If you’re using an iPhone, some smart phones or a tablet, compose your photo, then touch the screen to set the exposure point, usually on the subject you want properly exposed.

The Tin Can Bay Camera Club’s next meeting: 7pm, Wednesday April 19 at TCB Library. View information and members’ images: www.tincanbaycameraclub.wix.com/tcb-camera-club.