Beach/ Surf Shots

[pagani]

Hi all,

Just wondering what i'm doing wrong with my beach shots, trying to get some good water movement shots at the beach pools and not having much luck, tried sunrise, sunset and middle of the day. Getting great water movement (misty etc) but my whites are blown out. Don't have any kind of filters (i've been told I really need a polarizer), would this help? Also was out at sunrise this morning and tried to get the great sunbeams that were shooting into the sky but without success...... any thoughts??

[Lance B]

Beach/surf shots are very difficult when the sun is shining and the surf foam is white and therefore has a tendency to get blown out. Neutral Density Graduated filters for the clouds during the day may help or for bright morning and afternoon skies, but the surf foam is difficult to control. A polarizer may help, but you will just have to underexpose the shot in order to keep the highlights in check. Having said that, a little bit of blow out on the surf is sometimes not a big deal as it is not a point of interest, but you need to evaluate it.

[macdog]

Try going out even earlier when the sun is barely up so you can open shutter for longer and the sun wont blow out the white wash so much. it's pretty tricky though and you have to be quick

[kiwi]

I think some examples with th settings bring used will be important

But, in general your not goin to be able to get a slow enough shutter speed on a sunny day at the beach to blur the water much, if at all, without using a nd filter

[alextdel]

I tried yesterday at Burleigh for a couple of hours around 4pm to get some shots that had some white surf - every one was blown (blinky warning on the LCD display) even with really large underexposures and a polariser filter.

[Allann]

Nd400 filter will help a little if it's already sunny, but most seascape photographers will shoot 1/2 to 1 hour BEFORE sunrise to get those iconic shots. Also get a lot more colours in the sky and when your lucky great depth in the clouds. GND filters will also be your friend as there is usually at least 3 stops of light difference between sky and ground, if not more. But like kiwi said, post some example with exif data so we can better comment on the issue at hand.

[William]

Hi Alex , This might help, You can do it , This shot was taken, @ 10.48am in the Morning, 20-3-10 , Absolutly no filters used , Not even a UV !! This was taken at Snapper Rocks , Canon 30D With a kit 18-200 that came with a 50D, It had IS , Which I had a loan of , Settings were ISO 160 to bump the shutter speed up to 1/1250th of a sec Focal lenght was 170mm Aperture was f8 , All in Manual mode , Any questions just ask, Love to see you at the Quick Silver Pro Surfing meet at Snapper Rocks at the end of the month - Bill

PS: Just had a thought , Allann, Is dead right if your after a slow shutter speed , You'll need ND Grads and a Poloriser , Best time is very early and Late in the Arvo , Very hard in the middle of the day , If thats the case the ND400 would be the go , Post a shot to show us what your after