If you live near the coast the shoreline makes for a wonderful landscape photography subject. Here are a handful of tips to give you some ideas and help you along the way.
Use a tripod and get your feet wet
As with any serious landscape photography, you will need a tripod. When choosing one, make sure it is solid and sturdy and easy to collapse and extend. I don't recommend buying the most expensive one. It will get full of sand and salt water, so you want something durable and easy to clean.
To capture your images, get your feet wet and work around the shoreline. If the area is rocky, I recommend wearing flip flops or marine footwear.
A tripod helped bridge the gap between the rocks for this image.
Get up early and stay out late
The best light occurs during the blue and holden hours before and after sunrise and sunset. So be prepared to wake up early and be prepared to be at your location before the sun rises or sets. If you are really dedicated, I recommend familiarizing yourself with weather apps and location planning apps like PhotoPills and Clear Outside. You want to use these apps to plan photographic sessions during periods of optimal cloud so you get those lovely blue, pink and orange hues in the sky.
Colours like this are the not the result of Photoshop, but rather the transition between the dawn blue and golden hour.
Drag your shutter and wait for the water to recede
When photographing the sea, you want to convey movement in the waves along the shoreline. So you ideally you want to drag your shutter (that is use a shutter speed anywhere between 1 second and 1/2 seconds in duration). Anything faster or slower and the sea can sometimes appear flat and without character.
Don't bother focus stacking your images like might do in other landscape photography situations. Set your aperture for f/11 or higher and away you go. This is because it is impossible or far too time consuming to blend the waves in post-production.
The best images are also created along the shoreline just when the water reaches it's highest point and begins to recede back into the ocean. Get your shutter release timing right and you can get a lovely trail of water dragging through your image.
In this image, a 0.5 second shutter speed helps create a trail in the water as it recedes.
Look for a foregound and middle ground
Images looking straight out into the ocean can be a bit dull. So find a feature that you can place in your foreground. It's doesn't have to be big or spectacular. It just has to capture the viewer's eye. If you can't find an immediate foreground subject look for a leading line or create a juxtaposition. The middle ground is easy, as this can usually be filled with the waves and surf line.
A simple leading line drawing the viewers eye to a world famous view.
I hope you like the article and do let me know what you think.
Cheers,
Russell