another thread about photography at the beach

[Shadowbox]

Hello,

For practice I am going to the beach tomorrow and taking photos of my sisters children. I am not being paid, they know I am an amateur, it's just for fun but I'd still like to be as best prepared as possible to get as great of photos as I can with the skills and equipment I have.

I am going to bring my reflector, flash, & tripod. I also have 3 lenses to choose from and will probably switch between the 55-200vr and the 55prime lens.

I'm now very nervous they will all end up either blurred or noisy. I have my manuals and the book understanding exposure. This 'beach' is actually the beach on lake michigan, and we are meeting around 6pm. The sun goes down here around 8:45 lately so I thought it might give me enough time with light but not be straight overhead. Plus it's 3 boys and I know it will take a few minutes to get them organized and off of the park toys or away from the water.

There is a tunnel at this park which goes from one side, under a big sand hill, to the beach on the other side. I'd like to try some photos with the tunnel, since that is one of the main attractions of this beach, but I'm not sure how to handle it. If I stand in the tunnel and they stand just outside it I can use the reflector to bounce light back onto them, should I also be using my flash in this case?

How do I make sure I don't over or underexpose so I can have photos that are not noisy? I have taken photos at the beach before and they weren't over or underexposed, but this tunnel that I want to play around with I think may trip me up. It's obviously very dark inside and one side is bright open beach, the other side is shaded by the dune and trees.

Thanks for any help/advice/tips anyone is willing to offer. I'm reading & shooting like a feign, but I like to hear from people more than I do from books so please chime in!

 

[2WheelPhoto]

How do I make sure I don't over or underexpose so I can have photos that are not noisy?

Cheat! Set the camera to bracket one normal pic, and two more (a couple of stops up and down)

 

[bennielou]

Use your reflector as a shim, and good luck!

 

[Shadowbox]

How do I make sure I don't over or underexpose so I can have photos that are not noisy?

Cheat! Set the camera to bracket one normal pic, and two more (a couple of stops up and down)

I've never done this before, since I just wanted to really handle the basics before learning more but maybe I will try it out today and see how it goes.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

How do I make sure I don't over or underexpose so I can have photos that are not noisy?

Cheat! Set the camera to bracket one normal pic, and two more (a couple of stops up and down)

I've never done this before, since I just wanted to really handle the basics before learning more but maybe I will try it out today and see how it goes.

pretty simple, look at the cam manual for bracketing or youtube your cam model/bracketing. then set the came to bracket 3 shorts, one shot "norm", one shot up "1.5 or 2", and one down "1.5 or 2"

 

[Shadowbox]

Okay I'm going to do it! I don't know if my overwhelmed brain can take in more but then at the same time if this helps me with exposure it should be worth it.

 

[gsgary]

Very simple, just expose for the sky and pop enough flash to expose the children, here's 2 quick shots i took when my partners relative came to stay

 

[Shadowbox]

Ahh okay, and here they are in a very similar style situation. Great location, btw!

 

[gsgary]

Ahh okay, and here they are in a very similar style situation. Great location, btw!

Here's where we were Castleton Derbyshire Peak District - tourist attractions Peveril Castle show caves Mam Tor only 30 minutes from my home

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Why not practice? Go into a fairly dark room in your home with a window. Open the window so that you can see out. Now set a stool, chair, or table a little bit in front of the window with an object acting as your subject ( like a stuffed animal, or a statue, or whatever ) and now try to take a shot that exposes the subject nicely and also allows you to see outdoors without anything blown out. This will be essentially the same situation just with more or less light in the background and more or less light to work with inside.

 

[Rjsimpson1]

use your mind

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

use your mind

Should I say the same to you and your thread on printing/saving?

 

[Shadowbox]

Good idea Goonies! I will try that and try the bracketing with it. So now I'm excited to practice and try some new things with my camera. I can't wait for tomorrow.

 

[DiskoJoe]

How do I make sure I don't over or underexpose so I can have photos that are not noisy?

Cheat! Set the camera to bracket one normal pic, and two more (a couple of stops up and down)

This is a great idea. Plus you will need to experiment with your lighting. No one will be able to give you great advice unless they are there and it sounds like you dont need the advice anyway. I would use the prime as opposed to the 55-200. with the prime you can control your aperture and just move around as needed. with the 55-200 you would not have full control over the aperture given what focal length you may need.