Beach Alternative in Corpus Christi

[Pinayaspuck]

Hey Guys!

Supposed to be doing a photo shoot in Corpus Christi, Tx. My model is a fitness competitor and wanted portfolio pictures done on the beach. We had been planning this shoot for almost a month now, but looked on the weather forecast and it is supposed to be raining with a few moments here and there where it won't be raining.

Can anyone suggest what other alternatives there may be for shooting in corpus? Since she is a fitness competitor, we obviously need full body shots showing off muscle so we need somewhere where bikinis and being less covered up would be appropriate.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Designer]

A gym?

 

[Pinayaspuck]

Well, my model wanted something other than a gym. She has many of those, but thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Dave442]

I would just hit the beach. I think there are a number of spots where you could be under some cover if some rain hits. There are too many sunny day beach photos out there. I would think some dramatic clouds or rain squall would add to the shot. Might need to plan for a longer day, but could be better than time spent travelling somewhere else.

 

[Pinayaspuck]

You are most definitely right. So many sunny beach photos out there, plus the over cast of clouds would prolly help with the lighting.
I've never been to Corpus so I didn't know if there were covered areas beach side, but that's where she wanted to go.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[Dave442]

I haven't been to Corpus for about ten years, went down a few times when I lived in Texas. There are some other interesting things for visitors like the aircraft carrier or the Selena museum. A lot of hotels are right on the beach and usually the rains come in hard and then go away, so it would not be to hard to get out on the sand for some shots.

 

[robbins.photo]

As usual, the answer to all of life's problems can be solved by a simple trip to home depot

ShelterLogic Max AP 10 ft. x 20 ft. White All Purpose 6-Leg Canopy-25757 - The Home Depot

 

[Pinayaspuck]

I haven't been to Corpus for about ten years, went down a few times when I lived in Texas. There are some other interesting things for visitors like the aircraft carrier or the Selena museum. A lot of hotels are right on the beach and usually the rains come in hard and then go away, so it would not be to hard to get out on the sand for some shots.

Thank you so much for the insight!

 

[Pinayaspuck]

As usual, the answer to all of life's problems can be solved by a simple trip to home depot

ShelterLogic Max AP 10 ft. x 20 ft. White All Purpose 6-Leg Canopy-25757 - The Home Depot

That is very true! Lol I wish my personal budget would have allowed that. But I can always use the advice for future shoots. Thank you !

 

[robbins.photo]

As usual, the answer to all of life's problems can be solved by a simple trip to home depot

ShelterLogic Max AP 10 ft. x 20 ft. White All Purpose 6-Leg Canopy-25757 - The Home Depot

That is very true! Lol I wish my personal budget would have allowed that. But I can always use the advice for future shoots. Thank you !

No worries, if nothing else it really isn't that hard to build something like this out of some dirt cheap plastic tarp and some even cheaper PVC pipe. Doesn't have to be huge or withstand the test of time, it just has to keep the rain off of you and your model while you shoot.

 

[Pinayaspuck]

Thank you thank you thank you to all! I am just starting out (in a more serious tone). This is for a friend of mine and she wanted to start a portfolio.

I used to do "photography" maybe 15 years ago, but it was more of a hobby with my regular 35 mm film camera or Polaroid. I hadn't really gotten into the serious side nor had I ever had the super cool more pro type cameras till recently.... So I really appreciate all the tips, tricks and advice!

 

[soufiej]

Hey Guys!

Supposed to be doing a photo shoot in Corpus Christi, Tx. My model is a fitness competitor and wanted portfolio pictures done on the beach. We had been planning this shoot for almost a month now, but looked on the weather forecast and it is supposed to be raining with a few moments here and there where it won't be raining.

Can anyone suggest what other alternatives there may be for shooting in corpus? Since she is a fitness competitor, we obviously need full body shots showing off muscle so we need somewhere where bikinis and being less covered up would be appropriate.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

First, you're asking a question about Texas weather. Unless the hurricane is about 25 miles offshore, wait two minutes and Texas weather will change. LOL!

Second, how willing and able are you when it comes to traveling? Obviously, if you want a beach shoot, you head to where there are beaches.

IMO the simple answer to your question is to place something on the order of "Texas beaches" into a search engine. You'll find suggestions like this; 15 Best Spots on the Coast - Texas Monthly

And this; 30 Best Texas Beach Resorts on TripAdvisor

Depending on your present location in Texas and how far you are willing to travel, you have numerous options available in nearby states or even South of the US border. Pick your state (or country) and once again place it in a search engine with the qualifier "beaches".

You might also scrap the beach idea and head to Big Bend. There are seven different eco-systems in the park to use as beautiful backdrops.

 

[TCampbell]

On the plus side, there's no awful shadows to deal with. A bit of overcast isn't always a bad thing. If you get sun, make sure you have photographic reflectors to fill the deep shadows. They typically come in "gold" and "silver" and normally I'd never use the gold color for most shoots, but they do work well to enhance the look of a tan when doing beach shots.

You can use flash & softbox to enhance the light (even if it is cloudy) but consider gelling the flash to warm the light a bit. A CTO gel (CTO = Color Temperature Orange -- it's a specific orange color but if you search for "CTO" you'll find the color) somewhat imitates the color of sunset. You might, however, consider a little less than the full CTO (they also make 1/2 CTO and 1/4 CTO which are the same color, but less dense gel so it doesn't tint the light color as much) because when I shoot on a cold cloudy day, I grab the white balance slider and warm it up by 5-10% and it looks like I shot during the golden hour on a sunny day. BUT if you are already using CTO gel AND you warm up the white balance adjustment then you might over-do the look and your model will look like an oompa loompa with tangerine colored skin (never a flattering look.)

Not a beach photo, but have a look at this shot (after & before). The first image is cropped (that part is obvious), I slightly raised the exposure by a 1/4 stop to brighten it slightly. I also very slightly warmed the white balance. There's a tiny bit of levels as well as dodge & burn (specifically burn to lighten up the area around his face & chin that was a bit too dark.) The "straight out of the camera" shot is below the processed example.

But the point is... if I didn't tell you that this was shot on a cold cloudy day, would you have guessed?

If they see gray "sky" in the background then it'll look like an overcast day. But if you can find a location to shoot in which you aren't actually portraying the sky as part of the background then you can probably get away with it.

Good luck!