9 essential tips for taking great photos of your kids on the beach

A lot of Sicilian summer is about the sea - it's a place to escape the heat, to relax and have fun on the beach with your kids, be it splashing, swimming, collecting shells or digging in the sand, reading or even napping! As parents, we often find ourselves reaching for our cameras or smartphones, eager to capture these moments and memories of the summer. 

However, there are quite some challenges when it comes to getting beautiful photos on the beach - the biggest are strong sunlight, crowded space, kids moving all the time. During my 7+ years as a family photographer, I took hundreds of photos of clients and my own kids on the beaches in both Scotland and in Sicily. I've learnt and discovered a lot, what to do, and what not to do, to get beautiful kids' photos on the beach. Here are my top 9 tips and tricks, that will help you to elevate your beach snapshots to beautiful photographs. It's about essentials, nothing technical, and will work both for your phone and camera. Let's get started!

1 Photograph at sunset time - the best time to take photos on the beach

It's golden, it's magic, everything looks 10 and 100 times prettier. You have beautiful light and soft shadows, that add interesting depth to the images. If you are lucky - you get amazing colours in the sky (not just orange, but also red and all shades of pink), colourful clouds, reflections on the water. And how the water itself shines and sparkles! There's something magical about sunset on the beach - a perfect ending of a hot summer day.

You can take beautiful photos also in the morning or late afternoon - especially with younger kids it's not always possible to stay on the beach till sunset. The biggest problem is strong light and harsh shadows - but there are ways to deal with it, keep reading!

2 Keep horizon straight

It is simple, but it will immediately make your photos look cleaner, more beautiful and realistic. If you don't manage to do it while taking the photo (happens to everybody, me too!), it's a very easy fix both in the phone or in the computer. 

3 Shoot horizontal

We are used to holding the phone vertically for calling, reading and messaging, so it's often automatic to use it same way for photos. For photos outside, and especially on the beach, flipping it horizontally will make a world of difference.

Why? This way you can include more of the beautiful view in front of you - the colors of the sky and the sea, details on the beach like sand or pebbles, interesting things in the background - boats, islands, land and mountains far away.

Another important aspect that really comes to life once you flip the phone is the horizon, where the sky meets the sea. There's just not enough space in vertical mode to show it, because water and sky kind of dominate. Flip the phone and you get beautiful long line of sea meeting the sky, ripples on the water and lines of waves, and it just makes everything more balanced and beautiful.

4 Strong light and midday sun - what to do

Strong sun light, as during late morning and midday, is problematic if you want to have beautiful photos. You get 'raccoon eyes', shadow from the nose and in general lower part of the face, you barely see the eyes in the photos because of squinting, and it does not matter if you look towards the sun or away from it. It does not look good. 

But, especially if you have young kids, this is the time when you mostly find yourself on the beach. So there is no way to take nice photos? 

Actually, there is! After years of photographing clients and my own kids on the beach with all kinds of light, I discovered that while portraits should be avoided, there are other kind of photos that turn out great, and I am happy to share this with you. Go for action photos! Jumping, running, dancing, splashing, chasing waves, digging in the sand - whatever your kids like to do, it all works! Also, water and sand reflect light, so it helps with the strong shadows, even if your kids are looking down. Bonus - you get their natural expressions and smiles!

5 Be patient to get the right moment

When it comes to photographing kids and water, being patient is crucial. Both move, fast - it really comes to a fraction of a second to capture the beautiful patterns of white capped waves on the water, or the perfect splash and cresting wave that look amazing. A second later - and the wave is going down, no more sparkling droplets around, or your kid decided to dive under and you only see the feet. 

Start with observing and deciding what you want to include in the photo, trying different angles. When it comes to shooting - take a lot of photos, and start when the wave is still approaching or when your kid is just preparing to jump. Yes you will get some of the 'preparation' photos, but you will also get the perfect moment. Often there are funny expressions in these 'preparation' shots, so decide later if you keep or delete them. And be careful not to get your your phone or camera wet while photographing waves! 

6 Keep it simple - how to avoid distractions and other people in the frame

It can be tricky to take a photo on the beach that's not busy with clutter or accidentally photobombed by other people - you have your own beach bags, chairs, umbrellas, kids toys, other people do too! There are people walking, swimming, playing on the beach. Beach is a crowded place in Sicily during summer!

What can be done about it? Sometimes it's enough to move a bit to a different part of the beach to find less crowded spot, or just wait for people to pass. If the beach has a large shallow part, you can move a bit further away with your kids for the photo, move around and try different angles in the camera till you get a clear view with no one in sight but your kids. Last but not least - try portrait mode, it allows you to blur the background, making all these distractions less problematic.

7 Make silhouette photos

It's a bit different than taking a regular photo, follow these steps and tips to make it work:

Step 1 - you need to be on the beach at sunset time, when the sun is about to disappear behind the horizon.

Step 2 - think of your idea for the silhouette - you need well defined and visible subjects against lighter background (sky or sea and sky). Play with the angle how you hold your phone or camera so that all or most of your subject has this lighter background. 

Step 3 - now about phone or camera settings. Flash should be off, and you should tap the phone screen on the lightest part - the sun/sky around the sun. You will notice that shadows and bodies are becoming dark - this is exactly what we need! I usually play with settings and check till I get the right ones. 

Step 4 - take the photo! Have fun experimenting with ideas - your subjects need to be well defined against light background of the sky. Holding hands works great, just walking, jumping, stick-sword fight, kicking ball, profiles - here are just some possibilities!

Step 5 - use your favourite filter, and check if some adjustments are necessary afterwards. I usually play with contrast, make the shadows darker and check the colours, so that the orange and pink of sunset look good.

It's a bit of an effort to get it all working, but you get something unusual and stunning at the end, so well worth it!

8 Wait for the blue hour

Blue hour comes right after sunset, and it's beautiful in its own right. As you stayed on the beach for sunset, it's worth lingering a bit longer. You still have remaining colors of sunset on the sky, but everything is becomes very soft, almost like a watercolor painting. The blue colors of the night start to arrive - this is where the name of blue hour comes from - and they bring quiet and tranquillity with them. Orange and pink of sunset is getting mixed with blue and purple, and everything looks a bit magical in the soft evening light. A great opportunity for photos due to its special a bit mysterious atmosphere - just beware that it's a very brief period, and soon it will get too dark to photograph. 

9 Make it diverse!

As much as I love watching my kids jumping and splashing in the waves, after some 20 photos of this even the favourite thing may get old and boring. Fortunately, there's a lot more that you can photograph on the beach, so I've put together a list of ideas, something like beach photo hunt. 

I often do such lists of photo ideas for myself, I usually call them my inspiration lists. As I'm doing my personal photo a day project for almost 3 years already, on the days when it feels like I've done everything at least twice, it really helps to have such inspiration list.

So here's your (and mine, for I am doing it too!) beach photo hunt list - and have fun taking pictures on the beach! 

Like what I do? While you are here, get in touch, let's chat about photos of your family, on the beach!

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