Fisk-Taylor Mary - Beautiful beach portraits: lighting, posing, and composition for outstanding photography

Copyright 2014 by Mary Fisk-Taylor and James H. Hayes III.

All rights reserved.

All photographs by the authors unless otherwise noted.

Published by:

Amherst Media, Inc.

P.O. Box 586

Buffalo, N.Y. 14226

Fax: 716-874-4508

www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

Associate Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt

Associate Publisher: Kate Neaverth

Associate Editor: Beth Alesse

Editor: Harvey Goldstein

Editorial Assistance from: Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder, Carey Miller

Business Manager: Adam Richards

Warehouse and Fulfillment Manager: Roger Singo

ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-732-3

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013952493

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

Table of Contents

Beautiful Beach Portraits is a clear, concise, step-by-step explanation of how Mary and Jamie have broadened their marketing area, introduced their photography to new clientele, and increased their bottom line. Family and childrens portraits against the dunes or with a crashing wave in the background are beautiful, but they are also one of the more difficult genres of photography because of wind, shifting sand, unpredictable sun mixing with clouds, and sudden storms. Mary and Jamie explain how they created the beautiful images in this book despite the adversities they encountered.

Beautiful Beach Portraits offers helpful tips on posing, composition, how to utilize clouds and the sea as a background, photographing individual family members after photographing the entire group, where to position your main light, fill flash and reflector and how to make the session fun for the whole family. If the family is having a good time, they will remember this during the viewing process and relive the fun experience all over again, which results in wall portrait sales of 2024-inch prints and larger.

Location and Subjects

The Adams family was photographed at Coquina Beach, eight miles south of Nags Head, not far from the Wright Brothers National Memorial on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

This multi-generational portrait encompasses three generations and twelve people. They arranged for this portrait knowing that they would all be vacationing together on the Outer Banks.

Camera and Lighting Conditions

We photographed this family on July 1 just a little before 8:00 P.M. using a Canon EOS 7D set at f/10 at second with a 24105mm lens set at 28mm and an ISO of 800. Our main light, a softbox, was to the right of the camera and the sun was setting to the left and behind the family. There was an imaginary diagonal line leading from our main light, to the subjects to the sun.

Composition

Whenever we photograph families at the beach, we always begin with the primary image of the entire family before breaking down the family dynamics and photographing the smaller groups: the individual families, the children together and separately, the moms and dads, and of course, the patriarch and matriarch of the family, Grandpa and Grandma. The large group is always photographed first because the little ones may lose interest and we want to get them while they are the freshest and looking their best for this cherished portrait.

Begin with the primary image of the entire family.

We begin at the dunes or in the grassy area and work our way to the water as the session progresses. We start at the dunes because as we get closer to the water, the wind picks up and gets stronger, blowing the hair around. We want to be sure that we capture everyone at their best before moving to another location.

It is important to have the parents hold moody or active small children. We pose the smaller heads and bodies in front of the larger ones to balance the composition. We need to work quickly, but without rushing, to keep everyones attention on what we are striving to achievean enduring, loving, family portrait.

Camera: Canon EOS 7D

Time: 7:52 PM

Shutter Speed: second

F-Stop: f/10

Aperture Value: f/10

ISO: 800

Lens: EF25105 f/4L IS USM

Focal Length: 28mm

Location and Subjects

We photographed the Jordan family on the Outer Banks on the beach in Duck, North Carolina.

Camera and Lighting Conditions

This session was photographed in late August at approximately 7:30 P.M. We used a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III set at f/9 at second and an ISO of 800. The focal length of the lens was 60mm. Our camera was aimed directly at Mom, Dad, and their son and daughter. Our main light was at a 90 degree angle from the camera position and the sun was low in the sky to the left of our softbox. It was important to match the exposure of the diffused main light to the diffused available light for a non-flash look.

Composition