Photographing Ocean scenes

[OjaiAnna]

Ok ... I live on the west coast and the sun sets in the west, so when I am trying to take photos of the ocean or with the ocean in the background in the afternoon, I am facing into the sun ... or even partially into the sun if I change my angle a little bit. Does anyone have any suggestions on taking pictures like this? Thank you.

[Nicole]

Just moved this over to the landscape technique area.

My best tip for photographing sunsets (or sunrises since it's the same sort of technique) is to work with the sun below the horizon. My second best tip is to make sure that there's something interesting in the foreground, especially something that has a good shape because you may wind up with a silhouette in your shot. And then there's the reason that you'll probably get a silhouette which is that you'll probably have to underexpose in order to get the colours of the sunset.

Sunrise:



Sunset:

[Gonzo13]

I am not sure if you are asking about sunset pictures or even pictures with the sun in them. So far the only advice that I can give would be to use a lens hood so that you don't get a lens flare. I only say that because you said you were facing or partially facing the sun.

[OjaiAnna]

Actually I'm looking more at taking pictures of the ocean (surfers) or people using a background of the ocean, during early or mid-afternoon ... before the sun is setting and it is still bright enough to be a problem. Any suggestions for this?

See photo I attached that I took recently at the beach of some friends. Note the sky is white, the ocean is not very clear, and the people are a little blurred with halo effects around them. I would like to know what I am doing wrong.

[Gonzo13]

Not sure about what is going on with the out of focusness. The white sky looks blown out. I think it might have to do with the majority of the people are wearing dark clothes and it is messing with the sensor. I would also try using a smaller aperture to get a more of the photo in focus. You might want to post the EXIF data.

[Ishyid]

I live on the West Coast as well, and during the evening, around the sunset, I usually don't worry much about the sun since it is cloudy almost all the time. Most of the time when the sun is setting and it is cloudy out, the sun behind the clouds make awsome colors and designs without making it impossible to not over expose the picture. Hope this helps a little.





These where taken at Grayland State Park, WA in June.

[arlon]

Might consider playing with a graduated Neutral density filter. Very handy for shooting into the sun and still being able to expose the water..

good example out here (not mine). Tobacco and ND graduated photo - Paul Petersen photos at pbase.com

[navcom]

The middle of the day is the worst shooting conditions regardless of where you are. When the sun is high in the sky, there are no shadows, everything appears flat, and the light is harsh. There is no easy answer. Using a polarizer or a ND grad filter can help, but it won't eliminate the problem. You can use fill light but that won't solve the whole problem either. The best advice that can be given is to shoot earlier in the day. I know that sometimes that isn't possible, but as I said, there really isn't an easy answer. For a west coast ocean backdrop, the best time would be about an hour after sunrise.

[JimL]

This is a hard shot to take and get everything exposed correctly. I'm not sure what happened on the focus. There should've been enough light if you used auto focus unless you didn't press the shutter half way first. If the lens is "hunting" for focus in auto, switch to manual and focus yourself. The tip mentioned by others of using a smaller aperture is a good idea too as it will give you more depth of field bringing more of your scene into focus. A ND filter will darken not only the sky, which you need, but also the people which will make them too dark. For this situation, which I try to avoid if at all possible, I use a fill flash with a diffuser attached.
Even the best cameras have a limited dynamic range and a shot like this with people is going to be beyond what a camera is able to capture. Without people, a ND filter or a HDR photo would be the way to go. The best advise is what others have said, try to shoot on overcast days, morning, or after the sun has just gone down.

[OjaiAnna]

Thanks everyone for the replies. This was one of those situations where I was at a church event and taking lots of pictures of people where I could control how I was taking the picture. I got asked to take this picture with the ocean as a backdrop and I knew that the conditions weren't going to be good. I am very new at this and so don't have a lot of the equipment that a lot of you have already. However, I ask and I desire to know how I can improve and what I need to do better next time in the same situation. Slowly but surely I will learn and I will add to my equipment those items that will help me when I need them.

Thanks again. You guys are awesome!