Beach Photo Shoot

[Gina9942]

On Sunday I have a photoshoot, we are doing it at a beach at around 10:00, I know the lighting isn't going to be the greatest, but I plan on doing a lot of backlit with a fill flash in front, I am also going to make a large diffuser with some PVC pipes and a white sheet, do you think that is the best way to approach this? Also I promise between 1-2 hours, with kids you never know, now I just got an email that her friend would like pictures the same day. I would say to her from 12-2 five or take, are those hours going to be absolutely the worst? Should I see if she can do later? The only thing is the beach is not that close to me that it really makes sense to go home and come back later.

Any advice? tips? suggestions?

[mitchcook]

Might be able to use a neutral density filter to make sure things don't over-expose? But I've never shot such a situation, ever. No beaches in the prairies! Haha.

[WooD]

I'd seriously try to change the time to at least 5:00.

As far as any type of umbrella, reflector, or diffuser.....I hope you'll have someone to hold them for you, unless you have a windless day.

[Gina9942]

I can't change the first one. We are working aroud nap schedules among other things. I am going to see if I can schedule the other for another day. If not I don't know what to do.

[ARKreations]

Why not try to shoot the first session as scheduled. Then go have a nice leisurely lunch, lounge on the beach, process session #1 on a laptop in a coffee shop, etc. and return with client #2 scheduled for later in the day - say, after 4PM?

[Benji]

Originally Posted by Gina9942

On Sunday I have a photoshoot, we are doing it at a beach at around 10:00, I know the lighting isn't going to be the greatest, but I plan on doing a lot of backlit with a fill flash in front, I am also going to make a large diffuser with some PVC pipes and a white sheet, do you think that is the best way to approach this? Also I promise between 1-2 hours, with kids you never know, now I just got an email that her friend would like pictures the same day. I would say to her from 12-2 five or take, are those hours going to be absolutely the worst? Should I see if she can do later? The only thing is the beach is not that close to me that it really makes sense to go home and come back later.

Any advice? tips? suggestions?

Pray for an overcast day because 10 AM is the beginning of the worst time to shoot outdoors, at least if there is bright sunshine. With bright sunshine you will have hard harsh shadows and squinting people or an overexposed background, and unless you have one immensely powerful flash unit "fill" flash is of little value. You don't need a fill light you need a main light. Based on your comment about "kids" this is a family shoot? I hope your "large" diffuser is 20 feet square or so and you have six or eight people to hold it up because that is what it will take to soften up the sunshine for a family shoot.

If I were doing this shoot I would start shooting at about 7 P.M. or so.

Benji

[Gina9942]

So I did the 10:00 shoot on the beach, I used my flash, i shot with the sun behind them and I had a reflector, I definitely looked like I knew what I was doing! And the pics ended up coming out good! The mother loved them!! Then we moved into the shade at the park and I was able to get a few other good ones. She was so happy with them. I wish I would've done things differently, of course, because it was tough to find the right angles where the kids weren't squinting and I didn't have the harsh shadows, but it went well. I took a huge piece of foamcore with me and used it as sort of a reflector, I also had a 24" one with gold/silver. I'll post pictures later, as I am at work and I don't have access to any of them right now.

[AJD Photoos]

I'm not a professional but I do a lot of beach shoots and, whilst the harsh sun around the middle of the day is hard to work with, it can also help with some magnificent results.
Fill flash and a reflector work wonders (sometimes using the reflector to provide some shadow is needed).
Use the environment as much as possible, sun shelters and beach umbrellas offer interesting solutions to too much sun and can add a useful splash of colour.