With summer calling many of us will be spending more time in the water, whether that is swimming in the sea, strolling across Grand Cayman’s famous Seven Mile Beach, enjoying a day out on the boat or spending family time by the pool. Whether you will be in Cayman for the summer or abroad on your annual family holiday, here are a few practical tips that will help you get the best out of your water photos:
1 I Focal Point
As with all photos, beach or water photos need a point of interest that draws the viewer’s attention and makes the photo interesting. One of the best ways to achieve this, is to incorporate a part of the unique environment, like a palm tree on the beach, a cocktail by the pool or the boat’s sail into your photograph. This approach will add mood and context to an otherwise ordinary shot.
2 I Perspective
Sometimes the best picture comes from an alternate angle. Try experimenting by getting high or low to add a different perspective to your phone photography. For example get really low while your child jumps in the pool creating the illusion of additional hight or take a picture from above just showing your feet being splashed by a wave on 7 mile beach conveying the ultimate holiday feeling.
3 I Working with Reflections
During the soft lighting conditions at sunrise and sunset, you have the opportunity to make your water photography more interesting by playing with reflections. Camana Bay is an excellent location to capture the palm trees on the island reflecting in the water, adding a unique creative flair to your photo.
On the other hand, during the day, when the sun is at its highest, glare and reflection can be really challenging when photographing. Glare, essentially, is caused when light hits a reflective surface, such as windows or water. In the case of harsh sunlight, consider diffusing the light with an object (a tree, a person or a reflector) between the sun and your subject. Often simply adjusting your or your subject’s position so that the sun is beside you or your subject is in the shade, can help to reduce unwanted glare.
4 I Keep it Clean
Where there is water, there are bound to be splashes. There is nothing more frustrating than thinking you got the perfect shot, just to notice that its all blurry because a drop of water smudged your camera lens.
When you are near the water, make sure you protect your phone camera from splashes and sea mist and wipe it frequently with a clean cloth to ensure crystal clear images.
5 I Have fun!
Most importantly, this is a great opportunity to get creative and fun… so play around with the wet environment and different objects and see what happens. Sometimes simply throwing a pineapple in the pool can end up being the coolest summer photo!
