Sunset Beach

Off Camera Flash Strobist Beach Portrait Photography Lesson Florida

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Jasmina practicing off camera flash with a single strobe on Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, FloridaIt was bright and sunny an hour before my lesson with new DSLR Photography Lesson student, Jasmina.  She called me to see if the lesson was still on because it was raining where she was to the south.  I said it's all sunshine here and it was so right up to the start of our lesson.  Then the clouds began rolling in, but no rain at all so it was just a bit chilly on the beach as I began showing Jasmina my off camera flash and strobist techniques for making beach portraits.

She brought a willing model with her which was great news for me because this meant I did not have to be both model and teacher!  Actually, I did have one role in addition to teacaher, and that was human light stand.  We used Jasmina's Nikon SB-900 Speedlight for single strobe technique at first, but added one of my own strobes to show the benefit having two lights sources has.  

It was a fun and intereting lesson for me as I do not often get to teach strobist stuff, which is one of my favorite types of photography.  I look forward to seeing Jasmina's future off camera flash portraits on the beach and off.

Candid Family Beach Portraits Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida

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Juliana & family on Sunset Beach Treasure Island St. Petersburg - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightRESERVE CANDID FAMILY BEACH PHOTOGRAPHY IN VIVID COLOR FOR YOUR FAMILY TODAY!

It was very nice to see Juliana and her family again after having first met them last year when I photographed her 7th Birthday Party.  At that time she was missing most of her front teeth, but this year her smile was brighter than ever.  Mother Nature provided yet another stunning Florida sunset of the Gulf of Mexico to be our background for our candid family beach portrait session.

Juliana & a sand dollar - Sunset Beach Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/1600th natural lightWhen we first arrived at my preferred spot on Sunset Beach, Treasure Island Juliana found half of a sand dollar on the beach.  Soon after she found the other half.  That seemed like good luck to me so I thought the sand dollar halves should be in one of our photos.  When you shoot in good natural light, as you can see, there is not even need for fill flash.

"Avant Garde" Father Daughter Beach Portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightJuliana and her father had kind of just wandered into these positions between shots.  It caught my eye and I scrambled to get my lights in position to light both Juliana (far in the background) and her father (large in the foreground) before they could move.  In the end I asked Juliana to look at the lens to produce the final image above.

Father & Daughter Candid Family Beach Portrait - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/320th natural lightI hope these photographs serve to illustrate that not every family beach portrait session attire needs to be white shirts and blue jeans.  I suggested that Juliana and her family wear what clothes they feel they look their best in, although I think Juliana's mom had final word on her wearing that dress since she told me that was not how she dressed every day.

Each with their own style - candid family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightI always like there to be some clouds in the sky at sunset time as they add interest to the background by reflecting the rays of the setting sun.  I once heard, "a cloudless sky is the enemy of the landscape photographer."  I would not say that for beach portraits, but for sure I prefer clouds over no clouds.

Candid little girl beach portrait - Sunset Beach Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/1600th natural lightI like to let kids do what they like during a candid portrait session as they are the types of photographs I like to make best myself.  The feeling when shooting is totally different too.  There is a certain tension in a photographer's mind that arises when having to position people for a shot, rather than the photographer moving about the subject freely shooting when instinct says so.

Letting the setting sun dominate this family beach portrait - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/2 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/2 to frame rightFor the above type of shot one of course needs to use manual mode to make the exposure do what you want as aperture priority or shutter priority modes would not allow one to get the results as seen.  Radio triggers for one's strobes are necessary too as I was shooting with a long lens not nearly close enough for Nikon's built in Commander Mode triggering method.  

Juliana is a natural model - Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightJuliana is a natural model.  The above pose was just one of like five she went in and out of in succession.  It was hard to keep up!  Of course when the subject feels comfortable in front of the lens and knows how to best position themselves, then it just makes the photographer's job all that easier allowing for more concentration on the creative part of photography.  Also, you can see that I pretty much settled on f/8 ISO 200 1/100th for my strobist shots during this session.  Once I get the settings I like dialed in, that also frees me to focus on just composition, etc.

Juliana as ballet dancer at twilight - Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightThis was the final shot of the night that required a couple of takes, but Juliana did her part very well!  I forgot to ask if she takes ballet lessons or not.  

The first time I tried this staggered family positioning - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightDuring this family beach portrait session I tried several new things, which is key to me, as I have done many of these types of shoots and I am always trying to avoid repeating myself looking to add if not entirely new shots at least variations.  This time there were several totally new images, like the above staggered positioning from shore to water.  It helps to have had a three person family.  For sure at least having an odd number makes the composition work better.

The better you know the people you are photographing the easier it is to produce satisfying images.  Therefore, it is not surprising that my second time photographing Juliana and her family was one of my all-time favorite family beach portrait sessions.

   

Florida Family Beach Portraits with Dramatic Skies - South Dakota Family

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Family Beach Portrait - Sunset Beach on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 400 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power above front & SB-600 @ 1/8 power directly behind family 

A few months ago Melanie contacted me from South Dakota about having family beach portraits here in Florida when her family was to come down on vacation.  I always like to photograph out of state families as they have full appreciation for the beauty of our Gulf beaches.  Locals I guess get used to spectacular sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico.  A large storm was scheduled to roll over central Florida around the time of our scheduled portrait session, but we stayed dry and were treated to dramatic stormy skies for use as backgrounds.

Sunset Family Beach Portrait - St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame rightThe sky kept changing from dark blue (see top image) to fiery yellow (above) to metallic purple (see below).  I had never seen it go through such a range of color before.  Often the intensity of one color will vary, but to get three distinct background colors was unprecedented.  

Family Beach Walking Portrait - Sunset Beach St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/250th natural lightOne other good thing about the stormy weather is that it kept almost all the people away from Sunset Beach, so we had no trouble making the above shot of Melanie's family talking a long walk down the shoreline.  I was able to make the shot I wanted to in just one take.

Father tossing children in air - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 640 1/250th natural lightWhat a great feeling to be tossed up into the air, especially when you never know if you will land in the ocean!  Too bad it is not common for someone to be able to toss 185 pounds into the air.  I would like to be able to touch the sky too!

Young boy candid beach portrait - St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 640 1/250th natural light - sepia landscape filter applied in Silver Efex ProI titled the above photo, "The Fighter."  I would say he is a southpaw by the looks of things.  I am glad I was using my Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens from a distance for this shot and was at no risk of that left hook!

Purple Twilight Florida Family Beach Portrait - Treasure Island - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/50th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 +2/3 power frame left & SB-600 @ 1/4 power frame rightTheir dad had all sorts of shall I say "unique" expressions to get the children to look at me, such as "Elmo is coming out of the top of his head," and the like.  I had not heard that one before but it worked so that's all that matters.  It was a fun challenge photographing this family of five and I am very pleased with the results the stormy skies provided.

   

Sunset Beach Wedding on Treasure Island St Petersburg Florida

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Relaxing on Sunset Beach for their wedding - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th SB-800 off camera

It was a very intimate affair for Shannon and Jim's beach wedding on Treasure Island's Sunset Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida.  It was just me and Shannon and Jim (and an officiant).  There were not even that many other passersby on the beach itself.  The only company we had were a few birds.  This was all fine by me.  An empty beach means nice clean backgrounds.

The sand ceremony is the main feature of many Florida beach weddingsYou may be surprised to learn that most beach wedding ceremonies are about five minutes.  When you are photographing such a ceremony that five minutes seems to go by almost instantly.  Needless to say the first time I photographed one I was quite surprised and I quickly learned to shoot many more shots per minute than I normally do.  The highlight shot of the ceremony itself is often the "sand ceremony" where the couple simultaneously pours sand from the very beach they are getting married on into a glass vessel of sometimes, in the above case a heart-shaped vase.

One of my signature beach wedding shots is the couple walking along the shore - Sunset Beach Treasure Island FloridaThat evening was clear and cloudless, allowing the sun to be seen right until the edge of the horizon itself.  Time again passes very quickly with the sun that close to setting, thus it is a great advantage to have the experience I now have with sunset photography.  The above semi-complicated walking shot can usually be satisfactorily captured by the second take.  

The wedding couple splashing in the Gulf of Mexico itself on Sunset Beach Treasure Island FloridaOnce the sun did go down, Shannon and Jim said they were up for a bit of a swim and took to the gentle waves of the Gulf of Mexico.  Thus, their beach wedding came to frolicking close.   

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    Sunset Beach St. Petersburg Candid Family Portrait Photography

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    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left SB-600 to frame rightThe sky over the Gulf of Mexico at Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, St. Petersburg was completely clear for the candid family beach portrait photography session with Vickie and her family.  For the main sunset portrait, I had the new idea to have the parents hold their children rather than the kids standing beside their parents.  Although everyone was standing still, I thought it added a sense of motion and gave the portrait a certain type of dynamic and sense of inertia.  

    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe forehead-to-forehead pose was Vickie's idea.  I liked how this photograph turned out so much that it was my third favorite photograph of 2010.  The mother and daughter I feel form a slight heart shape together and with their faces hidden the viewer is left to imagine their emotions.  Leaving things to the imagination is a key element in many of my best photographs and one of my signature styles.  My thanks to Vickie for this great pose idea.

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1250th natural lightIf the family has two children, I like the dad to hold both children in his arms.  I like to think it will provide a memory for the children of how strong their father was and how small they once were to be able to fit in the bend of his arm.  With the sun setting and the great Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens on my Nikon D300, natural light provided just the side-lighting look I wanted.

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1250th natural lightNothing like a little frozen motion for an action candid shot.  This looked like so much fun I wished I was not close to 2-spins so that I could be tossed high into the air too!  Perhaps if I ever get to meet a mountain gorilla my wish could come true.  

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/4000th natural lightThis type of candid portrait is my favorite type for children.  One may think the photo is a fail since the boy is not looking into the lens, but I actually think it makes the photo because it adds his own character to the shot, especially with the lip bite as well.  His sister smiles perfectly.  Each person in the shot has her/his own dynamic.  Perhaps in twenty years she will rib him and say, "what were you looking at?"

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1000th natural lightThe instructions I give for the "walking down the beach" shot, which is one of my favorite kind of family beach shot, is for the family to try and stay in the same plane when walking, walk at a good pace, try not to swing your arms too much or too high, and keep some space between each person (to prevent arm overlap).  Vickie and her family got it all down perfectly on the first take.

    Steam shovel Digging on a Twilight Florida Beach

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    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 4s tripod mounted with cable releaseAs a child I had huge Tonka trucks made of metal that I played with in a large sandbox.  As I looked at the photo above, it reminded me that the first time I ever thought about having a job, I thought I wanted to operate a steam shovel.  It seemed like a really cool job, and still does!  During a recent DSLR photography lesson on what should have been a dead peaceful Sunset Beach, there was instead an incredible noise coming from the steam shovel and dump truck working into the early night repairing the erosion damage caused by a large storm a few days earlier.  

    At first I thought what rotten luck to have that racket going on during a lesson.  However, it did give us a chance for a pretty unique photo opportunity.  Photographing the twilight sky from a beach in Florida is nothing rare, but having an active construction site in the foreground of that twilight sky is.  

    Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 2s tripod mounted with cable releaseI wonder if the steam shovel operator felt uneasy having so much of the Gulf of Mexico to his/her back?  Did they have any irrational fear that they would slip back and sink into deep water?  Into the brine?  I did.  I guess I prefer to be a daylight, solid ground steam shovel operator.

    Is the Sky the most beautiful thing about Earth?

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    7:34pm - Sunset Beach, Florida - 5-bracket HDR image

    I once heard someone say, "everything changes except the Sea."  It instantly entered my long term memory and comes to mind quite often.  On the other hand, does anything change more frequently than the sky?  Is this constant change one of the reasons why people (well, at least myself) love to behold the sky?  Is this the reason why the sky is so often photographed?  Or is the sky just the most beautiful thing about Earth?

    Just 16 minutes earlier, the sky looked like this that evening . . .

    7:18pm - Sunset Beach, Florida - 5-bracket HDR image