23 Awesome Beach Photos

Written by Eric on August 15th, 2009 | 1 Comment



underneath a star by jaeWALK

Every year, I try to make it to the beach with my family if possible.  Since we don’t live near the beach, it’s always special for us to see the ocean, play in the sand and splash in the waves.  It’s also a challenge to try to get above average beach pics.

There are so many things competing against good photos at the beach – midday sun, tons of people, keeping track of kids, that fat guy that’s always in the background and keeping sand out of your camera.  Below, you’ll find 23 awesome beach images that beat the elements and the odds.  Granted, these are not your typical family vacation photos; however, with a little bit of effort, there’s no reason you can’t bring a few images like these back from your next trip to the beach.

As you browse through them, think about what goes into these images to make them standout above the rest.

  • Maybe the photographer got up early or stayed out late to get a great sunrise or sunset.
  • How about walking down the beach a couple of hundred yards away from the resort to get a clean background?
  • Or, using a subject in the background or foreground to stand out from the crowd.
  • Getting low or high for a different point of view.
  • Exposure variations, silhouette, lens flare, etc.
  • HDR imagery to capture the brilliant blues of the sky, while still bringing out the golden sand and blue-green colors in the ocean.
  • Wide angle lens vs. a telephoto lens.
  • Anything else?

Enough with the words, here’s the rest of the awesome beach photos.


Rule of Thirds? by Garry


Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by matt.hintsa


Strange by Christolakis


Coalcliff Beach, NSW, Sunkist by sachman75


Ford Mustang on Felixstowe beach by stevoarnold


Beach Sunset by Chris Gin


a beach kiss by Michael Sarver


Grace Bay Beach Pier by WisDoc


at the beach by Caligold


When photography turns social experience by = xAv =


untitled by BURИBLUE


South Beach Sisters by adwriter


Between the rocks by quas


Snowboarding in Maldives by nattu


Flash & Nipper by K_iwi


Playa de los Lances Tarifa, Cádiz by Chodaboy


Dig! Set! Spike! by Mance


Anna on Sandy Beach, Puerto Penasco, Mexico by geroco


Stone Puzzle by orvaratli


Mirando atras… by Chodaboy


untitled by Xava du [photographer padawan]


A Hesitant Princess Maroon by Dilip Muralidaran

Your Thoughts?

What are you thoughts on the above images?

What techniques or principles stood out in these photos?

What are your tips for shooting great images on the beach?



One Response to “23 Awesome Beach Photos”

  1. Clement

    It might not be awesome, but I kind of like one of my shots this month in Kuta, Bali.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kubusclem/3831373671/sizes/l/
    Some thoughts on my pic :
    I wanted to shoot it from really low, close to the ground, in order to make the most of this sunrise reflection I experienced that day.
    I wanted the surfer/bodyboarder to be as much of a shadow as possible, so aligning him with the sun was the best chance i had to achieve this plus the nice shadow.
    The pic was cropped a little. As I initially shot it, it really was too centered I assumed. It was centered both horizontally and vertically (considering i shot from nearly sand level), so I uncentered it just a tiny bit vertically and I feel like it looks good like that.
    Your feedback is more than welcome ;).

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