Family Portrait on the beach

Hey y'all. Quick question. I'm planning on taking pictures of my friends family on the beach in Ocean City, MD this weekend. I'd like to do it around sunset. Any tips on camera settings / flash?

I'm shooting with a Nikon D3000 and the 2 kit lenses 18-55 & 55-200.

Thanks a million :welcoming:

Do you have a flash?

Sure do. Cheap-o Sunpak digiFlash 3000 "for Nikon DSLR cameras" respectively, lol!

Hello,

I remember someone explaining the right thing in such a wrong way that no
body understood… I'll do my best not to loose you!

Sunset photography is like playing two ballgames at the same time!
No, not yet! Stay with me a little longer, …please? Thank you!

Oh yes, the two ballgames… How can anyone play two ballgames at the same
time and come out a winner? Dead right! Cheating… And the secret cheat in
this is that your gonna play the two games simultaneously but with only one
ball! Cool cheat! …isn't it?

Here is the strategy:

The simple part is is the first game: without flash. So simple that I'm finished
with it already.

The second game is played with the flash: flash on TTL, camera on mode S and
set at say 1/250s. If you see a dark band on your frame, just slow down the
speed, say 1/125s. So far, so good.

Now the cheat: the ball is, in fact, the lens aperture! Say that with any given
flash, the correct distance to the subject is 4 to 15 feet with that given TTL gun
set at a given fixed shutter speed. The only remaining ways you have to adjust
the incoming light are the ISO and the aperture. If the flash is not strong enough
crank up the ISO to 400 or 800. Now the last ace, the aperture:

Close down the lens, the sunset will be darker and the flash will have to work harder
to achieve a proper exposure.
Open up the lens, the sunset will be lighter and the flash will have to work far less
to achieve a proper exposure.

These two lines are the ball, the cheat, the ace up your sleeve! Read them again
until they do not sound strange anymore. Simply put, it is with the aperture that you
will balance the two light sources. In any case, the flash should always give you a
decent exposure, you decide how much sunset light will come in and play in the game!
For that purpose you have a great tool: The view screen behind your camera! You
should be able to evaluate how much is good or too much or too less.

Like always, do some fun tests before the event: you don't want to look too clumsy
with a Nikon in you hands!

Have a good time!

I'm assuming you are aware of the inverse square law. If you're taking a group shot and using flash, especially one flash. Its always better to put the flash as far away from you're subject as you can and still effectivley have results from it. If putting the flash close to the group. The people closest to the flash will be iluminated far more than those furthest. By putting the flash further from the group, the amount of light hitting the entire group will be the same. Do alot of test shots before hand. Good luck.

Or, you could position your family with the ocean in the background, at sunset, and not use a flash.... as long as the setting sun is illuminating their faces. I only say that because I rarely use flash - I do have friends that are flash masters but I'm more of a work with what is there kind of person. Anyway, good luck!

Flash can be used very effectively in portraiture if it is properly balanced with the ambient light. It can add catchlights to the eyes as well as open up shadows and increase contrast on an overcast day. Although I always use my flashes in manual and use a flash meter to work out the proper exposure, if you shoot for around 20% contribution from the flash, the balance can work wonders. The example below shows how fill flash can improve an image without dominating it. This photo was taken in late afternoon. I used two flashes and the balance was right around my magical 20% contribution

Thank you so much for the specific answers I'll keep all of this in mind and show you the pics when I'm done.

Thanks again!

Something else besides exposure, watch the background when you compose your pictures. I see so many pictures like Scotts above with grass blades in focus sticking out of their head. So check and re-check the background for anything that might be in focus with the subject and distract from the image your trying to capture. I have trouble this myself so thats why I bring it up.\

Good luck, I really like beach pictures but wont get my chance till next year. We couldn't make it this year with other commitments.

Well, seeing as though it's in Ocean City at Sunset, one tip is to avoid all of the people playing frisbee and fishing on the beach.

The other important things are, the sun will be on the bay side, and not over the ocean... So depending on what you want in the background, there is some stuff to think of.

As you are using a D3000, be careful not to underexpose, and its shadows are hard to ever bring up without awful distortion. Since you have a flash that isn't a speedlight, just play around with it until it looks right.

If the ocean is the background, watch for squinting eyes due to the subjects facing the sun. If the dunes are the background, then watch for silhouetting.

One more thing, as I know OC - the beaches look better above 70th street or so. There is also likely to be less people up that end overall, so if you have a choice of what beach to go to, try going up the north end of the city.

Ohh my gosh. Effing Disaster!!! The kids were bad, sunset was hazy, got to the beach too late and lost light very quickly. Trying again tomorrow morning. I set my as to 1/250 and it was way too dark. So frustrated, raaah!

Good luck to tomorrow! Things rarely go right for me the first time!

LyonsH said:

Ohh my gosh. Effing Disaster!!! The kids were bad, sunset was hazy, got to the beach too late and lost light very quickly. Trying again tomorrow morning. I set my as to 1/250 and it was way too dark. So frustrated, raaah!

Click to expand...

Hmm. Yeah, the one thing I hadn't thought of is that except for a few parts, OC is mostly hotels, so when the sun is setting, it'll go behind the buildings pretty quickly.

I hope the second try worked better.

The 2nd try was a total different experience thank goodness! Got pictures around 3pm on a quiet beach and the children were absolute ANGELS! I've got some great shots, and cant wait to share them. *pphhew!* :cheerful:

Can't wait! …get cracking!

CU soon,