With this article I start series of How To articles, describing some tips and tricks about seascaping. If you like it, share it with friends using buttons below :)
Enjoy!

Good morning!

Gradual filter and camera.

This photo features golden hour light. This means you will do the same good 10 minutes after sunrise or 30-to-0 minutes before sunset.

As you see the light here comes from the side. So, taking into account that you need either sunrise (Sun on the East) or sunset (Sun on the West), you need any coastal location that is directed North or South.

Remember that Sun almost never comes up exactly on the East and never goes down exactly on the West. Sunrise is North-East March to September and South-East September to March. Accordingly Sunset is North-West March to September and South-West September to March.

So allow some deviation in the direction of the coastal line :)

You will do same good somewhere between the following two possible coastlines:

This photo was taken on the Garie beach, Royal National Park, NSW, Australia on sunrise.

Shutter speed of 1/30s: Shutter speed was not that important here because I was focusing on the rocks and the light, not on the water. I'd like to accent that I waited specifically when there was no wave near the foreground rocks.

When the water goes away, it reveals nice sand structure - it is smooth and has small shells. These shells being small and scattered make fancy shadow patterns. Pay attention - there is nothing massive in the bottom right corner, but this corner doesn't look empty due to those shells, their shadows and some lines on the sand.

Aperture of f9: f9 is usually fine for any landscape. The foreground rock was not very close, so I didn't have to go to f16. If the rock was closer (less than a meter), I'd use a tripod and f16 aperture to make the whole photo sharp.

I did not want to make a mess of rocks. So I decided to create a "leading line" that goes from foreground to background.

I used two compositional tricks here:

1. Oval composition made of rocks - this way people will look around the photo.
   
   
   
   

   Circular Composition
   
   
2. Leading line that goes from foreground to the distant cliffs. This way people will look from close to far making the feel of vastness. That line has a shape of S, which is one of the most powerful compositions.
   
   
   
   

   S Composition
   
   

So, why are there two compositional techniques? The answer is - why not :) Some people will use the first one, some will use the second one, they do not compete here.

Softness	Daytime Sleep	Golden Hour
Follow the Mystery Path

How to Shoot Seascapes Part 1 (Gear, Time, Safety)

If you find this helpful, "Like" it. Also, if you use something from this article for your shooting, you may send me samples of your works and I will create Reader's Gallery.

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