We’ve heard it a million times. “Timing is everything” and it sure applies to the subject of beach portraits on Maui.
There are key aspects of timing that help turn a good portrait into a great portrait. For sure, it is important to “capture the moment.” But that is a whole ’nother subject for another blog.
This discussion will focus on the time of day in order to manage the lighting of the portrait.
We’ll start with the basics: There’s sunrise, sunset and everything in between.
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Sunset
Ah, yes that glorious orange glow over the ocean that is the uniquely Hawaiian sunset. It makes a great background to a portrait whether it is for couples, families or groups.
Do it right and it is stunning. Do it wrong and it’s a disaster. What’s the difference? You guessed it: Timing.
First of all, never mind that “golden hour” you have heard about. You have a few minutes when the sun touches the ocean and sinks below the horizon. Eight minutes, actually.
Then there’s a few more minutes of afterglow when lighting is good for a portrait. Then it’s too dark. This timing also requires less fill light, when makes things easier.
Start by checking NOAA or any weather app for the technical sunset time for your location. If possible, check the location at that time the day before to make sure there aren’t any surprises. Then get your camera and flash ready about 15 minutes prior to the sunset time.
Start taking some test photos and get the balance of lighting that you like. Get the background where you want it using shutter and aperture. Then set the flash power and distance to light the faces in your photo.
Now keep checking both of these as the sun goes down. The overall lighting changes rapidly and one of your biggest challenges will be to keep up with those changes while you manage your subjects and poses.
If it’s your first stab at this, just stick to 1 or 2 poses while you focus on the lighting timing. Prepare to be amazed.
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Sunrise
Well, on Maui, we’re not really trying for sunrise. You would need to be in Hana for that. Most of us are in West facing areas like Ka’anapali and Wailea in the morning. So what we really mean is the morning hours.
What so great about the morning hours… Oh my gosh, where do we begin?
Colors are vibrant, the ocean is blue and the outer islands that will be in the background will show off their reds and greens. There a few hours where light is great for skin tones and it’s also before it get too bright, too hot or too crowded.
Plan “A”: Find shade at the beach (earlier in the morning). This is a great way to have controlled lighting on your subjects while the background will ooze with exciting color.
Plan “B”: Just get right out in the sun and get near the water. Doing this later in the morning will help keep the sun from being directly in your subjects eyes. Sunglasses optional, this is a great way to put some fun your photos.
Everything in between
Afternoons and late afternoons are the toughest. But not for the reasons you may think. The beaches are hotter (think: sweat) and more crowded. The sand might even be too hto for some people to walk on. You will need the most fill light for these images to look right. And as the sun makes it way to the other side of the planet, the blue ocean begins looking gray while the outer islands become silhouettes.
It only takes a little bit of planning and testing to get some amazing portraits. And if you are new to this, we recommend starting with the morning times to create awesome portraits right from the beginni