Beach photography tips to make your seaside pictures shine.

1. Get the right equipment.

If you’re shooting on a DSLR camera, a wide-angle lens can help you create a sense of depth and capture the vast, open spaces of the beach and the ocean. A focal length of 16mm to 35mm is perfect for landscape shots like these.

You may also want to bring a lens hood, which helps to control lens flare and glare by blocking harsh sunlight. It can also protect your lens from getting scratched by blowing sand if you’re taking pictures on a blustery day.

2. Optimize your settings.

To get the highest-quality beach landscape photos, open your camera’s settings menu and change the quality from JPEG to RAW. RAW images are much larger than other file formats, because they capture much more tonal and color data. These extra-detailed images give you more editing opportunities when you import them into a photo editing app for post-processing.

It’s also a good idea to set your camera to manual mode. In auto mode, DSLRs automatically adjust shutter speed and aperture settings through a process called metering, in which alight meter inside the camera determines how much light there is and adjusts the camera settings accordingly. In manual mode, you can control these settings yourself based on light conditions on the beach.

A higher aperture setting extends your picture’s depth of field for a sharper background, while a faster shutter speed can help you photograph objects in motion without any blur. For example, if you want to get a crisp, clear photo of a wave, you’ll need to set your shutter speed to at least 1/250th of a second to capture the image sharply.

3. Carefully compose your shots.

All the equipment and camera settings in the world can’t make up for a poorly composed picture. When you’re setting up your shots, always look for a compelling subject: something in the frame to draw the viewer’s attention and provide context forthe rest of the image.

You should also be mindful of the rule of thirds. For example, if the focal point of your picture is a surfer, don’t place the surfer at the dead center of the frame. Instead, adjust your perspective so that they’re at the left third or the right third ofthe image. Balancing the surfer on one side of the frame against empty, negative space on the other makes for a more visually interesting picture.

4. Shoot at the right time.

The time of day you choose for your photoshoot can make all the difference for your pictures. If you can, try to take your photographs just after sunrise or just before sunset. This period is known as the golden hour, when natural light is soft, evenly distributed, and perfect for photography. Beaches are more likely to be empty just after sunrise, while the rich, vibrant colors of a sunset make the perfect backdrop for a romantic picture.

You can still take great pictures in the middle of the day, so long as you take precautions to make sure the lighting isn’t too harsh. In addition to adjusting your aperture settings to compensate for the midday sun, try to schedule your shoot for an overcast day. The cloud cover helps to soften the light and distribute it evenly on your subjects—and if you want blue skies in your pictures, it’s easy to replace them with the Sky Replacement feature in Adobe Photoshop.