The Challenges and Rewards of Photographing Beach Weddings

The smell of fresh sea air, miles of beautiful sandy beaches, and the lulling sound of the ocean may make for a perfect vacation spot, as well as an idyllic setting for a wedding. As beautiful as beach weddings may be, photographers face many challenges when capturing a couple’s special day by the sea. To assist you in troubleshooting this refreshing wedding photography niche, we spoke to several photographers who shared many of the challenges (and some of the rewards) that they face when shooting beach weddings.

Above photograph © Christina Craft, FunkyTown Photography

Planning for the Beach

Whether the beach wedding is local or requires travel to a different state or country, planning is a key factor. Check your favorite weather site or app to track the sunset and tides. Christina Craft, of FunkyTown Photography, often travels from her hometown in Canada to various destinations to shoot beach weddings. From experience, she knows that, “In the tropics, sunset goes fast—maybe in 15 minutes, so I have become very, very fast—and cheerfully dictatorial,” when shooting the family and the couple at sunset. Philadelphia-based Easton Reynolds, of LuRey Photography, who shoots with his wife Laura, will consult with the couples ahead of time about sunset shots and, if sunset overlaps with the reception, the couple will generally indicate they have no problem stepping away from the reception for the shoot. “We set up the shot with our assistant ahead of time, the couple walks out, we take one or two snaps and they go back to the reception.”

Craft is also very aware of the tide, especially when there’s a full moon, noting that, “If it’s a full moon and high tide, you sometimes lose the entire beach and won’t have a place to stand.” She warns her couples ahead of time that some shots they see on her site may not be achievable, e.g., if rocks are covered with water. While tides are not a problem for Reynolds’ New Jersey beaches, the San Diego-based team at France Photographers pays attention to tides at their local beaches. As Sara France points out, “some of the beaches are completely different when the tide is high from when it’s low.”

Light and Location

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges when shooting a beach wedding is the light. While bright sunlight filling the sky and reflecting from the beach and the ocean may be perfect for a fun day at the seashore, all this light requires photographers to bring their technical A-game to the location.

Shooting in manual mode is a must, says Craft: “You just can’t rely on automatic modes because of the extreme lighting. Bright, harsh sun is the most challenging light for any photographer—but I’ve learned to embrace it.” She adds that, “It forces me to think more creatively,” so she always brings a variety of small accessories, such as black Plexiglas, prisms, and “dollar-store baubles to create bokeh.” This allows her to create “a lot of variety in one setting.” Craft also reminds us that these lighting conditions are great for backlit shots.

Reynolds says, “Our style is very dramatic, so we have to work ten times harder because there’s light everywhere, including the reflection of light off the sand.” To remedy the excessive light, he will sometimes underexpose the ambient light and use a Yongnuo YN560 III or IV as a fill flash on the face. If the sun is behind the photographer when facing the couple, he might position himself at a 30-45 degree angle to the subjects “so there are definitive highlight and shadow sides on the face.”

“It’s really bright,” says France, “and there’s nothing to block light or to maneuver around the light. If it’s overcast,” she adds, “there are more possibilities but, if not, then you need reflectors and extra lighting.” Although she drops her ISO to 100—the lowest setting on her Sony a7R III—it’s still difficult to open the lens enough to achieve shallow depth of field because of the abundance of light.

Sunset and twilight provide a little respite from the overwhelming brightness. France points out that, “Typically, the best time is right as the sun is going down—maybe 30 minutes before sunset. And we love to shoot after sunset—the light is really soft and beautiful.” It’s during the blue hour that France will use video lights to help illuminate the scene. And, she adds, most of the daytime beachgoers have cleared out from the public beaches by then, so they don’t have to shoot around other people.

Lighting is not the only challenge presented by the beach’s wide-open spaces. With only the sand, sea, and sky to work with, photographers are presented with creative challenges to compose interesting and varied photos.

France and her team look for beaches that have “a pier, or rocks, or some other interesting elements.” Since San Diego beaches often have piers, “We utilize our piers a lot, so you’re not just shooting the ocean and beach,” France explains. “Light comes through the piers and it gives another background besides the beach. Having another point of interest is really nice.”

Reynolds, who shoots with multiple lightweight, Nikon D750s, also uses piers to provide a change of scenery in beach wedding shoots. “We’ll get the couple off the beach and to locations that have the beach feel but have more than just open sky to shoot against,” he says. In addition to piers, “New Jersey has boardwalks, so there are a ton of things to shoot on the boardwalk. The stores have cool neon signs. And there’s the salt water taffy place the couple has been going to for years. There’s maybe a little bit of beach in there, but the rest is telling the couple’s story.” Reynolds will also take his couple to local lighthouses and nearby wildlife preserves. The latter provides “vibrant colors” and allows him to “put the couple in open shade,” with more control over exposure.

Sand, Sand, and more Sand… and Salt!

Protecting your gear—and yourself—from the elements is crucial to a successful beach wedding. “If it’s windy and we can see the sand blowing physically, we won’t go onto the beach,” Reynolds explains, “because the bride doesn’t want to go out in that either.” He adds, “That’s why I have insurance for the gear.” When they do head out onto the sand, “We have an assistant that’s always with the gear,” he explains. “She’s wearing a Shootsac with all our lenses.”

The France Photographers team sometimes has to hike a distance to the beach, and since they use a rolling bag, such as the Lowepro Pro Roller X200, they have to carry it across the sand. “We carry a rolling bag,” says France, “and try not to set things down if we can avoid it.”

A new addition to Craft’s beach wedding gear is a “little plastic picnic blanket that I can sit on, stand on, and use to protect the gear.” She wears two Nikon DSLRs—a D850 and/or D750—one with a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens and the other with a Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 lens in a Black Rapid Harness. Craft always uses UV filters to protect the lenses and, she adds, “I don’t change lenses on the beach because the wind can blow sand on the sensor.” After about five beach weddings, she’ll take her camera to a local shop, but if she’s away for a few months, she sends it to Nikon Professional Services (NPS) for cleaning.

Are Beach Weddings Worth the Effort?

For some photographers, like the team at France Photographers, the answer is a definite yes. “The ocean is beautiful, the light and colors are gorgeous, but it’s really that simple, natural beauty that’s best,” says France, explaining, “Wherever the couple feels comfortable is where we want to be.”

Who are the couples who want beach weddings? Generally, says France, “They want that relaxed feel, they want the ocean breeze, and… a wedding where everybody can kick off their shoes, relax, and enjoy it.” France Photographers’ Jessica Van adds that, “It’s more anything goes, and go with the flow,” so you can get a different perspective, unlike a church wedding with restrictions about where you can go and what you can do. France Photographers’ Rachel Jay adds, “There’s a lot of simplicity, where all you have is sand and water, so the focus is more on the couple. In the city, you’re going to have buildings and trees, and this beach location goes more with who these people are.”

Couples who have beach weddings—and destination weddings, in general—tend to be “a bit more adventurous,” says Craft. “They tend to appreciate the more important things, like family. They’re less fussy and, if you’re a beach person, there’s nothing like it—hanging out with people who are dancing under the stars.”

For Reynolds’s local clients, “Getting married on the beach is about the idea and the fantasy of it.” He points out that “we have to educate them—you’re going to have your hair look like Ursula during the ceremony, but if you do an up-do, you’ll look great.” Most of all, he says, “Couples love the idea of it. Some are attached to a New Jersey beach wedding because that’s where they grew up, or that’s where they met… and they want a beach wedding because that’s what they dreamed of having when growing up.” Shooting at the beach, on the boardwalk and, as mentioned earlier, in front of the salt water taffy place they’ve been frequenting for years, allows Reynolds to tell the couple’s story. After all, that’s what photography is all about.

If your client requests a beach wedding, you’ll face many challenges, but it’s an opportunity to expand your skills and, most important, to thrill the bridal couple with your beautiful, beachy pictures.

Have you ever photographed—or held—a beach wedding yourself? If so, please share your experiences in the Comments section, below!

Click below to view additional images from the photographers who contributed to this article.

France Photographers (Sara France, Jessica Van, Rachel Jay)

Christina Craft

Easton Reynolds