Summer is a great time to take amazing pictures. Summer nights, long days at the beach with plenty of sunshine, children playing in a fountain or pool, and fireflies flickering during summer evenings are all beautiful memories. These are also wonderful times to capture life’s best moments.
There are many fun summer events to attend and things to photograph, but there may be a few days where you don’t know what you should do. Here are some awesome photos of summer to inspire you.
The Beaches
Summer is the best time to visit beaches. They are beautiful all year round, but summer brings out their vibrancy. With this extra exercise, you’ll be able to capture a wide variety of images from surfers and sunbathers to sunsets and seascapes. Even underwater photography is possible.
Try visiting the beach of a nearby lake if you do not live close to an ocean. You can still get the same shots by using a lake, depending on its size and transparency.
Marjan Lazarevski: Paradise on Earth
Swimming Pools
There are no beaches in the area? Check out your local pool, or purchase an inflatable pool to use in your backyard. A pool may not offer any breathtaking natural scenes to capture, but it allows you to take photos of children and swimmers. It’s not necessary to use a long lens or deal with the waves to take good photos. A simple point-and shoot camera will work well at the pool.
Matthew Coughlin Zach Zoom Splash
Fountains
In the summertime, fountains are a popular destination for tourists, families and others who need a break. You can photograph a fountain of any size, whether it is a large landmark, or a smaller play fountain. You can also capture candid photos of the sun reflecting off the water, or even the surrounding architecture. Splashing water is a great opportunity to practice long exposures and quick action shots.
Otacilio Rodrigues – Girls having fun
Sprinklers
You can still create the same playful environment without fountains by using a sprinkler in your backyard. The sprinkler may not look as good as a water fountain but it is easier to buy, find and move. It can be placed exactly where it is needed for the perfect background or composition.
Sprinklers hit the deck – Darren Sethe
Sailboats
The summer is the best time to sail. Summer is the perfect time to sail and take pictures of sailboats. While you can get some great images by taking a trip on the water, it will give you a unique perspective and a memorable experience. You can then photograph both your boat and the other sailboats in the area.
Vitor Junqueira, Atlantic Freedom Cova-Gala (Portugal)
Blue Skies
Summer is synonymous with water, but it’s not necessary to include the element in every summertime photo. A sunny, blue sky can also capture summer’s atmosphere. You only need one more element to make the picture feel like summer. A person relaxing or lush green fields are perfect examples.
It’s essential to keep a graduated neutral-density filter or a polarizing lens on hand for blue skies. The filters prevent the sky from being overexposed and will make it look really deep.
Try to add some clouds into your picture. Blue skies can be beautiful but boring if they lack the contrast and interest of clouds. Postpone your shot if you are stuck on a day without clouds. With the long, summer days you have ample time to take the perfect shot.
jordan parks – ahhhh, summer
Fireflies
Take advantage of the fireflies if you live near one! It takes some time to master the art of shooting fireflies, but once you do, your images will have an incredible natural beauty.
The shooting-star trails are similar when it comes to photographing fireflies. A sturdy tripod is required for a long-exposure shot. It’s a little trickier to photograph fireflies than stars because the light flashes rather quickly. It can be difficult to match the quick flash with the background lighting that builds during exposure.
Set your ISO to a high level and your exposure time at a low one. Starting with five seconds, you can adjust the exposure time from there. You can then stack the photos in post-processing to make a firefly-filled image. The fireflies will still be bright and stunning with this approach.
Fotis Mavroudakis – Fireflies dancing