If anybody has a plan to shoot lake, river, beaches, sea etc then this article is for you. There are so many things that are required to take care of your expensive photography kit, so many tips are required to capture water and its flow etc. The most important task is to find a perfect lake, sea, ocean etc where you can shoot safely. I am sure not everyone may find the water location near their home, you need to travel so long to find out the perfect water location. It is advisable to finalise your water location before you move out. So that accordingly you can plan your tour and your photography kit and other essentials.

I am mentioning few important tips which help you capture better water location (lake, river, beaches, ocean, sea etc) photographs.

Follow Safety tips

• Must find the closest water location if possible, It’s hard to explore but we have to find out if we are keen to shoot lake, sea etc
• Always carry a camera rain cover to protect your camera, there is a possibility of rain.
• Protect your camera from sand, here your rain cover protects your camera from sand and rust too. Rust is the biggest enemy of the camera and lens etc
• Carry less photography equipment otherwise, you spend most of the time protecting your gears.
• Must carry one companion/friend/assistant etc to protect you in any unexpected weather condition, emergency etc.
• Must reach the location before the shooting date also, read the location, and understand all the visible content, safety features etc. This will help you to shoot better.

Avoid New Shooting tips

• Must not experiment with the new camera setting when you have a wonderful subject to shoot. Mostly photographer plays with the new camera setting and spoils the photographs. This is not done, we must play or experiment with the new camera setting when we can re-visit the location again and again or which is the nearest location from your home town so that you have extra space to correct your photographs. (Tip of the Day)
• If you are shooting in RAW/JPEG/AF/Landscape mode/Dial Mode A/S/P/M priority then you must shoot in the same camera setting. Sometimes experiments scrap your entire photography tour.
• If possible you must carry a better wide lens to shoot lake or river, carrying the better lens on rent is a better option.

Creative Tips

• Reach early in the morning and stay till the late hours to shoot
• Wait for the bad weather condition, sometimes bad weather gives you amazing shots.
• Must include humans, rocks, jetski, and other interesting content to your images.
• Must include foreground
• Must capture horizon
• Play with strong creative framing
• Must capture second sunset photographs too

Conclusion – Finding and shooting lake, river etc is one of the toughest jobs. Must try to shoot nearest water location if exist. Once you have a better experience then plan to move to a long-distance water location or other cities etc

Keep experimenting! have a wonderful and happy photography life to you all.

Photographer and Blogger Prasenjeet Gautam (www.prasenjeetgautam.com) has captured the above-posted image, Asola Bhati Lake. INDIA