If you want to capture special summer moments and save them for many years, you should definitely grab your camera and start shooting. This season is a perfect time to visit new places, try new dishes, and partake in enjoyable activities.
Give this list of summer photoshoot ideas a thorough study and you are sure to take terrific, emotion-filled images.
Underwater photography may seem a real challenge, but by devoting some time to preparation, you are bound to take fantastic photos. The underwater world is replete with amazing creatures, plants, and color mixes that can imbue your pictures with a special mood. Of course, taking pictures in such an environment, you need to buy purpose-built equipment – a decent macro lens and a wide-angle lens, strobes, underwater housing, and ports.
There are no limitations concerning summer photography ideas you can realize underwater. Just feel the moment and click the release button whenever you want.
Summer pouring rains with lighting crossing the sky look truly majestic, so capturing such episodes is worth trying. However, the main trick here is to take many photos of lightning strikes by activating the burst mode in camera settings. Keeping tabs on fast strikes with the naked eye isn’t that simple, but a modern camera can perfectly cope with the task.
Using soap bubbles, you can not only have a fun time with your friends but also take interesting macro images. One of the best macro photography ideas is to catch the reflection of a model’s face or any picturesque spot inside a swirling ball of colors. Or, you can try to bring to life summer portrait ideas by focusing on a model blowing soap bubbles.
Fire requires very accurate handling, but the atmosphere it adds to images is worth all your effort. You can use lighter fluid and different types of wood to create an interesting scene.
While realizing summertime photoshoot ideas, you need to think out of the box. For example, you can use objects, which aren’t typically combined in real life, in a single composition and tell a specific story this way. These can be animals and air balloons, or anything other that pops into your mind.
To make the scene easy to perceive, you should keep the background uncluttered. To better grasp this concept, you can check out the works of Olivia Harris, Caleb Stein, and Lauren Withrow.
If you aspire to capture the pristine beauty of summer landscapes and seascapes, you should definitely use a polarizer. It gently boosts color saturation and can make different shades deeper and more vibrant, which works particularly great if you want to highlight blues of skies or greens of a meadow. While selecting a polarizer filter, consider the diameter of a camera lens, filter type, thickness, brand, and cost.
I use Circular Polarizing Filters, which differ from Square counterparts in their ability to measure the desired polarizing effects on a picture. You only need to attach a filter to your camera lens and rotate based on the effect you need.
Using a GND filter in summer is a really cool idea considering the richness of colors you have around. A GND (graduated neutral density) filter does wonders if you need to take photos where the sky requires one exposure and the ground the other.
You can use such a filter if you organize a summer themed photoshoot at the sunset, which means the horizon will be brighter and the foreground will be darker. With the help of a GND filter, you can manage to preserve details in the sky and expose for light in the foreground.
Taking images at long exposure can bring very interesting results. Typically, photographers use such settings when there is a water body in the frame, e.g., a waterfall, a river, or an ocean. Besides, it is a common trick to blur the motion of clouds or even a field of wheat rippling in the wind with the help of a slow shutter speed.
The variety of beautiful sceneries we have in summer is truly amazing. So, you get endless possibilities to capture genuine summer spirit without going the extra mile. You only need to look at ordinary objects from a new angle or use regular items, e.g., tree branches, as frames.
Summer amazes with an abundance of berries, fruit, and flowers, so incorporating them in a summer themed photoshoot is a rewarding thing to do. If you travel to a specific location, you can bump into many endemic berries or flowers that can become a wonderful decoration for the background or serve as colorful props.
You can write words with berries, create patterns by arranging flower petals, embellishing a shooting spot, and more.
Not only landscapes abound with colors but regular summer clothes are also designed in bright shades, so you can create really fascinating compositions. For example, your friends can put on bright T-shirts, shorts, dresses, or swimming suits and pose on the coast or against a forest background.
If you want to focus on contrast, you need to involve just 2 colors – something red against the backdrop of the blue sky, etc. Photographers also like experimenting with cold (green, blue, and purple) and warm (red, orange, and yellow) color mixes.
Whether you are taking photos in your local town or are visiting far-flung corners of our planet, you are likely to see lots of beautiful flowers in summer. It would be a pity to pass them by without capturing the beauty. You can encourage your friends to pose against such a colorful background if you want to experiment with summer portrait ideas or take a macro photo of a flower.
If you are going to attend any party and expect to see fireworks at night, don’t miss a chance to take some spectacular photos. Besides, if you want to capture fireworks at a distance while keeping the foreground equally showy, you can ask a friend to hold a sparkler and start shooting.
Several tips for photographing fireworks:
Summer is very generous when it comes to an abundance of fruit and vegetables. You get total freedom when using such goodies to realize summer photoshoot ideas. You can photograph raw fruit to show their natural beauty or cook dishes and use them as a part of a composition. Remember to place a camera on a tripod, examine a color wheel, choose complementary colors, and then start taking images.
Magnificent summer colors perfectly pop against blue sky and water bodies, so incorporating them into a frame is always a good summer picture idea. I recommend purchasing a disposable camera rain sleeve or a water-resistant rain cover to get the most out of such a photo session.
Besides, modern cameras and lenses are supplied with onboard weather sealing, which means the equipment is protected from water splashes and raindrops. If you want to take images near water, you can use such cameras as Olympus OM-D E-M1X, Panasonic’s Lumix S5, or Canon EOS R6.
If you are an adrenaline junkie photographer and can’t imagine your life without long mountain hikes, you definitely know places where you can capture imposing summer views. While going up in the mountains, you never know what animals or plans you’ll see along the way, so this is a perfect adventure that can bring lots of valuable memories.
It is a real shame not to go to the beach if there is a good one nearby. There you can take lots of cool photos, experiment with silhouettes, shadows, add specific props, etc. Keep in mind, that most beach photo ideas don’t require spending much money on preparation, and rely solely on the marvel of a summer beach.
A picnic offers endless possibilities to play with summertime photoshoot ideas. You can concentrate on colorful dishes and beverages if you are more interested in food photoshoots, or capture people’s emotions and facial expressions if you specialize in portraiture.
Regardless of where you live, there should be insects, animals, and birds in local forests, parks, meadows, ponds, etc. You can improve your knowledge of landscape photography to capture these creatures in their natural habitat, grab a camera, and embark on a creative photography path. You can also encourage a model to interact with animals, keeping safety precautions in mind.
I also advise you to switch on the aperture priority mode, which means you can manually select the aperture and let a camera be responsible for the shutter speed. Thus, your pictures will be properly exposed no matter how quickly an animal moves.
If you get itchy feet, summer is undeniably the best time to satisfy your thirst for visiting new places. There are lots of beautiful photography locations that are worth traveling to. The list of the most popular US attractions includes The Grand Canyon, AZ; Niagara Falls, NY; Yosemite National Park, CA; Zion National Park, UT; and Kauai, HI.
Organizing a summer themed photoshoot at sunset, you can get very arresting images filled with warm light. However, working during this period of the day, you should choose between low and mid-range ISO settings such as 200, 400, or 800.
Besides, opt for a high aperture – f/11, f/16 or higher. While adjusting the shutter speed, monitor the light meter. When it gets to the “0” point, you can be sure the exposure is correct.
If you aren’t very experienced in manipulating lighting, you’d better take photos during the golden hour, which is the first hour after the sunrise and the last hour before the sunset. At this time, lighting is the most flattering and you can avoid lots of common lighting issues. Besides, during this period you can better understand how to create silhouettes, control shadows, and add a sky scene to a frame.
If you like getting up early in the morning, you have a great chance to capture the transient movement of mist and “show” tranquility in images. You can photograph in different places for a more spectacular result.
Another great summer picture idea is to capture silhouettes. You need to place an object or ask a person to stay behind something that partially blocks the sun. Then, direct your lens towards the brightest part of a scene and press the shutter halfway down. Next, you need to relocate your camera to frame a shot and press the shutter. Thus, a camera will perceive the bright part as mid-tones, and expose the darker areas, mainly the subject, as shadows.
Nightlife photography allures many enthusiasts, and if you want to try this genre, you should definitely do this in summer. Most cafes, restaurants, bars, the Ferris wheel, and other places are crowded at night and you will see many bright lights penetrating the sky. Your task is to set a slow shutter speed to capture nighttime lights.
If you specialize in portrait photography, you can spruce up your images with mind-blowing colors and shades, photographing a person against a stormy ocean, in a blooming arboretum, or in a field. Sometimes, to tell a story, you need to use props - hats, party glasses, balloons, a pen, a flower or a musical instrument.
More and more people take to doing sports, which is a wonderful tendency that you can use to your advantage while realizing summer photoshoot ideas. For instance, you can photograph a surfer on a wave, a climber in the mountains, or a friend conquering new horizons on a bike.
Keeping tabs on the sun and its movement is a long yet rewarding process. At some point, it starts creating winsome ornaments on buildings, pavements, and a person’s face, so make sure to photograph such whimsical trails.
Sunburst images are true eye candy but you need to work hard to achieve the desired result. I recommend taking photos at different spots and at different times of the day to understand when and where you can capture the best sunburst.
Ice cream is a traditional attribute of summer. Many people compensate surrounding heat with cold and delicious sweets. Taking a portrait image of a person eating ice cream is the easiest food photography idea that perfectly suits summertime.
Besides, instead of photographing a traditional ice cream, you can take a waffle cone and fill it with other delicious stuff.
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