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The UK's coastline has many lighthouses which are worth a visit with your camera. Some are open to the public and are definitely worth exploring, but here we discuss using lighthouses within the wider landscape.

 

1. What Kit? 

Take your camera and all your usual lenses and you will not go far wrong. You may find a camera with a smaller body more useful as they can be often fit in jacket pockets or if you prefer to carry your gear in a bag, it'll take up less room leaving space for a flask of tea and your packed lunch! 

A tripod is needed if you intend getting there early or staying in late. Other than that, it is perfectly fine to shoot handheld. Filters are also definitely worth packing, especially the polariser that can be used to cut-down glare to enrich colours and saturate blue skies.

In terms of lenses, wide-angle and telephotos are equally valid. Wides let you use more of the foreground while telephotos let you pull in detail and are also excellent at putting the lighthouse within its environmental context.

 

 

2. Do Your Research 

If you're looking for lighthouses have a look at the Trinity House website for more information and locations close to you. Have a look at where other photographers have visited too, plus a quick online search will find you visitor information as well as GPS coordinates and directions quickly.

Use your feet! Walking around your subject is always advised and is especially effective with using lighthouses. That way you can put your subject into context of the beach or town that the lighthouse is situated.

 

 

3. Time Of Day & Weather

Many lighthouses are still in use so a good time to shoot them is at dawn or at dusk when there is colour in the sky and the lighthouse's lamp is on. Do remember the lamp will be considerably brighter than the whole scene and you can end up with a light that's overexposed if you don't meter correctly. 

At this time of day, there's not much light around so you will need the tripod and a remote release. If you set a sufficiently slow enough shutter speed you will get a complete rotation of the lamp.

Low light and stormy skies shouldn't be overlooked either, particularly if you can capture the waves crashing against the lighthouse or rocks nearby. 

Lighthouses look photogenic in most lighting situations, but bright sun can be tricky because of high contrast problems – white is a popular lighthouse colour. Bland white skies are also an issue for the same reason. Other than that, get shooting.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

I bought a Canon 7D because it had a bigger number than the 6D, more autofocus points, and a faster burst rate. I thought I was buying the better camera. 

What I did not understand was that the 6D's larger sensor would have given me cleaner high-ISO performance, shallower depth of field, and better dynamic range, all things that mattered far more for the portraits and low-light work I actually wanted to shoot. The 7D was excellent. But I bought it for the wrong reasons. If I could go back and sit down with myself the week before that purchase, here is what I would say.

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The right light is an interesting concept. I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as bad weather – only different types of lighting. I get annoyed at the number of articles that say you can only take creative landscape photographs in the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. To me, that leaves a whole chunk of the day with a camera sitting unused in a bag!

 

It's Wet Out!

Certainly, though, certain subjects work better in particular lighting conditions and when the rain is hammering on my office window I'm fairly happy to be sitting in front of the computer rather than trying to capture landscape photographs! That said, I have been at the side of Buttermere in torrential rain and high winds and still managed to work with the conditions.

Mist and fog also create ideal light for pastel, almost painterly pictures, easily isolating foreground elements from the background; and while these conditions are certainly more prevalent early morning, they can happen at other times. Heavy snowfalls can also create monotoned, isolated elements, even resulting in pen-and-ink style pictures that are perfect for black and white.

 

 

The Sun's Out

When the sun does shine through, make the most of the textures, shadows and lighting angles; and even that doesn't always mean early or late in the day, I have a number of Lake District locations where the sun offers excellent graze lighting, really bringing out the textures of barn walls or dry-stone walls even in the middle of the day.

The best way to know where the sun works best in any location is to know the location well, and photograph it regularly; ideally even knowing which month offers the best elevation as well as the angle of the sun. If you're new to a location check on a map – remembering that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Even Google maps can provide some help if there is a road anywhere near your chosen location. Computer-based maps can give a good idea of the terrain and are sometimes easier to realise the contours than a traditional map.

Certainly early and late in the day offers low lighting angles which can naturally create longer shadows, but to truly reap the benefits, you need to either have side-lighting or even be shooting into the sun.

By all means, plan some of your shots before you go out, but always be ready to adapt to the conditions - don't come back without any photos because the light wasn't exactly what you had planned, but adapt to the lighting that's there. Only by doing that will you train your eyes to see opportunities that otherwise would be so easy to miss.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

The consultation is supposed to be the easy part. The client reaches out, you meet (in person, by phone, or over video), you discuss what they want, you explain what you offer, and you both walk away aligned on the vision, the scope, and the price. That is the theory. In practice, the consultation is where every mismatched expectation, unrealistic budget, and conflicting creative vision reveals itself, and your ability to navigate those reveals determines whether the conversation ends with a booking or a polite "I'll think about it" that means no. 

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The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to James124 (Day 16- Bridges).

 

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

  Day 9

Stone Circles

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Day 10

Woodland

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Day 11

Creative Flare

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Day 12

Full-Length Portraits

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  Day 13

Stained Glass Windows

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Day 14

Garden Landscapes

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Day 15

Flowers

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You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

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