HOW DO YOU PHOTOGRAPH A BEACH WEDDING?

Why have a beach wedding – Whitsundays Wedding Photography?

There is something about the turquoise water, pristine white sand, the sound of waves crashing against the shore, the bright sunshine and colourful sunsets of the Whitsunday’s beaches. This picture-perfect tropical setting is often what first attracts couples to celebrate their wedding in Airlie beach in the Whitsundays.

Beaches offer stunning natural scenery with expansive horizons, soft sands, and the calming presence of the ocean. This provides a naturally beautiful backdrop for wedding photography. A beach also provides the opportunity for some truly unique wedding photos. Particularly in Queensland where the sun sets quickly. You can get so much variety with bright blue skies to striking sunsets all in a short period of time!

If you don’t want to move around to different locations, love the beach, then you really can’t beat the variety and natural beauty that a beach wedding provides. What’s even better in Airlie Beach, the Whitsundays, is that the sun sets before the reception, so wedding photographers get to take advantage of this soft, beautiful light at the end of the Location Portraits (sometimes called a Photo Tour).

The sound of waves, the gentle sea breeze, and the warm sand beneath your feet create a romantic and serene atmosphere that many couples find enchanting. Even more appealing, is the fact that the sand is cold at Whitehaven Beach!

Beach weddings stand out from traditional indoor ceremonies, providing a unique and memorable experience for a couple and their guests. Beaches offer a diverse range of photo opportunities, from dramatic sunsets to playful candid shots in the surf. This allows for a wide variety of photography styles, including romantic, candid and artistic. A beach wedding allows couples to embrace a more relaxed and casual atmosphere, while still maintaining an elegant and special occasion feel. Beach weddings often have a more intimate and relaxed vibe, allowing couples to focus on their love and connection without the formality of a traditional venue.

Many couples opt for destination weddings at beach locations, combining their wedding and honeymoon into one unforgettable experience!

How do you photograph a beach wedding?

We’ll start with one of the purest beaches in the world – Whitehaven Beach.  The New Daily (2023) lists Whitehaven Beach as the 5^th best beach in the World!

In addition to being one of the most beautiful and unspoiled beaches in the world, the sand doesn’t retain heat, so you can walk barefoot even on the hottest days. This island boasts a seven-kilometre white sand beach with silica sand.

Now there’s lot a magic with Whitehaven Beach, but photographically the beaches sand reflect the sun’s light back onto people’s faces which means that, even in the middle of the day, there’s no dark shadows (that are normally present) under peoples faces when photography without any aids – natural light. That makes it magical for us!

We just take our camera, a polarising filter and no light modifiers whatsoever. We let nature’s beautiful light reflector do its magic. Plus, in the heat of the day, flash tends to reflect and make people look shinny. Not a great look!

The difference Whitehaven Beach and other beaches

The difference between Whitehaven Beach and other beaches in the Whitsundays is that we don’t have the built in natural reflector. For us this means that we simply forgo it, in bright sunlight, and the result in that the photos will have a largely white look to the background as we expose for our couple’s faces. Remember that we don’t like the look of flash in bright sunlight, and this is particularly true when couples are feeling hot. And let’s face it, that’s most of our couples as they have typically flown in from the south of North Queensland, so they find this area humid.

Sure we could use reflectors and powerful flashes in softboxes, but we believe it’s too much gear, and a much slower way of working, that it tends to unnerve a bride and groom and detracts from the relaxed experience that is a hallmark of our experience!

Plus we know that we don’t need to wait long to create dramatic high dynamic range images once the sun starts to set! This type of image can be seen in the Villa Botanica image above taken just before the Reception.

That’s a wrap for Whitsunday Beach Wedding Photography.

Talk to use about your vision for a beach wedding in Airlie Beach the Whitsundays
so we can work together to capture moments that you’ll CHERISH forever.

If you have any questions about a beach wedding in Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays
feel free to ask us in the comments below,
or contact Warren @ warren.papas@hotmail.com

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