Six ways to shoot... At the coast

Creative options to explore when you’re beside the seaside

Low-tide boats

Boats are always good photo fodder, but when the tide’s out, moored boats can take on an interesting lean. The combination of pools of water and big anchors creates lots of texture and light and shade. Put on your wellies and go exploring. Wave action

Whenever you have some water movement, there is a creative opportunity to explore. Pop the camera on a tripod, and use shutter speeds of a second or more to create blur; contrast with static objects such as a groynes or rocks. People

Whether they’re working or playing at the seaside, people can be great as the main subject, or just as an element to add context or create a sense of scale. A fisherman on the end of the pier is a static option to look out for; or perhaps try a postcard-style image of the Great British Public enjoying a day by the sea. Go abstract

With such a variety of textures, colours and subjects along the coastline, abstract images are definitely there for the taking. Try isolating areas of weathered wood, contrast the shapes and painted fronts of traditional beach huts, or hunt out the patterns in the sand left behind by the retreating tide. Wildlife watchers

The coastline offers some of the best opportunities to photograph wildlife. Whether it’s seals in the surf, gannets nesting on towering cliffs or wading birds searching for food along a muddy estuary, use your telephoto for frame-filling images. Take to the waves

Don’t just shoot from land towards the sea; get yourself on a day trip along some of the coast’s wilder and more difficult-toaccess areas to capture the sea from an entirely different viewpoint.