How I Got That Shot: Beach Photo Shoots

How I photographed the cast of Naked Boys Singing on the beach

It’s summertime and that means, swim suits, sun screen, and the beach. Several years ago I got to photograph the cast of Naked Boys Singing for an Out IN Jersey Magazine cover. And while the photo shoot was to take place on the beach, I ended driving down to Asbury Park Beach, to meet the cast and art directors.

Naked Boys Singing cast members showed up in their summer attire, and then were ready to pose in their swimsuits. And since Asbury Park Beach was/is not a nude beach, I had to make my subjects look as if they were…naked, that is. But how?

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Photographing the cast of #NakedBoysSinging for #outinjersey #magazine. #asburypark #beach #editorial #photography #tbt @diversehumanity #nikonphotography

A post shared by Alina Oswald (@alina.oswald) on Sep 16, 2016 at 7:28am PDT

So, I used whatever props I could find: rocks on the beach and a giant towel the art directors had brought with them, and also sunglasses, sweatshirts, and the like.

Gear included my Nikon camera, two lenses, a speedlight, and one of those collapsible reflectors for group portraits.

And, yes, I had to photograph pretty much in the middle of the day. Sometimes, it is what it is.

All in all, it was an interesting photo shoot, though, and lots of fun, too.

The idea is to work with what you have available to you, in terms of light source, props, poses, and so on. Improvise and think outside the box. As with any photo shoot, plan it and write down a shot list with must-take shots and would-be-nice-to-have-if-possible shots. Especially when out on assignment, photographing an editorial on location or events, a shot list always comes in handy.

Happy Summer!

And, as always, thanks for stopping by!

Alina Oswald