Tutorial:   So you have downloaded “Avgcampro” it’s time to think about what you’re going to need to get that shot.  Some form of tripod or something to keep your phone stable is essential due to the long exposure time, anything still in the image will remain clear and sharp, anything moving will start to blur, and it is this blur that we are looking to utilize to show the movement of the water.  But you don’t need to go out and buy the latest “gorilla pod” or fancy iPhone tripod, be creative anything that will hold your camera and keep it motionless will work.  When I first started, I used a large Pringles Chips can, I cut two notches out of the top for the iPhone to rest in, when I would shoot I would put a rock inside to keep it stable and weigh it down, now I have moved onto using a cheap camera tripod that I had at home and a bit of tape to attach my iPhone to it.

Now that you have something to keep your camera stable it is time to start thinking about what to photograph. Look for beaches with rocks or jetty’s and piers, anything in the water usually makes the image more interesting and tends to accentuate the movement of the water.  The time of day that you choose to go is almost the most important thing, this could make or break your photo, the best times of the day are at sunrise/sunset and dusk/dawn. These are the times when the colours and light will be most pleasing. If you go in the middle of the day you will have a hard time with over exposed shots, and having little to no colour other than blue in the sky.  Aim to get to your location about 30 minutes before the sun rises or sets to have a look around the location without your camera, this is important to remember, you can see more with your eyes than you can through your viewfinder, this sounds ridiculous, but the amount of times when I first started taking photos that I would arrive at the location and immediately start shooting and by the end of the sunrise/ sunset I would hang out and realize all the nice angles I missed,  and shots that I could of taken.  Also in this time start making mental notes and start to plan out the exposures you wish to take once the light is perfect. This is very important if you are shooting a sunrise or sunset as each exposure could take up to 5 minutes and you will only get about 5 shots in if you’re lucky.

Now it’s time to start shooting; the first thing you should think about is composition; how you want your photo to look. Remember the rule of thirds and try to eliminate unnecessary components that may draw the eye away from your subject.  A big thing to look for is the horizon line in your image “MAKE SURE ITS STRAIGHT” unless you want it to be on an angle for a reason. If you are using a Pringle’s can or other homemade mono pod, it makes composition very hard but the solution is to set up where you think will be nice and take test shots with the iPhones native camera, have a look and adjust until you get it right, because you don’t want to be standing there for 5 minutes only to realize you accidently cut a rock in half or missed the subject of your shot.  Once you have your shot composed it’s time to think about how many shots you want to use. The thing to remember here is the more shots you use the smoother the water will look. The first shot in the example below was taken at 128 shots, notice how you can’t see any shape or texture to the water where the waves would have been it almost looks like mist.

The image below was taken at 32 shots, you can see a bit more shape to the water like where it rises up for the big sets out the back and where there water is being pulled back around the rocks. Decide what effect you wish to achieve there is no wrong answer.

So you now have your images it’s time to edit. I always wait till I get inside even though I edit them on the iPhone, it’s always so hard to see the details in your shots in bright light. My go to app here is ‘Snapseed’. The first thing I look for is the horizon if you didn’t get it right when you shot it don’t stress, this magical little app has all the answers, use the straighten tool to fix it. The next thing I look for is underexposed parts of the shot, you will find this a lot in the foreground of backlit shots. Use the selective adjustment tool to brighten up these underexposed areas, be careful not to take it too far. Then move on to the details tab and use the structure tool to accentuate the details of the rocks, I usually take it to about 30. Again be careful not to go too far, you can make colours look unrealistic and the further you go it seems to cut through layers of that misty water you have worked so hard for. My last stop is the tune image tab where I will adjust ambience it brightens up your image a little and it also affects the colours. Then go to saturation but after the other adjustments you usually don’t need to change it. Finally a tiny bit of contrast so you don’t end up with a flat image.

Finally be creative, put someone in the shot.  Make them sit still for the whole exposure or do it yourself with the timer in app. Remember the beach isn’t the only place for this app, try shooting waterfalls, all of the same techniques apply, and the most important thing to remember is that the more shots you take the smoother the water will look.