When it comes to really good outdoor photography, Timing is important. The start and end of days can present the best opportunities for shooting at the beach. For starters there will be less people there at that time of day but also you’ll find that with the sun shining on an angle that you often get more interesting effects of shadows and colors – particularly in the evening when the light becomes quite warm and golden. Another timing issue is that the beach can really come to life on those days that everyone avoids it because of inclement weather. Stormy seas, threatening and dramatic clouds and wind all make for atmospheric shots.
While coastal landscape photography can be done at any time of the day or night, most photographers who are consistently getting great results will favor the first and last hour of daylight. Getting there around these times allows you to capture stunning changing lighting conditions. Get used to shooting from before sunrise or until after sunset.
While the colors of coastal landscape photography are a great reason to be attracted to this subject, amazing results can also be had with black and white. Play with your images in post production and test the effects of black and white. Sometimes you can get a real gem by accident, but going with the intent of shooting black and white can get you even better results.