Tips on morning shoot

Tomorrow I have a shoot at 10 a.m. on the beach, I know, I know it is the worse time of day for the shoot but the only time the couple could schedule. My question is what can I do to make the photo's come out better with all that sand and bright sun.
Towards the end of the shoot we plan on doing some romantic (maybe) shots with the couple in the water.

Also, another problem I have with this couple the wife is quite a bit taller than her husband, but they are the most fun people I have ever met.

Thanks for any advice

Here are a couple photo's shot at the same time of day at a park where they live.

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Heya,

What all do you have for limiting exposure & how much light hits your aperture? Polarizing filters? Maybe make sure you are shooting from an angle where the sun is not behind you, but rather to your side to help keep highlight blowing limited to a side, rather than the front of your subject.

Pray for some overcast weather?

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #16346131
Heya,

What all do you have for limiting exposure & how much light hits your aperture? Polarizing filters? Maybe make sure you are shooting from an angle where the sun is not behind you, but rather to your side to help keep highlight blowing limited to a side, rather than the front of your subject.

Pray for some overcast weather?

Very best,

Thank you, I was thinking maybe the same, and as it looks here in Virginia Beach we are due for some sunny skies, I was at least hoping for cloudy or partly cloudy.

I'll just toss out something real quick, be prepared to use a flash! Sometimes just a quick "fill" flash can make a real difference!

flash, a scrim, a tree for shade, or try to have the sun behind them so they don't squint, spot meter on their faces. Flash helps too, or reflectors. Hand book to look at is Shooting in ****ty Light, not sure if it has a kindle edition you could get over night.

Watch for shadows and keep the sun out of their eyes.

Much depends on how you define "morning."

Some people prefer early morning light because of a particular kind of color cast it can produce.

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Thanks all morning is like 10 a.m. I think I have a good option on the way to the beach front there is a long walkway which is completely covered with trees so I will start off there with some shots before we get into the full sun.

Yes, I will definitely use off camera flash for fill.

If at all possible, get an assistant and reflectors are your friend. Fill flash is good if you have some really harsh shadows you need to pop some light into, but a reflector is often sufficient. Beware of using polarizers with people. Although they normally work great at the beach, for portraits, they can give they often make for somewhat unflattering photos. I think it actually has to do with the lack of specular highlights, but I can never quite put my finger on it.

If the beach is a nice white sand (like the beaches here in West Australia) you shouldn't have any issues, the beach sand provides a nice big reflector bouncing light up into people's faces (unless you have the sun to their backs)

Definitely want to invest in a ND filter if you have fast lenses.

Also to help with the bride being taller, when shooting close up portraits, have the bride widen her legs and the groom stand with his legs together. This will shorten her height and maximize his length.

If you have fast lenses, and it's a sunny day, with a strong ND filter, you can make the most out of natural light. You definitely will need a flash at some point, or a reflector. Here is a gallery of mine where it was taken in about the same conditions, on a pier/beach in the morning with the absolute killer sun, directly above. I used a 9 stop ND filter on my Sigma 1.4.

Hope this helps!

Off topic but he looks like Al Bundy