Every winter, more and more Canadians choose to escape the snow and sleet and cold for white sand beaches and coconut palms. So often, however, the photos they bring home fail to capture the grandeur and magic of the exotic escape. These five tips are crucial for preserving a better slice of paradise. 

Get a Polarizer

Consider—strongly consider—buying a circular polarizer that will screw on to the front of your camera’s lens. This type of filter doesn’t prevent your auto focus from working, and more importantly a polarizer will allow you to see objects underwater by taking the glare off the sea, make skies more blue, and sometimes produce colours that really pop. 

Resist Cliche

Everyone has seen the typical vacation pose: friends or family lined up and smiling awkwardly, a landmark or scenic vista behind them. Instead, think before you click—and use your imagination before the camera even comes out. At the beach, for example, get your crew waist deep in water before snapping the requisite group vacation photo. Have them splash each other. Or run towards you. Or jump and yell. While you’re at it, instead of standing on shore and pointing your lens to the sea, why not wade out and look towards land? Try a close-up shot of a child’s sunglasses, or better yet, capture a reflection in them. Shoot abstracts of shells, sand patterns, or even the fruit arrangements that come as dinner table centerpieces. 

Learn to Use Fill Flash

The tropical sun produces painfully harsh shadows, and for the majority of the day, these will make any photograph look bleached out and heavily con-trasted. Forcing your flash to fire during sunlight hours (achieved by tweaking your flash settings) will help fill in those dark areas on your subject, and give a surprisingly soft and pleasant look.

Watch the Sky

Sunset and sunrise are gorgeous times to be photographing, so take advantage of the golden light if you can. Consequently, a pure blue midday sky often looks boring in photographs, so remain alert for interesting cloud formations.  

Protect Your Equipment

Salt water and sand are your camera’s worst enemies. Use a waterproof case if you are venturing in the water. Clean the sand from your hands with a towel  before handling your camera. And beware of the wind—sudden gusts can cover an exposed camera in dust.