Sun, sand, morning walks on the beach, sunblock, baking yourself red for a tan that doesn't last long, salt, the long drive down, petrol station stops at Wimpy, childhood memories of building sandcastles with mini spades and buckets and tubes of sunblock. Some of the thoughts of the South African version of visiting the coast. More or less.

With photography, if its a theme for a photoshoot, things are a bit different. Usually, a bikini shoot is a popular go-to. Here are a few tips.

The bikini. It must fit perfectly. And I always maintain that less, is NOT more in this case. Something for the imagination must be there. So tell your model to suck it up when it comes to global warming, and endure the heat! Avoid using a bikini that has patterns on it. Usualy, if the model is blonde, a light blue or light pink bikini works best - and for a dark haired / taned woman, red or yellow work well (its something to do with complimentary colours.

Reflectors are a must here. The light is harsher by the coast for some reason. So get in there and fill those shadows....

And ensure that if you ask the model to do poses, that they're comfortable to bear for longer periods of time....

And last but not least.....if water is going to be involved - make sure its kept to last! :-) once the model gets wet, sand tends to stick everywhere and can be an irritation to get rid of