Lighthouse Photography

I really enjoy photographing lighthouses. Lighthouses are wonderful structures that bring you a sense of history, romance and mystery. I have visited over 100 lighthouses in the past 8 years and each one is different. Photographing these lighthouses is fun but it also has it's own challenges.

Some lighthouses are hard to get close enough for a good photo, while others may be surrounded with trees or in busy areas full of power lines and houses. Other lighthouses are right on the beach area or at the end of a pier and may be very accessible. When we are traveling we may try to photograph several lighthouses in a day so we have to watch our timing to capture the lighthouse in a good light. When time is an issue this is sometimes hard to do.

In this lens I will share images of some of my favorite photographs and tell you a bit about the lighting and angle of the photos. These photos have been made into Zazzle products and can be ordered in posters, prints and canvas prints in a variety of sizes. You can find the products by going to my zazzle store at zazzle.com/lighthouseenthusiast.

photographing lighthouses

I am always looking for just the right angle to take a photograph. I usually take a lot of shots before I find the angle that is just right.

I photographed this lighthouse at Hillsboro Inlet in Florida from a park just across the harbor, and was able to frame to photograph in palm branches.

I like to use trees to frame my lighthouses. i think it gives the photo an interesting perspective and zooms in to the features of the lighthouse without the details of the surroundings.

This photo is one I took of Marblehead lighthouse on the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio.

My favorite time to photograph lighthouses is in the very early morning just before and at the time of sunrise. This is not always possible unless we are staying nearby so I treasure the times I am able to capture these historic lights at sunrise.

In the first photo we were in Marblehead Ohio and were able to find a place to stay just across the street from the lighthouse. I set my alarm and got up when it was still dark. I had checked out the lighthouse the day before so I knew where I wanted to set up my tripod for the best shots.

I took several shots before sunrise and was anxiously awaiting the sunrise. Just before the sun peaked in the sky an airplane went across the sky leaving the contrails you see in the photo. I think it adds a bit of interest.

The second photo was taken in Two Harbors Minnesota. In the case the lighthouse is also a bed and breakfast where we stayed for the night. This was fantastic because I was able to go outside and photograph the lighthouse at all hours of the day and night. It was a real dream come true for me. This photo was taken in the early morning hours just before sunrise.

Jupiter, Florida

This lighthouse is in Jupiter, Florida where we have visited each March for the past five years. I have been fortunate to be able to photograph this lighthouse from many angles and at various times of the day. The first shot has been enhanced with a painted filter in Photoshop to give it the feeling of a painting. In the second photo I set up my tripod in the parking lot to get a photo of the lighthouse at night. It has spotlights on the lighthouse and the beam was shining in the light.

North Carolina

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is a great place to photograph lighthouses. We spent a week down there and were able to photograph five different lighthouses.

If a lighthouse has an uncluttered foreground it can be useful in drawing your eye toward the lighthouse. In this photo I walked past the lighthouse on the New Jersey shore and turned around and captured the lighthouse with the sandy foreground.

I also like the way the puffy clouds moved right behind the lighthouse as I was taking the shot. I took several shots and each one was different as the clouds moved quickly.