I just love the ocean.  I love the roar of the waves.  I love watching the waves break.  It is so calming.  So how do we get nice seascapes?  Sand is just sand and typically by itself it is not that interesting unless they form ripples or you have dunes that form lines. Now that does not mean that you cannot get nice sandy beach images, but they usually require something else of interest (think palm trees, a boat, a kayak in the foreground, great sky with clouds and color, or the water just has to be magical).  Let's face it, most of us do not often see exotic beach scenes every day.  So what is the solution?  Let's look at this image:

          Remember that we want to create depth.  We want people to look into our images from front to back (over and over again; hopefully).  One of the most useful things that help you achieve this are rocks.  Try to find rocks.  Find out when the tide is right to expose the rocks at the right time of day for good light (around sunrise or sunset).  Now try to find rocks that lead you into the image. Change your angle to make this happen.  Shoot from low down so that the rocks go quite high up into the image.  If the ocean water is not that interesting this helps to minimize the size of the ocean in the image.

          Shoot horizontal shots, shoot vertical shots but get a few shots.  You can also use the flow of water with a slow shutter speed to pull the viewer's eye into the shot.  Try to position yourself such that the rocks line up and lead where you want the viewer's eyes to go. Here is another example:

          By using a neutral density filter (not is use in these shots) you can shoot at long shutter speeds.  Wait for wave action and fire. These shots create ghost-like images where the water looks like mist / clouds as it interacts with the rocks.  Play around and have fun. Rocks are your friends.

          Happy tide pooling.