Beach Portraits With the Nikon Z6 III Mirrorless Camera

Beach portraits at 2:30 p.m. in blazing sun sound like a recipe for squinting and harsh shadows, yet this shoot shows how to work with shade, backlight, and tight framing to keep skin clean and backgrounds calm. You see how pockets of light and a long lens let you move fast without dragging lights to the shoreline.

Coming to you from Anita Sadowska, this practical video walks through a swimsuit session built around the Nikon Z6 III mirrorless camera and a 70-200mm lens. Sadowska starts in open shade with trees and fallen trunks, using them as natural frames so you get a soft vignette without filters. She keeps the aperture wide, around f/2.8 to f/3.2, to push the background out of focus while staying far enough away that you can give direction without crowding. It matters because you often shoot in mixed environments where you can’t wait for golden hour, and these moves help you keep contrast tame while still getting crisp eyes.

The middle stretch moves into direct sun by the water, where exposing for skin takes priority over everything else. Sadowska rotates the pose to place highlights where they flatter and to avoid raccoon-eye shade. You watch her meter for the face, accept brighter backgrounds, and use small height changes to dodge surface glare off the water. If you work solo with natural light, this is the kind of field craft that lets you leave the reflector in the car and still bring home clean, punchy files.

Key Specs

• 24.5 megapixel effective resolution on a 35.9 x 23.9 mm full frame, partially stacked CMOS sensor

• Sensor-shift 5-axis stabilization

• Photo ISO 100 to 64,000 (50 to 204,800 extended); video ISO 100 to 51,200

• Internal recording options including ProRes Raw/ProRes Raw HQ/Raw up to 6048 x 3404 at 23.98–59.94 fps at 250 MB/s, plus H.264/H.265 8/10-bit

• UHD 4K up to 120 fps; Full HD up to 240 fps

• Dual card slots: CFexpress Type B/XQD and SD UHS-II

• Articulating 3.2" touchscreen and 5.76 million dot EVF

• 2.4 / 5 GHz Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0; USB-C power/data; HDMI out

• Battery EN-EL15c rated for approximately 360 shots

• Weather-sealing with magnesium alloy body and 23.6 oz weight 

Back in the trees, the video sidesteps the usual “pose and hold” routine. You see a steady flow of micro-directions that leave room for movement, which is key when you want relaxed, natural expressions. The location choice pulls a lot of weight too; palms, trunks, and brush create foreground layers you can shoot through, which gives you separation and an organic frame that looks custom even though it’s just smart positioning. There’s also a quick touch on when to step into sun for sparkle, when to return to shade for control, and how wet fabric changes the way highlights sit on skin.

You don’t get every setting in the video, but you do get the rhythm: meter for skin, build frames with what’s around you, keep the subject moving, and use the long end to compress the scene so the background behaves. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Sadowska.