Seashells Collage

Make A Splash With Your Photography!

Here is a guide for how to take a wonderful photo shoot that brings the beach home— even after you’re vacation is over.

A collage of vibrant seashells glistening in the sunlight, collected from Stone Harbor Point, New Jersey June 26, 2025, and photographed July 21, 2025.

Shells are perfect for collages

It’s my tradition to collect seashells one morning while at the beach to create a collage once home. This is such a fun project, which makes my vacation even longer. I get to enjoy more of the seashore from home. Make sure you pay attention to the seashell collecting etiquette from whatever beach you plan to collect shells. Obvious rules are to not walk on dunes or disturb wildlife when collecting shells.

A colorful collage featuring dozens of seashells glistening in the Sun collected from Avalon and Stone Harbor Point on the Jersey Shore in July, and photographed August 6, 2024.

Collect a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes

I use a large beach towel bag to collect shells, which is perfect! It’s vented, so sand and water falls through, yet it stores all of my shells! You could arrange a collage on the sand before taking your photos. I prefer to bring my shells home, so I can clean and arrange them. As always, it takes longer to arrange the collage and conduct the photo shoot than it does to collect the shells. But it is all so worth it!

Wet Altantic Surf Clam Shells (left) Compared To Dried (Left), J

A collage of Atlantic Surf Clam shells showing how seashells come to life after spraying with water (left side) compared to bland, dried shells, photographed July 22, 2025.

Water brings shells to life

Take your collage photos in bright sunlight. First, arrange your shells to fill the frame of your wide angle lens. Then, spray with water. I make my collage on a glass table outside, so I can spray without worrying about getting anything else wet. When I spray the shells with water, they come to life! Make sure your spray bottle is clean. The spray bottle I use is only for water. That way, I never damage whatever I’m spraying. Notice in the accompanying photo how much color appears once you’ve sprayed shells with water. You see the difference between wet (left side) and dry shells (right side).

A colorful collage featuring dozens of seashells glistening in the Sun collected from Avalon, New Jersey in July, and photographed August 3, 2023.

Use a chair or ladder for an overhead view

Photograph your collage with the Sun in front of you, so you never cast your shadow over your shells. To take your shots, stand above, or stand carefully on a chair or stepladder.

Combining bright sunlight with water sprayed on the shells creates remarkable saturation and contrast! I use this collage to make gifts, from bookmarks, to wrapping paper, folders, storage containers, a puzzle, and more.

Be ready! Your wet shells dry quickly in sunlight! Get into a routine of: Spray; Shoot; and Repeat! Enjoy!

A Seashells Collage Is A Wonderful Project!

Colorful seashells form a collage glistening in the sun collected from Avalon, New Jersey in July, and photographed August 3, 2022.

View all the Seashells Collages in the Sea Gallery.

General Settings

ISO 500, Aperture f13, Shutter Speed 1/800th Second

Photo Tips

Use the Single Shot (not Action or Sports) mode. Shoot at 800th/second or faster.

Go for what I call, “Max Aperture,” to get the most detail. Start with an aperture of f13, and maybe go up to f14 or even f18. I shoot in Full Manual mode, so I control all camera settings. That might be too tricky for you, so consider using the Aperture Priority mode of your camera, where you set the aperture, and your camera determines the shutter speed.

If you use Aperture Priority mode, your camera might set too slow a shutter speed (slower than 1/500th second). If it does, then open up your aperture, from f18 to f14 or f13. This allows more light into your sensor, which convinces your camera to use a faster shutter speed.

If you take your photos in bright sunlight, you can keep your ISO down (400 or 640) so your sensor lets in the right amount of light without washing out your photo.

Review & Refine! Keep checking your shots to see if your settings are good enough. The more you’re willing to improve your settings, the better a photographer your will be!

Composite Of 6 Photos Showing Sunrise, Sunset, Ocean Wave, Great

A composite of 6 photos savoring the seashore, featuring a sunrise, Great Egret, ocean wave, Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins, Osprey with an Atlantic Menhaden fish, and a sunset over the bay, photographed in Avalon, New Jersey from 2021-2025.

Soak Up The Beach With The Seashore 5 By 30 Inches Storyteller Photo.

This composite of 6 photos features sunrise, sunset, a wave, Dolphins, Osprey, and a Great Egret.