Reflex Action: A Surf Photographer's Top Tips (via Nikonusa)

Capturing great surf shots starts with the advice you'd get for any sport: know what to expect so you'll be able to anticipate the action.

The thing is, you can't ever count on the behavior of the next wave, so with the sport
of surfing the scales are tipped toward the unpredictable. There are, however, ways to
level things off a bit.

"Any photographer who does the research and keeps practicing is going to pick up any
sport," says pro photographer and surfer Jay Watson. "But there's an inside culture to
surfing, and knowing and getting to be friends with surfers gives you better access to
better surfers, and you're going to get better photos."   

If that kind of access isn't immediately available to you, not to worry. We all start
somewhere, and if your start is at a local beach shooting amateurs or beginners, make the
most of that opportunity to develop your skills and to network. "There are always good
guys around," Jay says, "and if you share your images with them, they'll likely tell you
about other surfers." Plus the local beach might offer an advantage when it comes to
shooting positions. Jay shoots a lot of competitive surfing events and good vantage points
can be hard to come by. "It's best if I can shoot parallel to a wave that's breaking, and I'll
set up anywhere—the beach, docks, jetties, cliffs, and sometimes I'll be in a boat."

A word about safety here: it should always be your first consideration. On the beach, pier 

or jetty, stay aware of what's going on around you; don't bury yourself in the viewfinder. 

If you're just starting out, it makes sense to shoot from the pier, the beach or the bluff until 

seriousness, skills and the right circumstances suggest it might be time for a boat ride. If 

you've hired a boat or a jet ski, it's the pilot's job to keep you out of danger and out of the 

way of the surfers. The professionals who provide these services are experts; as Jay says, 

"I'm not going to grab my next door neighbor and ask him to take me out there." In all 

cases, the bottom line is that the idea of surf photography is great images, not great risk. 

Besides, Jay says, "Get in the way of a surfer and the least that's going to happen is you're 

not going to be welcome to come back."

Any photographer who does the research and keeps practicing is going to pick up any 

sport...but there's an inside culture to surfing, and knowing and getting to be friends with surfers gives you better access to better surfers, and you're going to get better photos.

Key elements of surfing photography

Position

If you can get parallel to the wave right where it's breaking and shoot over the top of the 

surfers, you've got a great spot. With, say, a 70-200mm zoom, "It's a lens a lot of 

photographers have in their kits," Jay says, you can shoot from a pier or a jetty and the 

surfer is going to be big in the frame. Sometimes you can even get a bit of the back of the 

wave. "The challenge is finding a spot that gives you a lot of options," Jay says. "The 

surfers will come into the beach on an angle, and you'll get the best pictures if you've 

found a spot where you can cover where they're going."

Focus

If the surfer isn't sharp, the picture isn't good, simple as that. Like other sports, the success 

of the shot is judged by the sharpness of the subject. "I do a lot of testing of lenses and 

focus modes, and I'll most often use dynamic area autofocus, set to the camera's 51 focus 

points, and continuous tracking."

Advance

As you might expect, Jay favors continuous high speed advance to achieve high 

frame rates, but he thinks in terms of capturing chunks of action, not ribbons of images. 

"I try not to just ‘spray and pray’ because I don't want to end up spending a lot of time 

at the computer because all I did was hold down the shutter release. I think about frames 

per second in terms of getting into a rhythm to catch a good chunk of the action in front 

of me."

Speed Setting

"If you want to be a better photographer, in any field, learn to shoot sports," Jay says. 

"Shooting sports teaches you to know all the ins and outs of your camera and how to 

quickly operate the functions, the buttons and menus." In a nutshell: stuff's happening; 

don't be fumbling with camera settings.

Size

"A good tip is to make sure your subject is bigger in the frame than one of the camera's 

focus points in the viewfinder," Jay says. "If the surfer, in motion out on the water, isn't 

any bigger than one of those points, you're too far away. You need to get closer or get 

a longer zoom. I always like to have a couple of focus [points] fitting on the surfer—that'll 

give me some overlap of focus points, and that's especially important if I'm shooting from 

a boat. The boat's moving, the surfer's moving, I'm moving—I need every advantage."

Exposure

Jay most often sets his cameras for shutter priority, then makes test exposures and checks 

the histogram to make sure he isn't clipping the whitewater's highlights. If he is, he'll set 

-1/3 exposure compensation as a starting point and, if need be, keep going until the 

whitewater is no longer clipped. "You want detail in the whitewater," he says, "so always 

rely on the histogram [rather than] the image on the LCD screen for exposure."

Research

Just starting out? It's a cool idea to check out some surfing magazines to see what's being 

done. "Surfer and Surfer's Journal have great photography," Jay says. "You can get ideas 

for pictures and learn about camera positions, vantage points, framing, lighting and 

proximity to subjects. A photographer doing any sport needs to find out how that sport 

translates itself to photography."

Protection

Jay doesn't use an underwater housing or a skylight or UV filter, just common sense when 

it comes to keeping his cameras and lenses in the game. He's not overprotective, but takes 

"reasonable caution and care" to keeping the cameras and lenses clear of salt water. It's 

obvious, but we'll say it anyway: splashing water is a signal to pay attention to what's 

going on with the gear.

Variety

You'll see from Jay's photos that he likes to vary his coverage. He'll take the camera away 

from the water from time to time for shots of shadows, silhouettes and boards on the beach.  

"Those kinds of shots round out the coverage, and give people a greater feel for what the 

sport, the culture and the lifestyle's like. You definitely want the atmosphere, the ritual, the 

details—they're all part of the story."